"The King is dead!"
The cry tore through the chaos like a blade through silk.
Too late.
King Baltimore—once proud, once arrogant—now lay lifeless in a pool of his own blood. The dark red stain crept like ivy across the stone floor. His guards, still kneeling in reverence, kissed his hands as if devotion alone could resurrect him.
Something twisted inside me.
I didn't feel sadness. I couldn't. He was the same man—unrepentant, hell-bent on executing me.
I merely acted first.
The rest of them? Not worth saving. Not anymore.
Fairies scrambled in panic. Their desperation sparked misfired Love Spells—flickers of pale pink and white, glowing weakly like dying stars.
Arisa had trained them well.
But I was beyond their reach now. Even Arisa couldn't help them.
She staggered, clutching her chest where my heartbreak spell had carved into her soul. Her voice cracked, fragile as frost on a lake.
"Murderer…"
"Murderer!" Doverel shrieked, pointing a trembling finger at me like a blade.
