_____
Hakan
The moment the courier finished speaking, the gilded walls of the council chamber seemed to close in on me.
"Kashudak?" I repeated slowly. "Are you telling me… the child is in Kashudak?"
My voice was steady, but beneath it, something ancient stirred—coils of dragonfire tightening around my heart. Kashudak was not merely remote. It was a land of eternal frost, a place where even seasoned warriors froze solid within minutes. A place no ordinary human could survive.
The advisors seated along the velvet-lined chamber shifted uneasily. Their silence was confirmation enough.
Suddenly, a chair scraped violently against the marble floor.
"SPRINT!" Captain Sol roared as he leapt to his feet, his weathered face pale with urgency. "We have to leave immediately! Who knows what that shifter might do if we waste even a second?!"
He didn't need to explain. I could already see it—dark magic tightening around my child's fragile body, greedy hands reaching for power that did not belong to them.
The golden-haired man beside him, one of my most trusted advisors, nodded sharply. "He's right. You should prepare at once, Your Majesty."
"I will," I replied without hesitation. Every instinct screamed for me to move, to tear through distance and snow and fate itself if I had to.
But then—
"There's a problem."
The Captain of the Royal Guard spoke, his tone restrained but heavy with grim certainty. He stepped forward, eyes lowered in reluctant honesty.
"We can't all go."
The golden-haired advisor continued, his words carefully measured, as if afraid they might shatter something fragile. "Most humans cannot endure Kashudak's temperatures. Even with protective gear, they would freeze before reaching the inner valley."
I felt my chest tighten.
"Excluding His Majesty," he added quietly, "who is a guardian dragon… everyone else would perish."
Perish.
The word echoed far louder than it should have.
I clenched my fists. I had faced battlefields soaked in blood, watched cities burn, and made decisions that altered the fate of nations—but this… this helplessness gnawed at me in a way no enemy ever had.
"I wish I could take you all," I said at last, my voice low. "But I won't lead loyal soldiers to their deaths."
I drew in a breath, steadying myself. "There's something I must take care of first."
Then I turned—and saw Lucina.
She stood frozen near the edge of the chamber, her white hair cascading over shoulders still too thin, too fragile from everything she had endured. When our eyes met, she crossed the distance in an instant and clutched my chest, her fingers trembling as if afraid I might vanish.
"It's our child," she whispered. "So of course I wanted to go with you…"
My heart fractured.
"Lucina…" I covered her hands with mine, feeling how cold they still were, how weak. "Your body hasn't recovered yet." I lowered my forehead to hers. "Please. Leave this to me."
Her eyes shimmered, tears unshed but dangerously close. "You'll bring them back… won't you?"
"I swear it," I said, every word carved into my soul. "I will protect our child this time. No matter what it costs."
She nodded slowly, trusting me with something more precious than my crown.
A hesitant voice spoke from behind us. "Are you… leaving right now?"
Before I could answer, a ripple of unease swept through the chamber.
"Chatter, chatter."
Whispers. Guards shifting. Courtiers glancing nervously at one another.
My instincts sharpened instantly.
"This is bad," I caught someone muttering. "I didn't expect Lucina to come back…"
I turned.
The room fell silent the moment my gaze landed on them. Two men stood stiffly among the gathered nobles, their expressions carefully neutral—but I had ruled long enough to recognize rot beneath polish.
"You're all here," I said calmly, my voice carrying across the chamber.
They bowed, masks snapping into place.
"Hmph," one of them muttered, far too quietly for courtesy, yet not quietly enough for safety. "It doesn't matter. She still can't bear kingly children. We just need to stick to the plan… strengthen our forces…"
My jaw tightened.
So. Even now.
Treason would have its reckoning—but not today.
My child was waiting. Freezing. Fighting to breathe.
I turned my back on them, stepping toward the light streaming in from the tall windows. The dragon mark on my chest pulsed faintly beneath my robes, responding to my resolve.
"The reason I gathered you here today," I began, my voice ringing with final authority,
"is because I have an important announcement to make."
---
I turned from Lucina, the lingering warmth of her slender, cold hands still pressing against mine, the echo of her trust heavy on my chest. My vow to protect our child reverberated in every fiber of my being. Yet there was no time to linger. The court awaited, a nest of whispers, of opportunistic glances and barely concealed malice.
