Everyone paced around the chamber in tight circles, tension squeezing the air. It was no longer just the queen they were waiting for; everyone had realized the truth — the queen’s life was now tied to Lumina’s. Only when Lumina woke would the queen return to consciousness. Only when Lumina breathed properly again would Queen Sephora rise.
But Lumina did not respond.
Not a movent.
Not a sound.
Only her shallow breathing, weak and fading.
Adam’s worry grew into sothing ugly that twisted inside him. He paced so much that his footsteps had carved patterns into the floor. His frustration broke the room apart with every breath he took. "Why isn’t she waking?" he muttered, his voice breaking. "How long is this supposed to take?"
Lord Drex finally stepped out from behind the curtain where he had been tending to the queen. He paused, looking at Adam and Alexis, both frustrated in their own ways. His face was drained — too many patients, too little hope. His daughter was watching over the king in another chamber, and he had not rested for more than a few breaths in days.
"How is she now?" Adam demanded the mont Drex appeared.
Lord Drex exhaled slowly. "Prince..." he began gently, "I do not wish to give you more worries than you already carry. But I must ask... what exactly did you do to the princess? She is not responding to the treatnts. Not to a single one."
"What?!" Adam shouted, the sound echoing off the walls.
"This should not be this hard," Lord Drex continued. "She is not supposed to have this much resistance. How could she—"
Adam cut him off by groaning and dragging his hands through his hair in frustration, nearly pulling it out. "How is she stronger than this? What is wrong with her body? Why isn’t she—?!"
Before he could finish, Stella burst into tears so violently that the sound pierced the room. She collapsed to her knees before Lord Drex.
"My lady... please... do sothing... save my lady... Lord Drex... I beg you..." Her cries cracked and broke into sobs that bounced painfully off the walls.
"Throw her out!" soone barked. The order ca sharp and fast.
Adam moved first. He rushed toward Stella as if he intended to wring her neck for crying, fury exploding off his skin — but before he could reach her, Alexis struck him back with a single blow. The force sent Adam stumbling. Everyone froze.
"You want your mother alive, do you?" Alexis said coldly.
Adam instantly halted. Stella was grabbed and pushed out through the door, thrown so roughly she landed on her hands and knees. Tears blurred her sight as she tried to stand.
She paced outside the hall, trembling, her mind spinning with fear for Lumina. Her hands shook uncontrollably. She kept repeating the sa words under her breath: "My lady... my lady... please..."
Just then, Aria appeared at the end of the corridor.
Stella ran toward her imdiately, anger flaring. "What is going on?" she yelled. "How can you ask what is going on? Were you not supposed to protect her? And you left without a word!"
Aria swallowed, guilt crawling into her face. "I needed to save the prince," she replied quietly.
"The prince? Then tell — what is wrong with him? Why hasn’t he co to save her?" Stella fired back, furious.
"He has been unconscious all this while," Aria said, barely audible. "He could not co. And where is Ero? Why hasn’t he co out or said a word? What happened to him?"
"I was in a dungeon this whole ti!" Stella cried. "And my lady lost consciousness because that prince — Prince Alexis — attacked her!"
Aria’s eyes flew wide. "What?"
"Where is Ero then?!" Stella demanded. "Why couldn’t he do sothing?!"
"I do not know," Aria answered, voice shaking now. "He might have been locked in the chambers..."
Her sentence trailed off into dread.
Stella felt her stomach drop. Aria clutched her own chest. "I have a bad feeling about this. Ero would be up and worried about the prince... why hasn’t he said a word?"
The two won exchanged sharp, fearful glances. Then both ran toward the chambers at once.
But Stella suddenly stopped mid-run. Aria turned back, confused.
"You go," Stella said breathlessly. "Check after him. I need to stay with the princess. I am scared they’ll hurt her if I leave."
Aria nodded and sprinted away.
The mont she reached the chambers, she felt sothing was wrong. Too quiet. No sound of movent. No whisper of breath. The silence was heavy.
She pushed the door open.
Her eyes widened instantly — and nearly dropped her to her knees.
Blood. Everywhere.
