KAEL POV
She woke alone.
For a moment Kael just lay there, listening to the silence of the chambers. The bed was too big. The pillows were too soft. The sheets smelled like Darius's cologne and like fear, which she realized was hers.
When had she started smelling like fear?
His side of the bed was cold. He'd been gone for hours. She tried not to think about where he might have gone. Who he might have been with. She tried not to care.
It was easier when he was here. Easier to be angry at him when she could see his face.
Kael got out of bed and went to the mirror.
The woman looking back at her wore a white nightgown that belonged to a queen. Her dark hair fell down her back in waves. Her silver eyes were the same color they'd always been but they looked different now. Like something inside them had cracked.
She looked beautiful.
She looked hollow.
She looked like someone who'd given up everything and was only now understanding what that meant.
There was a knock at the door.
Servants came in with breakfast on silver trays. They didn't look at her directly. Servants never did. They moved around her like she was furniture, setting up food she wouldn't eat, opening curtains she didn't want opened.
One of them, an older woman with grey streaking through her dark hair, finally made eye contact.
"The King wants you in the throne room for breakfast," the woman said carefully. "The council is waiting."
Of course they were. Nothing happened in this empire without the council knowing about it. And nothing was more interesting to a council than a conquered woman being married to their king.
Kael dressed in clothes that weren't hers. A gown of deep blue Valorian silk with gold threads woven through. A queen's crown that felt like pressure on her skull. Rings that weren't the black iron one. She didn't look like herself anymore.
That was probably the point.
The throne room was full when she arrived.
Courtiers lined the walls like they'd been waiting for her. Their eyes tracked her every movement. Some of them bowed. Others just watched. She could feel the questions hanging in the air like smoke.
Was she really the last mage of Meridian? Would she betray the king? Could you trust someone whose empire had just been destroyed?
Kael smiled like none of it mattered. Like their whispers didn't burn.
Darius sat at the head of the breakfast table. He wore all black except for the silver circlet on his head. When he saw her, something changed in his face. Like someone had lit a fire behind his eyes.
He watched her walk across the room like she was the only thing keeping him alive.
It made her furious.
She took her seat across from him. Far enough away that they didn't have to talk. Close enough that she could feel the weight of his gaze on her.
"You slept well?" he asked.
It wasn't a real question. He knew she hadn't slept. He'd probably heard about her magic burning through the palace last night. Everyone had probably heard about it.
"Fine," she said.
"Your magic seems to have settled."
She cut a piece of bread and didn't answer. Let him wonder. Let him think about what her magic did when she was near him. Let him understand that she was dangerous even if she was trapped in this golden cage.
A woman appeared at the table. Copper skin. Eyes like smoke.
Lyris.
She set a plate of fruit between them and smiled like they were friends. Like she hadn't been watching Kael at the wedding with murder in her expression.
"Your Majesty," Lyris said, her voice smooth as poison. "How lovely to see you at breakfast. I was concerned after last night. The noise from your chambers was quite alarming. I hope everything is well."
The entire room went quiet.
Kael felt the blood rush to her face. Everyone was listening now. Everyone was hearing the implication. That she and Darius had been together in her chambers. That she'd been screaming.
That they'd done what newly married couples do.
"I had a nightmare," Kael said calmly. "Nothing more."
"Of course," Lyris said. She turned to Darius. "Though I do wonder, Your Majesty, if we should be concerned about our new queen's stability. Two years in captivity can damage the mind. Perhaps she needs rest instead of appearing at court."
It was a perfect trap. Suggest Kael was weak or unstable and the court would doubt her. Suggest she was unfit and the council might wonder if the king had made a mistake.
Darius's expression didn't change but his voice dropped low. "My wife is exactly where she needs to be."
"I'm sure she is," Lyris said sweetly. "Though some people in court are wondering if the marriage was truly wise. If a conquered enemy should really be wearing a queen's crown."
Kael stood up.
She set her napkin down carefully. She met Lyris's smoke-colored eyes with her own silver ones. And she smiled like they weren't in a room full of people. Like this was just between them.
"Thank you for your concern," Kael said. "It's clear you care deeply about the welfare of this kingdom. I hope that care extends to not spreading rumors about the queen. That could be seen as treason."
The threat hung in the air.
Lyris's smile didn't falter but something dark flashed behind her eyes. She understood. Understood that Kael was no fragile prisoner anymore.
Understood that a mage made queen was still a mage.
"I would never speak treason," Lyris said sweetly. "I'm merely looking out for Valorian's best interests."
"Of course you are," Kael said.
She excused herself from the table without waiting for permission. Without waiting for Darius to respond. She just left the room with her head high and her hands shaking.
She could feel the court watching her go. Could feel the whispers starting immediately after she disappeared into the hallway. The conquered queen who'd walked away from breakfast. The mage who'd threatened the Chancellor's niece. The woman who was either incredibly brave or incredibly stupid.
Kael didn't know which one she was anymore.
She walked through corridors she didn't recognize. Passed guards who straightened when they saw her. Kept moving until she found a chamber that was empty.
It was some kind of study. Books lined the walls. A fire burned in the hearth. Sunlight came through windows that overlooked the palace gardens.
She sank into a chair and let herself breathe.
Her magic was moving again. Not burning like last night but moving. Restless. Like it wanted to fight something.
The door opened without warning.
Darius came in and closed it behind him. His expression was dangerous.
"You can't talk to Lyris like that," he said. "Not publicly. Not where everyone can hear you making threats."
"She was making threats," Kael shot back. "I was defending myself."
"You were giving the entire court ammunition to use against you. They'll say you're unstable. That you're using your power to intimidate people. That marrying you was a mistake."
"Maybe it was."
The words came out sharp and true.
Darius went still. When he looked at her, there was something raw in his expression. Something that looked almost like pain.
"Is that what you think?" he asked quietly.
She should say yes. Should tell him that marrying him was the worst decision she'd ever made. Should push him away while she still could.
Instead she said nothing.
Because the truth was more complicated. The truth was that she was angry at him for making her feel something. Angry that he cared about her when it made everything harder. Angry that standing in this room with him made her forget for a second what he'd done to her empire.
Angry that she couldn't seem to hate him anymore.
Darius moved closer. He didn't touch her but he was close enough that she could feel his warmth.
"I need you to trust me," he said. "Just a little bit. Just enough to let me protect you."
"I don't need protection. I need answers."
"About what?"
Before she could answer, the door burst open.
A guard stood in the doorway. His face was pale. His hands were shaking.
"Your Majesty," the guard said to Darius. "There's been an incident in the dungeons. A prisoner has escaped. One of the Meridian survivors being held there. He claims to have information about the war. About how your kingdom breached our magical barrier."
Kael's heart stopped.
She looked at Darius and saw his face go completely blank. Like someone had turned off all the lights inside him at once.
"Which prisoner?" she asked.
The guard looked at her uncertainly.
"His name was Kellan," the guard said. "He was one of the Meridian palace servants during the invasion. He was saying something about betrayal. About someone inside your royal family helping the king."
The world tilted.
Inside her royal family. Someone she trusted. Someone she loved.
Kael understood in that moment that whatever Darius had been trying to protect her from, it was going to come out now.
And when it did, everything was going to burn.