ELARA'S POV
I made it exactly three steps out of the dungeon before the rage hit me like a physical force.
Cassian had done this. The man who'd invaded my kingdom, killed my guards, dragged me here in chains—he'd also unleashed the magic that was slowly killing me.
On purpose.
The shadows around my hands pulsed darker, feeding on my fury. They wanted to chase him down, wrap around his throat, make him pay for every lie, every manipulation, every—
"Your Majesty?"
I spun around. A guard stood at a respectful distance, his hand nowhere near his sword. Smart man.
"What?" I snapped.
"King Cassian requests you return to your chambers to rest before dinner."
"King Cassian can—" I bit off the curse before it escaped. The guard was just following orders. "Tell your king I'll return to my chambers when I'm ready. Not before."
The guard shifted uncomfortably. "He was quite insistent, Your Majesty."
"And I'm quite capable of walking these halls without permission." I brushed past him, the shadows trailing behind me like a dark cloak. "Unless I'm a prisoner who needs an escort?"
"No, Your Majesty, but—"
I didn't wait to hear the rest. I stormed down the corridor, having no idea where I was going and not caring. I just needed to move, to walk off this burning fury before I did something I'd regret.
Like going back to Cassian's throne room and showing him exactly what his "weapon" could do.
The castle was a maze of dark stone hallways. Without meaning to, I found myself in what looked like a formal garden—though "garden" was generous. A few struggling plants grew in iron planters, fighting for life in the shadow of the fortress walls.
Even the flowers here looked depressed.
"Well, well. Look what we have here."
I turned to find a woman watching me from the garden entrance. She was beautiful in a sharp, predatory way—perfect blonde hair, expensive jewelry, a smile that never reached her eyes.
Three other noble ladies stood behind her like a matching set of decorative weapons.
"Lady Seraphine," one of the women whispered, as if introducing royalty.
The name clicked. Mira had mentioned her—Cassian's almost-fiancée before the war.
"You must be the fallen queen," Seraphine said, gliding closer with practiced grace. "How... quaint. I've been dying to meet you."
The way she said "dying" made it clear she knew about my chaos magic. About the death sentence growing inside me.
"Lady Seraphine," I acknowledged coolly. "How kind of you to seek me out."
"Oh, I wouldn't miss this opportunity for the world." She circled me like a shark scenting blood. "You're quite the topic of conversation, you know. The court can't stop talking about Cassian's new... pet."
The other ladies tittered behind their fans.
I kept my face perfectly calm, even as the shadows around my hands stirred. "I'm sure they have better things to discuss."
"Do they?" Seraphine's smile turned cruel. "What could be more fascinating than watching a once-proud queen reduced to standing silent beside another ruler's throne? Like a trained dog waiting for scraps."
"Seraphine," one of the ladies whispered nervously. "Perhaps we should—"
"Should what? Pretend she's not exactly what she is?" Seraphine stopped directly in front of me. "A trophy. A reminder of what happens when kingdoms fall."
I met her eyes steadily. "Is there a point to this conversation, or are you simply bored?"
Her smile faltered for just a second. She'd expected me to cry or rage or break down. My calm dignity clearly wasn't part of her plan.
"I'm trying to understand," she said, recovering quickly, "what Cassian sees in you. You're not particularly beautiful. Your kingdom fell in a single night. And that dress..." She made a show of examining my mourning gown. "Black really isn't your color. Makes you look like a widow."
"I am a widow," I said quietly. "Widow to a kingdom that's gone. Mourning becomes me perfectly."
The other ladies exchanged uncomfortable glances. One of them—a younger woman with kind eyes—looked almost sympathetic.
But Seraphine just laughed. "How poetic. Does Cassian appreciate your tragic romanticism? Or does he simply enjoy having you stand decoratively while he conducts actual business?"
The shadows pulsed. I forced them down.
"Lady Seraphine," I said carefully, "I understand you're angry. Cassian was supposed to marry you before the war changed everything. You lost your position, your future, your—"
"I lost NOTHING," she hissed, all pretense of sweetness gone. "Cassian and I were never formally engaged. Our families discussed the possibility, nothing more. I have no claim to him."
"Then why are you here?" I asked. "Why waste your time tormenting someone who's already lost everything?"
She stepped closer, her voice dropping to a venomous whisper. "Because you don't deserve his protection. Don't deserve to stand beside his throne, even as a prisoner. You're weak. Your kingdom was weak. And soon your chaos magic will eat you alive, and Cassian will finally see you were never worth saving."
The shadows exploded outward before I could stop them.
