Chained Hearts: From Slavery to Sovereignty
Chapter 48: Written in the Stars, Across the Ages

Chapter 48: Chapter 48: Written in the Stars, Across the Ages

"That’s enough, Zane." Dorian’s voice resonated in the chamber, powerfully and filled with anger.

Zane was stunned into silence; he stared at the back of the prince; his usual sharp tongue was frozen because of shock.

He had known Dorian for years and seen him in every possible situation, yet this... this reaction was different. He could feel the anger radiating from the prince, like a storm on the verge of breaking.

Dorian’s hands clenched into fists at his sides, the veins visible under his pale skin, as if containing the fury building inside him.

The anger in his voice was visible, but Zane could not understand it. He thought he was protecting Dorian from another mistake, another scandal waiting to unfold. After all, wasn’t it his duty to look out for the prince?

"I meant no disrespect, Your Highness," Zane stammered, trying to regain his composure. "I only—"

"You can leave, Zane," Dorian repeated, his tone like ice, giving no room for argument.

Zane hesitated, his mind racing. He had seen Dorian go through phases, with people who were little more than fleeting interests, discarded without a second thought once they outlived their usefulness.

And his prince had been constantly doing this to kill his boredom; he had never stopped him because all the previous people deserved it, either they were working for someone else or had come closer to the prince with a motive.

Still, Zane knew better than to push the prince further. Bowing slightly, he muttered, "As you wish, Your Highness."

He turned to leave, but not without one last glance at Dorian. The prince was still staring out the window, his back rigid, and Zane could see the turmoil in his stance—the kind of turmoil Dorian rarely showed.

As the door closed behind him, Zane’s mind was a whirlwind of confusion and concern. He couldn’t help but feel that something was changing—something dangerous and unpredictable.

But it was even more troubling for him that he could not gauge his highness thoughts; he had become too unpredictable.

It was alarming for him because he cared for him, and he did not wish that his highness fell for the victims of this cruel palace.

---

Alone in his chamber, Dorian’s fury slowly subsides, replaced by something more difficult to name. Zane’s words had struck a nerve, but not in the way his aide intended.

It wasn’t that he didn’t know his aide, meaning his worries were valid; he clearly knows the problem lies with him, and he was not sure why he was even doing this.

Whenever he will look at Cassian, he finds himself doing something he had never considered in his life.

Dorian walked towards the big mirror and looked at his reflection.

Dorian’s gaze hardened as he stared at his reflection in the mirror. His brown eyes flickered, slowly shifting into an inky black, tinted with a crimson hue.

The transformation was subtle yet undeniable, as though another presence was emerging from deep within him. It wasn’t just desire; it was a consuming need to possess, to claim.

Cassian was more than just a fleeting obsession. Dorian’s emotions ran far deeper—he felt an overwhelming pull toward the boy, as though Cassian was the key to a mystery that had haunted him his entire life.

From the moment they met, Dorian had felt something unlock inside him—a part of himself he hadn’t even known was missing. But this feeling... it was ancient, primal, and it didn’t feel like it belonged solely to him.

He touched the glass, watching the flicker in his eyes intensify. The other presence within him—the being that had always lurked in the shadows of his mind—wanted Cassian just as fiercely, if not more.

It wasn’t the first time Dorian had sensed it—this other half that shared his body, his thoughts. They coexisted in an unspoken agreement, neither fully confronting the other, but both aware of the existence they shared.

But now, with Cassian, everything had changed.

Dorian’s fingers twitched as black smoke curled around them, spiraling like tendrils of darkness. He watched it dance along his skin—a familiar, comforting sensation.

This power—this otherworldly force—was something he’d long kept hidden. The black smoke had been his secret, his curse, and his gift all at once, and he knew it too that it didn’t belong to him but to the other half of his body.

If anyone ever discovered it, he would be branded as something unholy, a demon in human skin, and burned alive like a witch.

But Dorian knew the truth. He wasn’t just a prince bound by human laws and royal decrees. He was something else. He had always suspected that other beings lived alongside humans, concealed and feared.

His powers were proof of that, and the existence of the other inside him only confirmed his suspicions.

As he stood there, his gaze fixed on his reflection, Dorian allowed the memories to surface—memories of the strange things he had encountered as a child.

Shadows that moved when they shouldn’t, whispers in the wind that spoke of things long forgotten, and creatures that defied explanation. The world wasn’t as simple as people believed, and Dorian had always known he was different.

The connection he felt with Cassian only deepened his certainty. It wasn’t just lust or affection; it was as if he had known Cassian far longer than this lifetime. The urge to be with him, to merge their fates, felt as though it was written in the stars, stretching back across the ages.

As he stared into his own darkened eyes, Dorian felt the other’s presence stir within him, the same hunger rising to the surface.

The other being wanted Cassian just as badly, and that desire was a force neither of them could resist.

Dorian clenched his fist and lifted his hand, the frustration building inside him until it erupted.

In a swift motion, he smashed his fist into the mirror, shattering it into jagged pieces.

The sound echoed through the chamber as shards fell to the floor, glittering like broken stars.

The smoke curled lazily around his hand, swirling around the fractured glass as if amused by the destruction.

It moved with a mind of its own, snaking through the cracks, almost playful in the way it seemed to caress the shards, reflecting Dorian’s dark thoughts.

"Why him?" Dorian whispered in low voice, which sounded almost like a growl. "Why do you want him too?"