Chapter 274. Surprise

Aerys’s POV

I waited forty-eight hours.

Forty-eight long, unbearable hours where time stretched thin and cruel, each second scraping against my nerves like claws against stone. I had expected Harry to bring her to me—expected him to do the honorable thing once the shock settled. But he didn’t.

And with every hour that passed, the questions in my head multiplied.

Did they decide to leave town together?
Did she choose him over me?
Would my mate really be that cruel?

The thought alone made my chest ache in a way I wasn’t prepared for. I had lived twenty-six years without knowing her, without feeling this constant pull, this gnawing emptiness that now refused to be ignored. And now that I had found her—now that I knew she existed—I couldn’t imagine going back to the way thing