They didn't touch Seraphine—I had that much control—but they writhed around us both, darkening the air, making the temperature drop.
The noble ladies screamed and fled.
Seraphine stood her ground, though her face had gone pale. "Go ahead," she said. "Attack me. Prove you're the monster everyone says you are."
I pulled the shadows back with every ounce of will I possessed. "I'm not a monster."
"No?" She smiled coldly. "Then explain why the air turned black when you got angry. Explain why your hands look like they're wrapped in midnight. You're a witch, Elara. A dangerous, dying witch. And everyone knows it."
She turned to leave, then paused as if remembering something.
"Oh, I almost forgot." She spun back around, her heel catching the hem of my dress.
The fabric tore with a loud ripping sound.
"Oops," Seraphine said, her smile triumphant. "How clumsy of me."
The other ladies—the ones brave enough to return—laughed behind their hands.
Guards appeared from nowhere, drawn by the commotion. They took in the scene—me with shadows still clinging to my hands, Seraphine with fake concern on her face, my torn dress.
"Your Majesty," one guard said carefully, addressing me. "Perhaps you should return to your chambers."
"Perhaps I should," I agreed, my voice hollow.
As they escorted me away, I heard Seraphine's laughter echoing through the garden. Musical and cruel, the sound of someone who'd won a battle.
But when I looked back, I saw something in her expression that wasn't victory.
It was fear.
Because for just a moment, when the shadows had exploded, she'd seen what I was becoming.
And it terrified her.
Back in my tower, I stood before the mirror and stared at my reflection.
The dress was ruined, torn from hem to knee. My hair had come loose from its careful arrangement. The shadows still clung to my hands like gloves I couldn't remove.
I looked exactly like what Seraphine had called me: a broken, dying witch.
A knock at the door made me turn.
"It's Mira," a voice called. "Can I come in?"
"It's your castle," I said tiredly. "I'm just a prisoner here."
She entered carrying a new dress—deep blue this time, not mourning black.
"I heard what happened," she said quietly. "Seraphine has been banned from court for a week."
"By whose order?"
"Cassian's. The moment he heard she'd torn your dress and humiliated you publicly." Mira set the new gown on the bed. "He's furious."
"He has no right to be furious," I said bitterly. "He's the one who—" I stopped. Had Mira heard about Cassian unleashing my chaos magic?
Her expression answered that question.
"You knew," I whispered. "You knew he did this to me."
"Not when it happened," she said quickly. "I found out today, same as you. And Elara, you have to believe—he didn't know it would kill you. The wizard told him it was safe, that it would just give you access to your natural magic."
"And he believed that? Just decided to unlock something in my blood without asking permission?"
Mira looked away. "He thought it would help you defend yourself. Give you power in a world where you'd lost everything else."
"How thoughtful," I said coldly. "Giving me six months to live as a consolation prize."
"He wants to fix it."
"He can't fix it!" The shadows flared again. "Your own cousin said his mother died from this magic. There is no fix, Mira. Just a countdown to when I burn from the inside out."
She opened her mouth to respond, but a shout from outside cut her off.
We both rushed to the window.
In the courtyard below, guards ran in every direction. Someone was screaming orders.
"What's happening?" I asked.
Mira's face went white. "That's the alarm for a breach. Someone's gotten into the castle."
"Vex's people?"
"Maybe. Or—" She stopped, listening to the shouted orders below. Her expression shifted from concern to horror. "Oh no."
"What? What is it?"
She grabbed my arm. "We need to hide you. Now."
"Why? What's—"
"It's not Vex's people," Mira said urgently, pulling me toward a panel in the wall I hadn't noticed before. "It's yours. A rescue party from Luminveil just breached the eastern wall."
My heart leaped. "My people came for me?"
"They came to kill you," Mira corrected grimly. "The guards intercepted their orders. They're not here to rescue their queen—they're here to make sure the 'witch' never makes it back to Luminveil alive."
The panel swung open, revealing a hidden passage.
"Get in," Mira commanded. "Before they find you."
But it was already too late.
The tower door exploded inward.
And standing in the smoke and debris was someone I'd never expected to see again.
My former lady-in-waiting, Helena. Sweet, gentle Helena who'd served me for five years.
She held a sword in one hand and a vial of something that glowed sickly green in the other.
"I'm sorry, Your Majesty," Helena said, tears streaming down her face. "But Luminveil can't let a witch live. Even if that witch used to be our queen."
She threw the vial.
The last thing I saw before the poison gas exploded was Mira throwing herself in front of me, screaming for guards.
Then everything went dark.