The first death came at dawn.
A servant. Young. Loyal. Quiet.
He was found in the lower courtyard, face pale, lips blue, a silver ring clutched in his hand.
Poison.
The court erupted in whispers.
Assassination attempt.
Message.
Warning.
Elara stood at the window of her solar, watching the guards carry the body away. Her hands were steady. Her breath, even. But inside, something coiled.
This was Dorian.
She knew it.
Not because she had proof.
But because she had written men like him before.
And they always started with silence.
Then fear.
Then blood.
---
Kael found her in the council chamber.
He didn't knock.
He never did.
"You think this was him?" he asked.
Elara didn't look up. "I know it was."
Kael stepped closer. "You have no evidence."
"I have instinct."
Kael's voice was low. "That's not enough."
Elara stood. "It's all I've ever had."
They stared at each other.
The air between them was thick with everything unsaid.
Kael's eyes dropped to her mouth.
Elara's breath hitched.
Then he stepped back.
Coward.
---
That night, he came to their chamber.
Not as a king.
Not as a husband.
But as a man unraveling.
"I can't protect you," he said.
Elara turned from the window. "You never did."
Kael's voice cracked. "I wanted to." Kael knew deep than that he had fallen for her and that he was finally over Seraphina but he couldn't admit it to himself, not yet.
"Then why didn't you?"
He stepped closer. "Because I didn't know how."
Elara's eyes shimmered. "Then learn."
Kael reached for her.
She let him.
Their lips met—desperate, bruising, hungry.
But when his hands slid to her waist, she pulled away.
"No," she whispered. "Not like this."
Kael's voice was raw. "Why?"
"Because I want more than your body," she said. "I want your loyalty."
Kael didn't answer.
And that was answer enough.
---
The next morning, a new decree was posted in the square.
Signed by Dorian.
Stamped with the royal seal.
> All council decisions must be reviewed by the Crown before implementation.
> All council members must swear loyalty to the throne.
> All dissent will be treated as treason.
Elara read it in silence.
Then she turned to Lucien.
"Call the council," she said. "We're not done."
---
The fire started in the west wing.
A servant's scream pierced the morning air.
By the time the guards arrived, the archives were already engulfed—scrolls, records, and ledgers turned to ash. The flames licked the stone walls like a hungry beast, devouring history.
Elara stood at the edge of the courtyard, watching the smoke rise.
She didn't cry.
She didn't scream.
She simply whispered, "Dorian."
Because she knew.
The Civic Council's original records had been stored there.
The ones she had signed.
The ones Kael had signed.
The ones that proved her authority.
Gone.
---
Kael found her in the corridor outside the war room.
"You think he did this?" he asked.
Elara turned to him, eyes blazing. "I know he did."
Kael's voice was low. "You have no proof."
"I don't need proof," she said. "I need you."
Kael blinked.
"I need you to choose," Elara said. "Him or me."
Kael stepped closer. "You're asking me to betray my blood."
"I'm asking you to protect your queen."
Kael's jaw clenched. "You don't trust me."
"I don't know if I can."
He reached for her.
She stepped back.
"Not until you choose," she said. Elara was tired of him not making a choice, she wrote him to choose her in the real world, but now she's still wanted him to choose her, here too.
---
That night, Kael came to their chamber.
He didn't speak.
He didn't touch her.
He simply stood in the doorway, watching her.
"I want to believe you," he said.
Elara looked up. "Then do."
Kael's voice cracked. "But if I do… I lose him."
Elara stood. "And if you don't, you lose me."
Silence.
Then Kael turned.
And walked away.
---
The next morning, a new decree was posted in the square.
Signed by Dorian.
Stamped with the royal seal.
> The Civic Council is hereby dissolved.
> All regional decisions will be made by the Crown.
> All former council members are to report to the palace for reassignment.
Elara read it in silence.
Then she turned to Lucien.
"We're not done yet."
---The throne room was full.
Not with celebration.
Not with ceremony.
But with reckoning.
The former king sat in the high seat beside the throne, his presence a rare and ominous thing. His silver crown gleamed in the torchlight, though he no longer wore it in title. His voice, however, still carried the weight of command.
Kael stood before him.
Elara stood beside Kael.
Dorian stood alone.
The court watched in silence.
---
The former king's voice was cold. "You summoned the Civic Council without sanction. You issued decrees in the king's name. You burned the archives."
Dorian didn't flinch. "I acted in the kingdom's interest."
"You acted in your own," the king snapped. "And you did so without the crown's consent."
Dorian's eyes flicked to Kael. "He said nothing."
Kael stepped forward. "Because I was watching."
Dorian blinked.
Kael's voice was steady. "I was watching you. I was watching her. And I've made my decision."
He turned to Elara.
"I stand with my queen."
---
Elara's breath caught.
Kael didn't look away.
"I've made mistakes," he said. "I've been silent when I should have spoken. I've been cruel when I should have listened. But I will not lose you." That was one feeling he was sure about, the one that he never wants to lose Elara
Elara's eyes shimmered.
Kael turned back to the court.
"Prince Dorian is hereby stripped of all royal duties. He is to leave the kingdom by nightfall. He will not return."
Gasps rippled through the chamber.
Dorian's face went pale.
"You can't—"
"I can," Kael said. "And I have."
---
Seraphina stood at the edge of the room, her face unreadable.
She didn't speak.
She didn't cry.
She simply turned.
And walked out.
But as she passed Elara, she paused.
Her voice was low. "You've taken everything."
Elara met her gaze. "I took nothing that wasn't already broken."
Seraphina's eyes burned. "You'll regret this."
Then she was gone.
---
That night, the palace was quiet.
Dorian was gone.
Seraphina was silent.
The former king returned to his chambers without another word.
Kael found Elara in the garden.
He didn't speak.
He didn't touch her.
He simply stood beside her.
And for the first time in weeks, she didn't move away.
---