"Raani," he said gently, but there was steel beneath the softness.
"You have been at my side through battles and councils. You have seen me at my strongest and my most vulnerable. Yet every time you see me like this—uncovered, unguarded—you become… flustered. Your cheeks burn. Your words falter. Your eyes betray you even when your voice does not."
He tilted his head slightly, studying her face with that penetrating gaze that seemed to see straight through to the soul the gods had placed in this world.
"I do not want this to continue as a source of tension between us. I value your loyalty too much for that. So I will ask you plainly, without games or pretense."
He took another small step forward, close enough now that the heat from his body mingled with the steam rising from his skin.
"Will you sleep with me?"
Raani's eyes flew wide.
The parchment slipped from her fingers and fluttered to the stone floor, forgotten.
