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Her hand was still in mine when I realized what she was doing — reaching through the chaos to touch the part of me I buried long ago.
For a brief, weak moment… I almost let her.
Then that old voice inside — the one that built this empire from blood and discipline — screamed louder.
No.
Emotion weakens.
Attachment blinds.
And I am the King.
I opened my eyes.
My hand tightened around hers, not in affection — but in finality.
"Enough," I said, my voice low but sharp enough to cut through the wind.
She froze. "Chris…"
"You speak of peace," I continued, stepping back. "Of leading beside me. But you've forgotten something, my Queen — you don't stand beside me. You stand beneath the crown."
Her lips parted, disbelief spreading across her face.
"Beneath?"
"Yes." I turned away, staring out the shattered window toward the city drowned in silence. "You think you can walk into my war room, defy my commands, challenge my authority in front of my generals — and still call it love?"
Her eyes glistened, but she held her ground.
"I challenged your rage, not your rule."
I turned back, eyes cold as stone.
"Same thing."
For a second, we just stared — two rulers, two hearts, two storms colliding.
And then I said it.
The words that burned even as they left my mouth.
"Then you leave me no choice."
She took a step back, whispering, "Chris, what are you saying—"
I lifted my hand. The command bracelet on my wrist glowed red, its insignia pulsing with the Blackwood seal.
"I strip you of your executive authority — effective immediately."
Her breath caught.
"You wouldn't dare—"
"By decree of Blackwood One," I said, my voice breaking into steel. "All queenly privileges, clearance codes, and administrative powers are hereby suspended. You will remain within the palace — under royal protection."
She stared at me like I'd stabbed her.
"Protection?" she whispered. "Or imprisonment?"
I said nothing. Because the truth was… both.
She stepped forward, tears falling now, anger flickering through the sorrow.
"You think this will make me stop fighting for you? For them? You can take my title, Chris, but you can't take my heart. You can't strip me of being your Queen."
I swallowed hard — and looked away.
Because if I looked at her too long, my resolve would shatter.
The command seal flashed once. Across the palace, systems recalibrated. Her access revoked. Her name dimmed from the holographic records.
Amara Blackwood — once the Empire's heart — was now a ghost within her own walls.
She whispered behind me, voice trembling like the night wind.
"You've just declared war, my love. Not on your enemies… on us."
I didn't turn around.
Couldn't.
Because for the first time since I became King… I felt like I'd just broken something I could never rebuild.
— To be continued…