The Queen Mother raised her hand.
I could tell she didn’t want to hear me anymore.
My eyes flicked across the room in panic—and that was when I saw Aurora.
She was smiling.
Calm.
Certain.
Like she had already won.
She returned to the bedside, took the Queen Mother’s hand, and squeezed it tightly.
“Mummy,” she said softly, “I think you should punish her.”
The room went still.
Aurora stood again, slow and composed, pacing once across the floor like she was thinking aloud.
Then she lifted her left index finger to her lips—innocent, almost childish.
A performance.
She stopped right in front of me.
Removed her finger slowly.
And placed her hand on my shoulder.
“Her punishment,” she said clearly, “should be her disqualification from the competition.”
A small smile curved on her lips.
Then she turned away, as if I no longer mattered, and walked back toward the bed.
Something inside me snapped.
“No—you can’t!” I shouted.
I rushed forward and dropped to my knees in front of the Queen Mother.
My palms pressed together tightly.
“Please,” I begged.
“Don’t do this.
I didn’t do anything wrong.”
My voice shook.
But the Queen Mother didn’t respond.
She stayed silent.
I tried to defend myself.
“No… it’s not me,” I said, my voice breaking as tears streamed down my face.
“I didn’t do anything.
Please… please believe me.
They’re all lying to you.”
I stepped forward instinctively and reached for the Queen Mother’s dress.
But she shoved my hands away.
Hard.
I froze.
Silence filled the room again.
Then the Queen Mother finally spoke.
“You tried to kill me.”
Her voice was cold.
“And yet… you also used your beast to save me.”
Her eyes narrowed as she looked at me with pure disgust.
“So you will not be disqualified.”
My breath caught slightly.
She continued immediately.
“But…”
My fingers tightened.
“But for your actions,” she said firmly, “you will be punished.”
I swallowed hard.
“You are hereby banned from attending any royal family events.”
The words landed like a slap.
For a second, I didn’t know how to react.
Then—strangely—I gave a small, broken smile.
Relief and disbelief mixing together.
But that moment didn’t last.
Aurora suddenly stood up.
“NO, Mummy!”
Her voice cracked through the room.
“You can’t do this!
You can’t let her continue in this contest!”
She pointed directly at me.
“She tried to kill you!
And you’re still allowing her to participate?
A punishment like this is nothing!”
Her breathing was sharp now, anger rising.
“This is not justice!”
“You can’t just let her go free this easily.”
Aurora stepped forward again, her voice rising with urgency as she pointed at me.
“Her punishment should be disqualification—banned from the kingdom—or even execution for what she has done.”
Lucien immediately moved forward, his expression darkening, but I quickly reached out and stopped him.
“Don’t,” I whispered.
He paused, still tense.
Aurora turned sharply toward the Queen Mother.
“And her beasts… her slaves should also be killed.
They are dangerous.
They cannot be allowed to live.”
Lucien’s expression shifted instantly.
He took a step forward, clearly angry.
But I held him back again.
“Lucien, stop.”
Before anything else could happen, Aurora raised her voice again.
“Mummy!
Did you see that?
Her beast just tried to attack me.”
“THAT’S ENOUGH!”
The Queen Mother’s voice thundered through the room.
Everything went silent.
Aurora froze mid-sentence.
She opened her mouth again, softer this time.
“But, Mummy,”
“I SAID THAT’S ENOUGH.”
The Queen Mother’s expression was cold now, exhausted.
“Everyone… leave this place.
Now.”
Her eyes swept across the room.
“Especially you, Aurora.”
Aurora stiffened.
The Queen Mother’s voice lowered slightly, sharp with finality.
“I’ve had enough drama for one day.”
Silence fell heavily over the room.
Lucien stepped closer to me and gently pulled me up.
“Let’s go, Master,” he said quietly.
I nodded faintly.
Just as we turned to leave
Aurora stepped in front of us.
Without warning, she shoved me hard.
I stumbled backward.
But before I could hit the ground
Lucien caught me instantly.
His arms wrapped around me, steadying me before I could fall.
For a moment, everything blurred.
Then he lifted me fully into his arms.
His grip tightened slightly, protective.
And without another word, he carried me out of the room.