Splattered across the walls. Soaked into the floor. Flies buzzed thick in the air. A heavy, rotting sll suffocated the entire place.
"A massacre..." Aria whispered, voice trembling. "A massacre happened here..."
She covered her mouth with her hand, eyes burning with tears. She walked deeper into the room, her heart twisting at the sight of fallen servants — people who had done nothing but serve.
She took another step forward — then froze.
A soft movent. Very small. Very quick.
She turned sharply, ready to defend herself. Sothing rushed past her in a blur. Aria steadied herself, breathing hard. She waited.
"You," she called. "You are the one who wiped out this chamber. Show yourself."
A voice replied from the shadows, mocking. "And what are you going to do if I show myself?"
Aria gritted her teeth. "Coward. You must have been waiting for ."
The voice laughed, loud and cruel. "Waiting? I wander the halls and shadows of Prince Ashen. I know every whisper of him. And you... it seems you are the one."
"Do NOT call that na without title!" Aria yelled.
He laughed fuller this ti — a deep, cruel sound.
He launched a wave of force at her. She dodged, flipping over the attack, but the blow cracked the stone behind her.
Aria felt a shift of shadow behind her. She vanished instantly and reappeared behind the attacker. She tried to grab him — but he slipped like smoke, disappearing and reappearing with speed that made him a blur.
"Where is Ero?!" Aria shouted in fury.
Another laugh. "You think I will kill him easily? No... no no... he will die slowly. Very slowly. He will BEG for death before I give it to him."
Aria rushed to strike again — but the figure caught her by the wrist and twisted. She hissed in pain but teleported away instantly, reappearing several feet back.
Another blur of movent — and this ti, a dagger flew from his hand so fast she barely saw it.
The blade struck her chest — deep.
She gasped, the air leaving her body. Her knees weakened. The attacker smiled at her, proud.
"You’re too little for ," he said. "I love watching people die in pain."
Aria grabbed the dagger hilt, groaning as she tried to pull it free. Blood poured out of her mouth.
"Who... who are you?" she choked. "Who sent you?"
"Well," he said lightly, walking closer, "let give you a proper send-off. I will show you who I am. You can SEE ... but you can NEVER tell anyone I was alive."
He rushed her, and before she could dodge — the second dagger slamd into her right eye.
Aria scread. The pain ripped through her skull. She fell to the ground, clutching her bleeding face, gasping.
The man threw off his cloak, revealing himself at last.
Aria’s one good eye widened. "You... you’re still alive?" she whispered in disbelief.
Cyres laughed — a wild, victorious laugh. "Too bad you won’t be able to tell your master," he said.
Before she could answer, he grabbed a body lying near him — a servant who had crawled near her — and snapped its head off with monstrous ease. The sound was sickening. He roared in laughter.
"Prince Ashen," Cyres shouted to the air, "I win! Let us see how your wife feels when she watches her closest lady DIE!"
His laughter rang through the chamber —
Then vanished.
A sharp, brutal sound erupted as sothing stabbed through his back.
Cyres’s eyes widened. Blood poured from his mouth. He looked down — a sharp claw burst straight through his chest, holding his heart.
Aria blinked, stunned, blood still dripping down her face.
The attacker turned slightly — and saw her.
The prism. The one who should not have been there.
She held his heart in her clawed hand, smirking coldly.
"Are you surprised now?" she asked.
"You... you..." Cyres gasped, reaching out for her.
She leaned closer, laughing wickedly. "You... you... you..." she mocked him exactly the way he had mocked her.
She kicked him, forcing him down.
"I find it funny," she said, "that you think you can kill anyone close to my lord. Especially when I can clone myself into a hundred of ."
Cyres gasped, eyes dimming. "How..." he tried to speak.
Before he finished, the dagger he had thrown earlier rose from the ground, floating, twisting in the air — the sharp edge hovering inches from his face.
Aria smirked.
"I love watching soone die in pain," she said, repeating his own words.
"So I will not give you an easy death. Your lord lied about your death... but I will make use of that now."
She threw her head back and broke into a peal of wicked laughter.
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