I woke with a start, back in the familiar surroundings of my chamber.
Viola, red-eyed and weeping, was at my bedside. Seeing me stir, she finally breathed a sigh of relief.
For a long while, I sat there, disoriented, trying to piece together the events of the previous day.
Caelan had launched a coup, taking the palace by force. He had even lured Lord Alistair to his death.
I pressed my fingers to my temples, trying to ease the splitting headache, but the tears came, spilling through my clenched fingers.
“Your Majesty...” Seraphine began to cry alongside me.
“Please, don’t grieve too much. Lordling… His Majesty is confused right now. He’s not thinking straight. He stood vigil over you all night after you collapsed. He just left for court a little while ago...”
She still called him ‘lordling,’ her heart clearly aching for him. She couldn’t believe that Caelan would do something like this.
I had always remained calm, no matter what had happened in this palace.
Even in the face of knives and swords, I had never felt fear like I did now.
But Caelan – my Caelan – this betrayal was like a knife driven deep into my chest.
I spent the entire day searching for him, but he was nowhere to be found.