Giaret's voice sliced through the murmurs. "Are you going to leave right now?" The satisfaction in her tone was palpable, a quiet triumph she believed she had earned.
I stepped deliberately forward, my shadow stretching long across the polished marble floor, a living testament to the authority I wielded. "You're all here," I declared, my voice carrying the weight of the Guardian Dragon. Instantly, the room fell silent. Courtiers froze mid-whisper. Even the walls seemed to lean closer, straining to hear.
I met Giaret's eyes. She looked at me with that self-assured entitlement she had always worn so effortlessly, smug and calculating. Judging by the fact he called me here too, he must've had a change of heart. This might disrupt their plans a bit, but that's not my problem. I don't care what it takes as long as I get to become Queen.
Her arrogance burned like poison, yet it steeled my resolve. I would not leave my kingdom vulnerable to internal discord while my child's life hung by a thread.
"The reason I gathered you here today," I began, letting the calm of authority settle over the chamber, "is because I have an important announcement to make."
I swept my gaze over the assembly, lingering on Giaret. "As everyone here already knows, I recently lost my child to the Slayers," I continued, the lie carefully measured to protect the truth from prying eyes. "The reason I overlooked your actions in releasing Giaret is because I couldn't afford to leave this kingdom in chaos." I allowed the words to sink in, letting the weight of royal authority and controlled truth press down upon the room.
"If the situation required it," I added, letting the necessary tension build, "I would need to consider having children with Giaret."
A low murmur rippled through the court, and I saw her smirk widen, the triumphant gleam in her eyes a silent confirmation of her belief in victory.
"However…"
My voice dropped, edged with a feral coldness that silenced even the boldest whispers. The last flicker of her smug certainty faltered, and the mask of entitlement began to crack.
"…that's no longer necessary."
My glare was enough to make her flinch. The guards, unwavering and precise, surged forward, seizing her before she could even gasp.
"What are you doing, Your Majesty?!" she shrieked, panic finally shattering her composure.
I stepped closer, my voice low but absolute, each word a hammer against her carefully constructed web of deceit. "Thanks to Gillai and the Cardinal's assistance…" Her face drained of color as realization struck. "…I was able to find out that my child is still alive."
The horror that spread across her features was exquisite in its finality. The conspirators who had lingered in shadows visibly recoiled, understanding that their schemes had crumbled in a single, decisive moment.
"From now on, anyone who makes any inappropriate comments about succession planning will be punished. Furthermore, for the crimes of conspiring with traitors to commit treason… and showing contempt for the King and his partner…"
Giaret's voice became a frantic whine, a mask stripped away entirely. "There seems to be a misunderstanding, Your Majesty! I wouldn't dream of committing treason! I simply wished… to stay by your side as Queen!"
I ignored her pleading, the metallic tang of fear in the air, and the faint, sinister magic that hissed from the ornate skull and crimson vial she had attempted to conceal. My decision was final.
"Former Queen Giaret is to be executed immediately."
The guards complied silently, dragging her from the chamber, leaving only the cold echo of her screams behind.
I turned away from the chaos, already halfway to Kashudak in my mind. The image of my child, vulnerable and frozen, burned brighter than any throne or crown. The cold blue aura of my dragon power began to manifest, wrapping around me like a second skin, as I prepared to leave the court and face the perilous journey ahead.
The kingdom was secured. The traitor punished. My focus was now singular: retrieving my son.
Certainly. Below is a fully expanded novel-style version of your provided passage, enriching emotion, pacing, and atmosphere, while ending exactly where your passage ends. I do not continue beyond the opening clash setup in Kashudak.
🩸 Justice and Departure (Expanded, First-Person — King Hakan)
"Former Queen Giaret is to be executed immediately!"
My decree shattered the throne room like a blade striking stone. For a heartbeat, the court was frozen—breathless, suspended between disbelief and terror.
Giaret's face twisted violently, panic curdling into fury. "There seems to be a misunderstanding, Your Majesty!" she screamed, thrashing against the guards restraining her. "I wouldn't dream of committing treason! I simply wished… to stay by your side as Queen!"
Her voice grated against my ears like nails on glass.
I walked past her without sparing a glance, the glowing skull and fizzing crimson vial she had relied upon lying abandoned on the floor. All her schemes, her dark magic, her ambition—worthless now.
