The earth beneath them trembled as two new figures stepped into the courtyard. From the castle, a powerful man with a crown on his head and a look of pure exhaustion on his face, the Dragon King, strode forward. From the shadows of the forest, another figure emerged, a man whose skin was as dark as a starless night and whose eyes glowed with an ancient, red light. He was the Shadow King.
"Stop!" the Dragon King boomed, his voice echoing with the authority of his long rule. "Do you want to destroy the whole castle?"
His words were echoed by the Shadow King, who spoke with a quiet menace that was just as effective as the Dragon King's roar. "Your battle is with each other, not with the world. Cease this immediately."
Arion's massive silver body trembled with fury, but he knew better than to disobey his father. He let out a final, frustrated roar that rattled the windows of the castle, but his form began to shrink, his scales receding into his skin. Within moments, he was human again, his face a mask of rage and humiliation.
The cat prince simply stood his ground, his hand still on Evangeline's waist. He didn't speak, but his posture was a clear statement of his refusal to back down. The two fathers, rivals for generations, now faced a new, more dangerous conflict—one fueled by a love triangle that threatened to tear their kingdoms apart.
The Dragon King turned his furious gaze on the Shadow King. "You dare come to my kingdom and steal my son's mate?"
The Shadow King simply smiled. "I merely came to claim what your son so carelessly cast aside. The princess is a free woman. She can choose her own path."
Evangeline, a silent figure in the middle of this high-stakes confrontation, simply looked from one king to the other. She was not a prize to be won, but a woman with a choice.