It was Zen who noticed the ring first.
At first, he thought his eyes were playing tricks on him. His gaze had only brushed over her hand by chance, yet something about it made his breath catch. He went still. His face lost its color as a sharp and uneasy feeling settled in his chest. This... was the ring he had just seen in the vision...
In the next moment, he forced himself to look away, telling himself it had to be a hallucination. After everything they had just seen, after the vision that still lingered in his mind, it made sense that his thoughts would twist reality. The ring on her finger could not be the same one. It had to be coincidence. Nothing more.
But the alarm bells in his head were already ringing. And so looked again. And then again.
The longer he stared, the heavier the dread in his heart became. It pressed down on him making him feel as suffocated as he had felt when he had been suffering from the curse just this morning.
Because, Zen had never seen Emira wear any jewellery before. Not a ring. Not even something small or decorative. And now, to see this on her hand, so suddenly, so clearly...onthe same finger...
His chest tightened.
Before he could stop himself, he reached out. His hand closed around hers as he pulled it free from Lance’s grasp and brought it closer to his eyes.
There was no mistaking it now.
It was the same ring. The same ring the Dark Master had placed on his bride’s finger in the vision they had just witnessed. Zen’s fingers trembled slightly as he held her hand, the cold certainty settling deep within him as the words she had said echoed in his mind, "I belong to the dark master. Look carefully, my lord."
He shook his head and asked in a hoarse voice, "Emira. Where did you get this ring?" His eyes lifted to her face, searching. "Who does it belong to?"
That seemed to have caught both Lance and Kael’s as well and as the three watched, they noticed, Emira reacting quickly, as she hid her hand behind her back sharply. The sheer act of her trying to hide the ring from their view made their heart fall.
"It’s... it’s nothing," she said quickly, the words tumbling out a little too fast. "Just something I liked. I wore it today, that’s all."
But the air in the room had already changed.
Zen watched her closely, the unease in his chest growing heavier with every second. Her reaction, her haste, the way she hid her hand and the lie in her words, did nothing to ease his fear.
"Is that so? Show me..."
But Emira did not. Instead, she looked away and said slowly," Its nothing. Its already so late and I am too tired. I want to sleep. I’ll just go and rest.."
As Emira moved to walk away, she clenched her hands and cursed in her heart. She had not even realized when the dark master had slipped the ring onto her finger. If she had seen it earlier, she would have definitely taken it off...
"Stop." Emira frowned at Zen’s cold tone and turned around. What was wrong with him? Why did he sound so odd. As she looked up at him, he extended his hand," Emira. Give me the ring."
Emira stared at Zen’s outstretched hand, her heart pounding hard enough that she could feel it in her throat. The way he was looking at her, demanding that ring, made her take a step back without thinking.
"No," she said slowly as she shook her head. She curled her fingers tighter, hiding the ring behind her back as if shielding it from him. "You don’t need it. Just... leave it alone."
Zen’s brows drew together. "Emira-"
"I said no, Zen. Please. Just leave it."
The room went very still.
Lance and Kael exchanged a quick glance. Neither of them spoke, but both of them saw it clearly now. The way Emira kept her hand hidden. The way her shoulders were tense, as if she was bracing herself. As if she feared Zen might step forward and take the ring from her by force.
Kael’s jaw tightened. Lance’s gaze moved from her face to the hand she was hiding, then back to Zen.
Zen had noticed it too.
He let his hand drop slowly, but his eyes never left her. "Emira," he said again, more carefully this time, as though choosing each word. "You are wearing a ring on your left hand. On a finger that is directly connected to your heart." He took a step closer, stopping just short of her. "I don’t think it is a simple ring."
Emira swallowed. For a brief moment, her grip loosened. Something inside her urged her to take it off. After all, the ring might be the same from the past but the feelings were not. Her heart was not bound to Aron like Mira’s. She belonged to these three alphas. So of course she should be thankful... She knew that. And yet... her fingers would not move.
A strange reluctance held her back. She lifted her gaze to his and shook her head slowly.
"Zen. I cannot."
Lance stepped in between then. He could already guess how explosive Zen could guess. "Emira... you don’t know the history of this ring. This thing... it is not..."
But before Lance could convince her, Kael spoke up," She knows the ring, Lance. In fact, she seems to know it better than we do... Isn’t that right Mira... This is the ring that your lover gave you... He’s helped you get rid of our mark, and now, you are wearing his mark. Is that it? You cannot bear to take off the ring, Emira?"
They knew. She looked into the eyes of the three men and felt her stomach fall. They knew all about the ring... How did they know...