Trigger Warning: This chapter includes graphic violence. Reader discretion is advised.
"You're a thorn in my side, Daphne," the empress spat, her eyes blazing with hatred.
"You think you're so beautiful, so charming, don't you? But you're nothing but a fleeting pleasure for the emperor. A momentary distraction."
"What do you want, Empress?"
"I want you to know the truth," the empress sneered. "I was the one who framed your family for embezzlement. I was the one who whispered lies in the emperor's ear, who watched as they were punished for their supposed crimes."
Daphne's face paled, her eyes widening in shock. "You... why?"
The empress's smile grew wider. "Because I hate you, Daphne."
" I hate your beauty, your charm, your place in the emperor's heart. You're a constant reminder of his infidelity, his lack of devotion to me."
"But the Emperor had concubines even before me."
"You're not just a thorn, Daphne, you're a poison," the empress continued, her voice venomous.
"The emperor had five other concubines before you, but I never felt threatened by them. They were nothing but mere decorations, after all. The emperor didn't even bother to learn their names. But you... you were different. You captivated him, body and soul. He ignored me, ignored the other concubines, and lavished all his attention on you."
The empress's eyes seemed to burn with jealousy. "And have you ever wondered, Daphne, why you've never been able to conceive? It's not just bad luck, is it?"
Daphne's eyes widened with unbelief, her eyes now welled up with tears as the empress's words cut deep into her soul.
"Why?" she whispered, her voice trembling.
"Why did you go to such lengths to ruin my life? I never attacked you, never provoked you. I stayed in my lane, minding my own business. But you... you destroyed my family, ruined my chances of having children, even sabotaged my relationship with the emperor, and now you're gloating about it?"
The empress's smile grew wider, "You really don't understand, do you? It's not just about you. It's about the emperor's attention, his affection. I've given him a prince, a heir. But he still chooses to lavish his attention on you, a mere consort."
Daphne's face contorted in anguish. "What more do you want? You've already won. You've borne him a son. "
"Why can't you just leave me alone?!"
The empress's laughter echoed in the silent chamber, cold and brittle as ice.
"Won? Don't be a fool, Daphne. I'll never truly win until you're gone. As long as you draw breath, you will be a reminder of his betrayal, a constant shadow in my marriage. And a son, you ask? My son is nothing more than a pawn in this endless game. The emperor holds him close, but it's out of duty, not love. It is you he loves, not me, not my son, not his duties as an emperor, but you."
Tears streamed down Daphne's face.
"You exist, that's what," the empress hissed, "He looks at you as if you are the sun, the moon, and all the stars. He never looked at me like that, not even on our wedding night. He looks at me and sees his duty, his lineage, his empress. But when he looks at you, he sees the woman he wants to hold. The woman he wants to laugh with, the woman he wants to have a family with."
The empress's voice dropped to a whisper, a cruel smile playing on her lips. "But I have a plan, Daphne. I've always had a plan. You see, the emperor may not be able to forget you, but what if he has to?"
Daphne's heart pounded in her chest, a sense of dread washing over her. "What do you mean?"
"I mean," the empress began, "that tonight, the guards will take you away, and a fever will consume a stand-in, so that by morning, the emperor would have lost his precious little Daphne. As he grieves, I will be there to comfort him, to remind him of his duty to his people, to his heir, to me. And he will learn to love me, just as he loved you."
Daphne was too weak to speak; the poison that the Empress had fed her with had begun to take effect.
"Guards!" the empress called out, her voice ringing through the corridors.
The door burst open, and three burly guards rushed in, their eyes fixed on Daphne. "Your Majesty?"
"Take her," her voice dripping with venom. "You know what to do."
With a swift motion, the guards closed in on Daphne, their hands grasping for her.
The empress's eyes never left Daphne's face, her smile twisted in a cruel grin. "You'll never bother me again," she hissed, her voice barely audible.
The guards' hands were rough as they seized Daphne.
She was too weak to fight back, the poison a cold, heavy weight in her veins.
As they dragged her from the room, she saw the empress's triumphant, hateful smile one last time before the doors slammed shut.
They came to a stop in a deserted clearing, far from familiar paths. A small, overgrown temple stood in the shadows,.
The guards unceremoniously dropped her to the ground. She hit the cold earth with a gasp.
"Finish it," one of the guards grunted, pulling a long dagger from his belt.
Just as the dagger flashed in the moonlight, a whirlwind of motion erupted from the darkness.
A shadow detached itself from the trees, moving with impossible speed.
The first guard crumpled to the ground. The second and third guards turned, swords drawn, but it was too late.
The shadow was a man. He moved with the deadly grace of a predator, his own sword a lethal extension of his arm. With two more swift, brutal movements, the remaining guards fell.
The man knelt beside Daphne, his face etched with desperate anguish.
It was General Alaric.
His strong hands cupped her face, and his voice, usually so steady and commanding, was now a hoarse whisper.
"Daphne," he rasped, his thumb brushing away a tear on her cheek. "You foolish woman. What have you done?"
She tried to speak, but only a gurgle escaped her lips. The poison was a fire, spreading from her stomach to her throat.
"Don't you dare close your eyes," he commanded, his voice shaking with a fury that wasn't directed at her.
He gathered her into his arms, pulling her head against his chest. "How could you let this happen? For him? For a man who couldn't even keep you safe? A man who let you rot in his gilded cage while I was out there, fighting his wars, always worried about you. Always. Stupid, stupid woman."
His words were harsh, but his touch was impossibly gentle. He pressed his forehead to hers, his ragged breaths warming her skin.
She could feel his heart hammering against her back.
"Just stay with me," he begged, his voice cracking.
"Please. I'll get you help. I'll find a cure. Just don't let go."
Daphne's vision was now a blur, the world shrinking to the sound of his voice and the feel of his arms around her.
She tried to lift her hand, to touch his face one last time, to tell him thank you. But her arm was too heavy, her body too weak.
The last thing she saw was the moonlight glint of tears in his eyes before the darkness finally took her.
His hand trembled as he reached for her, his fingers brushing against her cold cheek. He pulled her closer, his embrace a desperate attempt to hold onto something already gone.
He looked up at the sky in ragged sobs, grunting loudly.
His heart was wounded, bleeding.
"This world was not meant for us," he whispered, his voice thick with grief. "But in the next one, if there is a next one, I swear... I will do everything to be with you. I will make you my wife, and we will finally be one."