Chapter Ten: The Fall of a Prince
The silence in the throne room was deep—dangerous.
Kael stood frozen, the polished marble beneath him suddenly feeling more like ice.
I held his gaze.
I wanted him to flinch.
I wanted him to feel even an echo of the betrayal I once lived through.
Instead, he smiled.
A brittle, desperate smile.
"You forged it," he said to the court. "She's desperate, and she'll say anything to cling to power."
The Chancellor stepped forward. "The seal is genuine. The ink and parchment were verified by the scribes."
Kael's mask slipped—just a crack. "Then someone planted it. Framed me."
I stepped forward, my voice cutting clean through the chamber.
"Commander Vale signed that report before he died. His signature is there. His blood is in the margins. And hundreds of ghosts stand behind me right now, screaming for justice."
A murmur spread through the court.
Even the King leaned forward, eyes sharp for the first time in weeks.
"I trusted you," he said, voice hoarse.
Kael turned to him, suddenly a boy again. "Father—"
"No," the King growled. "You dishonored your command. You cost us lives. You would've cost us the crown."
Kael turned to me, eyes dark. "You did this."
"I finished what you started."
The King rose, slowly but with undeniable power.
"Prince Kael Seravyn, you are hereby stripped of your title, your claim to the throne, and your command. You will await trial under armed guard."
Gasps rippled across the floor.
Kael lunged.
Not at the King.
At me.
But Caden was faster.
Steel flashed. A blade pressed to Kael's throat before he took a second step.
Caden's voice was ice. "Touch her, and I'll bleed you where you stand."
Kael stared at him, then at me.
For a moment, he looked like the boy I used to know.
Then he laughed.
"I should've let them hang you."
"And now," I whispered, "you'll watch me rule."
Guards seized him, dragging him from the chamber.
I didn't look away until the door slammed shut.
Only then did I breathe.
Only then did I feel my legs shake.
Caden stepped close, catching my arm gently.
"You stood alone," he said quietly. "And still, you won."
I looked at the throne.
The court.
The future.
"Not alone," I whispered.
And not finished.
Not yet.
To be Continued...