“Power is not given; it is taken and defended with blood.”
Kael
The throne room wasn’t silent.
I could feel the tension in the air, the kind that makes men afraid to breathe.
The obsidian doors swung open before I even touched them.
They always did.
The groan of ancient metal echoed down the hall, deep and heavy.
I entered.
The room shifted the moment I stepped inside.
It wasn’t dramatic, just small things: shoulders drawn in, eyes dropping to the floor, the rhythm of breathing changing from steady to shallow.
A councilman near the left pillar swallowed too hard.
I heard it.
I didn’t look at them yet.
I let them feel my presence first.
I wanted it to press down on their chests like a stone they couldn’t move.
This was their first punishment, one that cost me nothing.
My boots met the marble floor.
One step, then another.
Each sound carried further than it should have, echoing against the high, vaulted ceiling.
They stood like statues, too afraid to shift or make a single noise that might draw my gaze.
I stopped and looked up.
Every council member in the room bowed their heads.
It was a reflex, born from knowing exactly what happens to those who hesitate.
They were too well-trained and far too guilty, I thought.
Good.
That meant something had happened before I arrived.
I turned slightly, and my eyes found them.
Four men kneeling on the cold marble.
The guards bound their hands behind their backs.
One of them had been crying; I could tell by looking at his face.
Dried tears streaked his cheeks, cutting through the dirt.
The redness and swelling around his eyes were still visible.
I felt their fear.
It was sharp, metallic, and delicious.
Riven stood behind them.
My Beta, my shadow in every room—I didn’t want to face this alone.
His face was a mask of stone, but his eyes were sharp, tracking my every move, anticipating the order I hadn’t yet given.
One of the four tried to lift his head.
He made it halfway before his neck began to tremble under the weight of my stare.
His chin dropped back to his chest as if the very bones in his neck had turned to lead.
I tilted my head.
“Why are they here?” I asked.
My voice was calm, but it cut through the silence like a razor.
“They were spreading panic among the council, Sire,” Riven answered without hesitation.
“About the curse.”
The word hung in the air, the kind of silence that has physical weight.
I stepped closer, deliberate in my approach.
I learned long ago that how you approach a man sends a message.
There’s no need to rush when you already hold the outcome.
The man in the middle, the leader, began to shake before I even reached him.
Middle-aged and broad-shouldered like a warrior who had grown soft in a silk robe.
Sweat soaked his collar, and his eyes were red—not just from fear; he looked like a man who hadn’t slept in days.
I crouched slightly, bringing my face level with his.
“So,” I said softly, my voice barely a whisper.
“You’re meant to be the voice of the kingdom’s trust?”
I paused, watching a single bead of sweat roll down his temple.
“And yet you choose to poison it instead?”
“It was… it was already spreading,” he stammered, his lips trembling so hard he could barely form the words.
“The people… they were already talking. We just confirmed what they said! We didn’t start it…”
I straightened slowly.
I didn’t raise my voice; I didn’t need to.
The atmosphere in the room veered.
I felt it, like how one senses the air thinning before a lightning strike.
The guards along the walls grew rigid.
Even Riven became perfectly motionless.
I surveyed the other three kneeling men, memorising their cowardice before shifting my gaze back to the leader.
“You are a councilman,” I said, my voice dropping to a low, dangerous tone.
“You were given a seat at the table of this kingdom’s decisions.”
I took one more step, invading his personal space until he had to crane his neck back to meet my eyes.
“Not to rot it from the inside.”
Something broke in him then.
I saw the last flicker of composure vanish from his eyes.
“Your Majesty, please…”
I raised my hand.
I didn’t make a grand gesture.
It was quick, like a snap of power, like a dry branch breaking in the woods.
He collapsed.
There was no struggle, no dramatic last words.
One moment he was here, and the next he wasn’t.
Like a candle that flickers before it goes out, he stopped.
A small, sharp gasp escaped the council members, but I didn’t look away from the body.
I let the silence settle, heavy and suffocating, before turning to the remaining three.
Their faces had gone completely pale.
One silently wept, tears flowing freely, understanding that sounds would only make things worse.
“You will remember this,” I said, my voice echoing off the obsidian walls.
I allowed the silence to stretch for a heartbeat.
“And if you forget… I will remind you again.”
I didn’t wait for a reply.
I turned and left.
***
The corridor outside was colder.
I walked without a destination until a soft, deliberate footstep stopped me.
I didn’t need to turn to know who it was.
“My son,” Queen Astrid called.
I turned slowly.
My mother still held the straight spine of a ruler, but her eyes carried a deep concern.
clicked into place.
“I know,” I exhaled.
“You felt it today,” she pressed, her eyes searching mine for a flicker of the person I used to be.
I didn’t deny it.
I had felt the thread pull taut, a vibration somewhere far away.
“…she exists,” I said quietly.
My mother studied me long and hard before nodding.
“Yes. And she always has.”
I walked away from my mother, the echo of “eighteen” ringing louder than my footsteps.
Riven fell into step behind me, familiar weight at my shoulder.
I didn’t stop, but my voice cut through the corridor like a blade.
“Leave me, Riven.”
He paused, his boots clicking once on the marble as he halted.
He didn’t ask why.
He didn’t hesitate.
“As you wish, Sire.”
He left immediately, and for the first time since the execution, I was alone.
I stepped onto the high balcony.
Below, the kingdom of dark stone towers stretched out like a jagged, broken graveyard.
The cold northern wind tugged at my cloak, but I didn’t feel it.
Something else was pulling at me.
Then everything changed.
The black stone around me faded away, replaced by a strange warmth.
The sharp smell of lightning vanished, replaced by something soft and sweet.
Bright colours filled my eyes.
They were too bright and too many.
I hadn’t seen anything like this in a long time.
And there she was.
She stood among a crowd of humans, laughing with her head tilted back.
She looked delicate, like a small light in a world that didn’t deserve her.
Something inside me pulled hard.
It felt like a hook in my chest, dragging me towards her.
I reached out my hand, trying to touch her, as if I could grab the light of that world.
Then everything broke.
The bright human world disappeared.
I was back on the cold balcony.
My hand gripped the stone railing so tightly that cracks spread through the black stone.
I breathed out, and my breath turned into cold mist in the air.
“Riven.”
I didn’t turn around.
I already knew Riven was there, standing in the dark near the doorway.
He stepped closer.
His gaze rested on the cracked stone I had gripped, but his face remained calm and unreadable.
“Your Majesty?” he asked.
“The council replacements can wait,” I said.
My voice was cold and empty, with no trace of what I had felt moments ago.
“Get ready. I’m crossing over. I’m going to the human world.”
Riven bowed deeply.
His shadow stretched across the broken floor.
“Then I will go with you,” he replied.
Hi everyone
This story means a lot to me, and I’m so happy you started this journey with me.
Writing Chapter 1 was both exciting and a little scary, but I hope you felt something while reading it.
Please share your thoughts.
I truly appreciate every single one
Thank you for being here