As Joseph fisted Alex's collar and dragged him closer, Alex simply stared at him, blue eyes calm and unreadable.
The atmosphere in the throne room turned suffocatingly quiet.
It was so silent that if a pin had dropped, everyone was sure they would have heard it.
Charlotte's gaze locked onto Alex the moment she saw him. A bright, disbelieving smile bloomed across her face. The murderous pressure that had been leaking from her body vanished in an instant, like a storm blown away by sunlight.
Inside her head, the sinister voice that had been whispering to her for months… went completely quiet.
At the same time, Alden, Alicia, and Serena entered the throne room through the side doors. They took in the scene at a glance—Joseph grabbing Alex, soldiers tense, nobles pale.
All three of them smacked their foreheads with their left hands at once.
'Here we go…' Alden thought.
Then, in the next heartbeat, Alex moved.
