Sunset Valley What the future says,

morwenna scoffs again, this time louder, sharper. the sound is edged with something colder than the night air around them. she knows too well the weight of his words, the heaviness of his bonds. but she will not soften for them.
and it is not marriage any of the court would have approved. she eyes him, her words calculated, knowing how they will land. she is a woman grown. her gaze hardens, no longer soft with any remnants of tenderness. she knows the laws that bind them all. i understand the order of things, blackfell. i always have.
she steps closer, but not to touch him—just to assert her presence in the space between them, just enough to remind him of what could be. i cannot rule safely without a man beside me, she continues, voice steady and firm, almost— almost detached. this is the reality, even if i wish it were not.
there's an underlying edge of something darker, something tinged with knowledge only she could hold.
you think i don’t feel it? she says quietly, her gaze never leaving his. you think i don't know what could’ve been? of what we might still have, if only things were different? she steps closer to him now, nose burshing his cheek.
she takes a breath, steadying herself. you’re bound by a vow, she continues, her eyes flicking momentarily toward the distant shadows. and so am i. but it might not be as simple as you think.
her gaze sharpens, a brief flicker of something almost like amusement dancing in her eyes. you will find a way, she adds, it has been long since crownore blood has taken root with drakaryn.
it's poisonous.