I watched, horrified, as they dragged the fallen king from the throne room.
My hands clenched into fists at my sides.
Kaelith turned toward me, smiling. He extended a hand. My pulse roared in my ears. I couldn’t move.
I looked past him—past the gilded robes and bloody lips—to Malachi. To Lysara. To Gabriel. To Santi. To Seraphine.
Gabriel moved first. Without hesitation, he dropped to one knee beforeme, head bowed low.
“All hail the future Queen of the Night,” he said, voice ringing clear through the poisoned air.
The others followed. Lysara. Santi. Even Seraphine—her wings drooping with reluctant grace.
But Malachi?—
Malachi stood frozen, chest heaving—a single stream of blood falling from his nose.
Kaelith’s smile widened. “Well, Malachi,” he drawled, savoring every syllable. “Aren’t you going to bow to our future queen?”
Malachi’s gaze flicked to Kaelith. Then to me. And in that instant, I saw him.
Not the general. Not the weapon. The man.
The one who had carried hope.
For a heartbeat, something raw flickered across his face. Grief. Fury. A vow unsaid.
Malachi bent the knee. Lower than the rest.
“And when the world forgets balance again,” Malachi said, voice low and sharp with meaning, “she will rise. All hail the Queen of the Night.”
The words scraped against the air, too heavy to be a true blessing.
I stood there, trembling, trapped between a throne I didn’t want and a war I hadn’t chosen.
For a heartbeat, I thought of home, of Aeryn’s laughter in the kitchen, of lemon trees swaying in the sea wind, of the life I’d give anything to return to.
They bowed before me, but I had never felt more alone.
Kaelith clapped his hands together once, the sound sharp and hollow against the lingering chords of the music.
At the signal, my friends rose—and the thought startled me.
Friends.
I had known them for a few weeks… and yet the word surfaced before I could stop it.
I hadn’t chosen them, not really. But somehow, they had become mine.
Kaelith turned back to me, smiling. “Aurelia,” he said, extending his hand again. “Come. I’d like a word in private.”
I barely had time to react before Gabriel stepped forward, positioning himself at my side.
Kaelith’s smile sharpened. “You will remain,” he said, voice laced with quiet command.
Gabriel didn’t move. A muscle jumped in his jaw. Blood trickled slowly from his nose, a thin crimson thread trailing down to his mouth.
I reached for him, placing my hand lightly on his arm. Gabriel flinched at the touch, but he listened.