Cambria stared at the photo in Elara's hands, her pulse thundering in her ears. Seraphina's pale face. Her limp body. The message: Tick, tick, tick. Queens fall too.
She wanted to scream, to break something, to make the pain stop but rage was the only thing keeping her standing.
"She's not just threatening me anymore," Cambria said, her voice like ice. "She's proving she can get to anyone. At any time."
Elara placed the photo down with trembling fingers. "We can't wait. We go on the offensive. Now."
But Cambria's jaw clenched. "No. Not yet."
Elara blinked. "What do you mean not yet? You saw what she "
"I need to meet her. One-on-one."
"Cambria, no "
"I need to see the devil in the eye," Cambria said. "And offer her a deal."
The meeting was set for sunset.
No lawyers. No security. No press. Just two women circling each other like lions in a glass cage.
The location: The rooftop of The Solaris Hotel, an old haunt of Manhattan's elite, now empty, cleared on Elena's orders. Cambria stood by the edge, looking out over the city like a queen surveying a kingdom she was about to lose.
Elena arrived ten minutes late. Deliberate. Always in control.
She wore black, tailored, sharp, every inch of her weapon. Her silver hair caught the wind, but her expression remained untouched by time or guilt.
"You wanted an audience," she said smoothly. "Let's not pretend we're equals, dear. Speak."
Cambria turned. Her voice was calm, steady. "You win. I'll walk away from everything Maddox, the lawsuit, the media campaign. I'll sign an NDA. I'll disappear."
Elena arched an eyebrow. "You? Disappear? You'd die before you let me win."
Cambria's eyes didn't waver. "I said almost everything. I walk, and in return, you let Seraphina go. Untouched. Alive."
Silence stretched between them like a blade.
Elena stepped closer, her heels clicking against the stone. "And why would I believe you?"
"Because I came here alone. No tricks. No wires." Cambria opened her coat, showing the slim black slip beneath. "And because you know if Seraphina dies, I have nothing left to lose."
Elena studied her, eyes narrowing. "You'd walk away from power… for her?"
"She's the only pure thing I have left."
A pause.
Then: "I'll consider it," Elena said.
Cambria tensed. "That wasn't the deal "
"But it's the one I'm offering," Elena cut in. "You want your sister back? I want one more thing."
Cambria's jaw locked. "What?"
Elena smiled. "Marry my son."
The words hit Cambria like a slap.
"What?"
"You heard me," Elena said, her tone smooth, almost amused. "You walk away after the wedding. Public, legal, and permanent on paper. You marry Maddox. You give the Thorne name legitimacy again. Then you vanish. That's my price."
Cambria stared at her, disgusted. "You want me to be your bride in chains?"
"I want the illusion of unity. And your silence." Elena's smile widened. "And don't flatter yourself. This isn't about love it's about control. The Thorne name has taken too many hits. I need a queen the world still pities."
Cambria turned away, rage burning under her skin.
"Why not just kill me?" she asked bitterly.
"Because this way," Elena said softly, "I get to watch you surrender."
Cambria left the rooftop with her mind spinning. She didn't say yes. She didn't say no. But Elena had made her position clear and the timer on the burner phone was still ticking down. 19 hours left.
She found Maddox waiting in her hotel lobby.
"How did you know where I was?" she asked.
"I didn't," he said, stepping forward. "I just knew I had to find you."
She didn't stop him as he took her hand.
"I know what my mother is capable of," he said. "And if she's threatening Seraphina, we don't have time to play this your way."
"There is no my way anymore," Cambria whispered. "She wants a wedding. A real one."
Maddox froze. "What?"
"She wants us married," Cambria said. "For optics. She'll let my sister go if I give her the illusion that everything is fine. That I'm yours again. Publicly. Permanently."
Maddox stared at her like he didn't recognize her. "You can't possibly be considering that."
"She'll kill her, Maddox."
"And what happens when she finds another target? When she decides the next threat is Elara? Or me?"
Cambria's voice cracked. "I'm doing this because I don't have a choice."
"Yes, you do!" he shouted. "You have me. We fight this together."
But Cambria shook her head, stepping back. "You're not the one paying the price."
A beat of silence stretched between them.
Then Maddox said, quietly, "Then let me marry you."
She blinked. "What?"
"Let me take the deal," he said. "You said she wants a wedding. Fine. Let's give her one. But on our terms."
Cambria looked at him, heart racing. "You'd do that?"
"For your sister?" His voice dropped. "For you? I'd burn this city to the ground."
That night, Cambria sat alone in the hotel suite, watching the clock wind down. 15 hours. 43 minutes.
She picked up the ring the ring still sitting in its velvet box.
Her reflection stared back at her in the glass.
Was this the price of love?
Was this how queens survived?
Her phone buzzed.
A message from an unknown number.
Tomorrow. 5 PM. St. Edward's Chapel. Bring the press. Or bring a casket.
Cambria closed her eyes.
She had made her deal with the devil.
And now it was time to wear the crown Elena had tried to bury her under.
The next morning, Cambria wakes to a knock at her door.
She opens it.
It's Maddox.
He's holding a suit.
And behind him
Elena.
Smiling.
"I've taken care of the arrangements," Elena says smoothly. "Congratulations, darling. You're going to be the most beautiful bride… at your own funeral."