Lucien carried me all the way to the carriage without saying a word.
The silence between us felt heavy, almost suffocating, as if neither of us knew what to say after everything that had happened.
Just as we were about to reach the carriage, he finally spoke.
“Are you okay?” he asked quietly.
“Yes,” I answered quickly, then hesitated.
“And… what about you?
Are you okay?”
He nodded.
“Yes.”
But I didn’t believe him.
Not fully.
Because I could see it in the way he walked—slower than usual, slightly unsteady, like every step cost him something.
He was in pain, even if he refused to admit it.
Still, he didn’t complain.
We reached the carriage at last.
Inside, the others were already waiting.
Kael was the first to notice us.
He stepped out immediately.
“Master… you’re hurt.”
Before I could even respond, Kael moved forward and gently lifted me out of Lucien’s arms.
“I’ve got her,” he said simply.
Then he carried me into the carriage.
But even as he placed me down, my eyes stayed fixed on Lucien.
He didn’t move at first.
He just stood there for a moment longer than necessary, watching.
And I saw it.
Something flickered in his expression.
Jealousy.
Not loud.
Not obvious.
But sharp enough for me to notice.
His jaw tightened slightly as Kael turned away with me in his arms.
Lucien finally looked away and stepped into the carriage after us, but the air between them had already changed.
And I could feel it.
Something unspoken.
Something dangerous.
While we were inside the carriage heading back, the atmosphere felt unusually quiet.
The kind of silence that followed chaos.
Sylas was the first to break it.
“Were you able to save the Queen Mother?” he asked calmly.
I nodded.
“Yes.
Thanks to Lucien.
He saved her.”
A brief pause followed.
The weight of what we had just survived settled over the carriage again.
Adrian sat quietly across from us, his hands clasped tightly together.
His head was lowered, his expression unreadable for a moment.
Then he spoke, his voice low.
“How could Aurora do something like this…”
There was pain in his words.
Not just anger.
Betrayal.
The carriage fell silent again, each of them lost in their own thoughts as the reality of Aurora’s actions lingered between us like a shadow.
Cassian turned his attention toward Lucien and me.
“What did the Queen Mother say?” he asked.
“Did you tell her the truth?”
I let out a shaky breath.
“We tried,” I said.
“We told her everything, but she didn’t believe us.”
My voice tightened slightly.
“Aurora accused us of trying to kill the Queen Mother.
She even claimed she was the one who forced us to save her life…”
I paused, my fingers curling slightly.
“And, as usual… the Queen Mother believed her.”
Silence settled over the carriage.
Heavy.
Uncomfortable.
Kael suddenly slammed his hand against the side of the carriage.
The impact echoed sharply.
“She planned all of this,” he said coldly.
His jaw tightened.
“And her beast… let’s not even talk about that thing.”
His eyes darkened.
“I still don’t understand how she managed to obtain the most wanted beast in the Shadow Lands as her servant.”
He exhaled sharply through his nose.
“I barely escaped its attacks.”
The tension inside the carriage deepened even further.
No one spoke after that.
I felt confused and turned to Kael.
“What did you mean when you said Aurora’s beast was wanted?” I asked.
Before Kael could answer, Adrian spoke up.
“Veryrion,” he said quietly, “is a wanted beast.”
My breath slowed slightly.
“He’s known as the most rebellious beast in the Shadow Lands,” Adrian continued.
“He’s killed multiple rulers across different kingdoms.”
A heavy silence followed his words.
“And because of his crimes,” he added, “he was thrown into the Shadow Claw.”
I frowned immediately.
“The Shadow Claw?” I asked.
Sylas answered this time, his voice calm but serious.
“Shadow Claws are prisons,” he said.
“But not like ordinary ones.”
He glanced at me briefly.
“Once someone is thrown into a Shadow Claw, escape is almost impossible.”
The way he said it made my skin tighten slightly.
Almost impossible.
Kael leaned back, exhaling deeply.
“Then how did Veyrion escape?” he muttered.
His eyes narrowed.
“And more importantly… how did Aurora find him?”
The question lingered in the air.
Heavy.
Unanswered.
And somehow, far more dangerous than anything that had happened so far.
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