Scene: Blackwood Citadel – Council Hall
POV: Classic
When the door burst open, the energy in the room shattered like glass. Amara stood at the head of the long obsidian table, one hand gripping the rail like it was the only thing keeping her from exploding. Council members flinched, whispers flew, but my eyes were only on her.
Something had changed.
The Commander of Intelligence rushed in with frost on his uniform, breathless.
> "Your Majesty… Queen Amara… the flare has been sighted."
Her lips didn't move, but I could see the fire building behind her eyes.
> "Location?" she demanded—sharp, cutting.
> "Thirty-eight clicks west of the Delvaron Ridge, ma'am. Directly above the outer ravine. Satellite teams picked it up the moment it hit airspace. We verified with heat-scans. There were two signatures in the valley. Moving east."
My chest tightened.
I stepped forward.
> "Two?" I asked, locking eyes with the officer.
> "Yes, sir. Both humanoid. Rough terrain. One injured—limping. Based on motion patterns and known combat formations… it matches the King's preferred flanking retreat movement."
You could hear the air in the room stop.
Amara's fingers curled slowly around the carved lion at the end of the table.
> "He's alive…" she whispered. "He's alive."
She looked up suddenly, her voice back to thunder.
> "Prep the Shadow Hawks. No one else. No fleets, no noise. I want stealth. The first team to touch his skin will be mine. We retrieve him alive or we don't come back."
The commander nodded and ran.
But I didn't move. My heart… didn't know what to do.
Relief… fear… respect… guilt.
I had doubted. For a moment. I had prepared for a world without him.
But he wasn't done.
And neither was this empire.
I cleared my throat and stepped up beside her.
> "Amara… what do you need me to do?"
She looked at me—worn, sleepless, eyes red—but unbroken.
> "I need you," she said quietly, "to keep this palace standing until he walks back through its gates."
> "Yes, my Queen."
No matter what was coming next…
We just got our signal.
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