- IV - The Emperor

As the last living descendant of his holy bloodline, Rune was under a lot of pressure. To live up to his family's legacy. To fulfill his duties as the heir. To produce more heirs. To marry for a political alliance, to secure stability for an empire on the verge of collapse. He was wanted more for his ability to save the bloodline than his political acumen, or his skill with a sword, or his leadership. Rune had always hated the expectations, but he'd never let himself complain. Never let his true feelings show. Acting out in his position affected far more than him; his every move was watched, scrutinized, picked apart. Anything he did could cause a scandal, could cost lives. So he'd hidden his discontent behind a mask of polite indifference. It was only here, in this cottage, that he could truly be himself. Here, he could shed the mask, be more than his genes and bloodline. More than a piece to be moved in a game of chess. His knight was his one confidant. The only person he could truly open up to, who knew all his secrets, his doubts, his insecurities. Rune's other half, his missing piece, the love of his life. They'd been together from childhood, despite their different stations. Publicly, they could only be empress and servant, but here, they could be themselves. "I love you," he whispered, trembling fingers running down his knight's cheek as they lay together in the aftermath of their passion. "I know I cannot give you the future you deserve. I know this is unfair to ask, but—" He drew in a shaky breath, a hesitant, fragile smile on his face. "Stay with me. By my side. Always." Rune's eyes filled with tears at the selfishness of his request. To everyone else, he was a woman, not the man he'd always known himself to be. He was engaged to a duke, expected to be an empress and wife, expected to bear heirs, expected to save his bloodline and their country. Rune would never be free of his fate, and now he was asking the love of his life to share in it. "You do not have to say yes. I only..."