"You still don't understand, Giaret," I said quietly, my tone far more dangerous than a shout. "As long as Lucina is my partner, it is a grave crime to covet her place."
A sharp intake of breath rippled through the court.
Then—foolishness.
One of her remaining sympathizers, a thin man with shaking hands, broke from the crowd. "My lady—no, that foolish girl left you!" he shouted desperately. "How can she be Queen when she abandoned her own kingdom?!"
Before I could respond, my golden-haired captain spun on him, fury blazing. "She didn't abandon this kingdom," he snapped. "She was driven out by people like you!"
The man recoiled, but I ended it with a single, crushing glare. Silence fell instantly, thick and absolute. There would be no more debate.
"What are you doing?" I commanded coldly. "Proceed. Now."
"Yes, Your Majesty!"
The guard restraining Giaret moved without hesitation, producing a slender, gleaming instrument—swift, efficient, merciless.
"N-No—!" Giaret shrieked, her voice cracking as the guard forced the poison to her lips. "UGH—! GULP, GULP, GULP—!"
Her body hit the stone floor with a dull flop. One violent convulsion—then stillness.
I felt nothing. No triumph. No regret. Only certainty.
Her final thought brushed against my senses, sharp and venomous even in death:
If I had known this was going to happen, I would've had that impudent girl killed sooner…
I turned away, my patience spent. The power I had been restraining surged outward, dark violet and crimson energy spiraling around my body like a storm. My cloak fell open, baring the dragon tattoo carved across my skin—a living mark of judgment.
"Clean up this mess," I ordered.
"YES, YOUR MAJESTY!" the guards replied in unison, their voices trembling.
I cast one final look across the remaining courtiers, my gaze lingering on the man who had dared to speak. "Anyone who defends the traitor Giaret… will share her fate."
They bowed deeply, fear etched into every movement.
The rot was gone.
I drew my cloak around myself, the cold blue energy of my passage crackling faintly through the air. My focus narrowed to a single truth.
My child was waiting.
Giaret's lifeless form lay behind me, her hatred extinguished at last. I faced the remaining court, my voice heavy with unyielding authority.
"Anyone who defends the traitor Giaret," I said slowly, "or seeks to claim mine and Lucina's position… will be executed in the same manner."
A wave of terror swept the chamber.
"But," I continued, offering one final path forward, "those who swear loyalty to me will be spared."
The response was immediate.
They fell to their knees as one, foreheads striking stone. One man—a former supporter of Giaret—scrambled forward desperately.
"Your Majesty!" he cried. "Great King, radiant sun of this land! I swear my life to you and my lady!"
Others echoed him frantically. "I swear loyalty!" "We swear to serve you!"
My captain, Turan, knelt before me, his voice solemn. "Great King of Tayar… may you always bring prosperity and honor to this land."
I met his gaze and gave a grim nod. "I know your devotion, Turan. But remember—respect those you serve."
"Yes, Your Majesty," he replied, bowing deeply.
With the kingdom secured, my chest bare and power surging beneath my skin, I exhaled slowly.
"With this," I declared, "my preparations are complete."
Blue, scintillating magic enveloped me, roaring to life. "Now… I bring back my child."
A violent WHOOSH tore through the palace as I launched myself skyward, leaving the throne room—and treachery—behind.
The frozen air of Kashudak bit against my skin, insignificant compared to the fury burning within me. I arrived in an explosion of frost and light, snow whipping violently around my landing point.
My eyes locked instantly onto her.
Marissa.
She stood over a small bundle in the snow—my son. His movements were weak, his breath shallow, dark magic visibly siphoning his life away.
"I'm glad I'm not too late," I said, my voice deadly calm.
Her accomplice turned, terror flooding his face as he sensed my power. The ground trembled violently.
A grotesque red beast erupted from the snow with a thunderous ROAR—a mockery of a true dragon.
Marissa screamed as it turned on her accomplice, casting him aside to focus on its true target.
My child.
"I won't let you have your way, Marissa," I snarled, unleashing the blue and fiery essence of my dragon power.
She only smirked, brushing her blonde hair back. "Do you really think you can face me alone?" Her voice dripped with cruelty. "Pride always comes before a fall, child. That's how your brother died."
The words struck like a blade.
Pain. Rage. Fire.
My power exploded outward in a brilliant storm of ice and flame as I surged forward.
"This is where you die," I roared. "Do your worst!"