The Betrayal
The palace shook with war.
Cries rang out from the throne hall to the garden walls.
And at the center of it all—beneath the stained-glass dome of the throne room—Auren faced Varyx, the man he once called "uncle."
"You stood beside my father when I was a child," Auren said, golden light pulsing in his hands, fury in his eyes. "You blessed my birth."
"I did," Varyx sneered, drawing a blade etched with runes of dark blood-magic. "And I've regretted it ever since."
Guards clashed behind them, light and shadow magic colliding in streaks of fire.
"You were never meant to wear the crown," Varyx spat. "Nor your child. That throne belongs to power—not mercy."
"And you'll never sit on it," Auren growled.
They collided.
Magic cracked the floor beneath them. Light and dark flared as their blades met. One last battle between king and betrayer.
But Auren—noble, righteous, worn by war and grief—was tired.
When he turned to shield a fallen guard, Varyx struck.
The blade slid between Auren's ribs from behind.
He gasped—golden light spilling from his lips.
"You always trusted too easily," Varyx whispered coldly, letting him fall.
And with that, he turned toward the Queen's Tower.
---
The Mother's Stand
Elara stood alone in her chambers, hands clenched over her belly.
Her child moved within her—light magic pulsing gently under her skin.
The guards outside had fallen silent.
She knew he was coming.
Kael's protective shield still shimmered faintly over her—his last gift before leaving for the border. It wouldn't last long.
But she remembered everything he'd taught her.
How to anchor.
How to deflect.
How to fight—not with fury, but with purpose.
"I won't let you take him," she whispered, summoning magic to her fingers—warm light and crackling shadow, swirling together.
The door shattered.
Varyx entered, face streaked with ash and blood, sword raised high.
"You're still pregnant," he mused with a smirk. "Even better. Kill two heirs at once."
Elara didn't flinch.
"I am the Crown Princess of Aetheria," she said, voice low. "And I will burn before I let you touch my child."
He lunged.
---
Kael's Return
A sound split the air like thunder—
Glass shattered.
Kael crashed through the window behind Varyx, his armor broken, skin torn, blood dripping from a wound to his side.
He didn't speak.
He just moved.
Kael slammed into Varyx, dragging him to the floor. The two rolled across the stone, blades flashing, magic exploding in bursts of black and red.
Despite his wounds, Kael overpowered him with sheer rage.
Then, standing over the man who murdered his brother and tried to kill Elara and the unborn heir—
Kael raised his sword.
And brought it down.
Again.
And again.
And again.
Until nothing of Varyx remained but blood and ruin.
---
The Broken Blade
Silence returned.
Kael stood panting, hand trembling.
He turned—his body swaying from blood loss—and met Elara's wide, tear-filled eyes.
For the first time, his voice cracked.
"I always loved you," he said, broken. "From the first dream… before I knew your name. I hated myself for it. I tried to stay away."
He sank to his knees.
"But I couldn't let you die. Not you. Not his child. Not our future."
Elara crossed the room and knelt beside him, her hands reaching to cup his face.
"You came back," she whispered.
His eyes burned with tears. "I'd come back from death itself for you."
And there, among shattered glass and spilled blood, Elara wrapped her arms around the man of shadow, as he finally mourned—his brother, his heart, and all he never thought he deserved.
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