The door slammed hard, the walls shaking from the intensity.

Elara grabbed a vase sitting quietly on the table and threw it against the wall, letting out the most piercing screech known in existence.

The veins in her head and neck nearly ripping off from how much she screamed.

How was this possible? How? How? How? She grabbed a bottle and threw it against her vanity mirror, grabbing her hair so tightly she almost ripped it off her head.

This was insane… Thorne shouldn't be awake. Not until she was done taking it all. Not until she had Adina seizure feet under.

Did the gods love to make a mockery of her?

"This doesn't make sense!" she screamed, flinging a goblet across the room. "He was supposed to stay asleep for weeks! How—how is he walking?! Speaking?!"

Her aunt Jocelyn rushed into the room, sweaty, pale, and panicked too. She stopped dead in her tracks, eyes wide as she took in the state of the room.

A mess was an understatement.

Jocelyn shook her head and rushed towards Elara, who was busy having a meltdown. "Elara, keep your voice down! The guards are everywhere. Someone's going to hear you!"

Elara turned on her with wild eyes. "How did he wake up, Auntie? Didn't you say the plan is foolproof? That he'll be unconscious until I wish otherwise?" She screamed, unable to keep her emotions at bay.

"Keep quiet!" Jocelyn snapped; the place was already in chaos from the king's recovery. Anyone could hear her.

"How did this happen?" Elara asked, not listening to Jocelyn at her, her mind was a mess. She needed time. She had to make sure Adina never saw the light anymore. She had to put Thessara and Caelum down for conspiring to kill the king.

"I don't know," Jocelyn snapped, whispering harshly. "But it doesn't matter. We need to act now. You have to inject the rest of the spell as soon as possible. Thorne is unconscious again, but he's regaining his consciousness already, and that's not what we want. You must find a way back into that room and inject the rest of the spell."

Elara froze, then slowly licked her lips, shaking slightly. "Do you… do you have it?"

Jocelyn nodded and pulled a small silver vial from her pocket.

"Give it to me." Elara snatched it with trembling fingers. "If I can get it into his veins, then I can just finish what I started…"

She shut her eyes, ready to pull the cap open when the door burst open again for the third time, this time, sending it flying out of its hinges.

Caelum stormed in, Thessara and Mason behind him, followed by ten warriors who immediately surrounded the room.

Elara's eyes widened, and before she could slip the vial into her dress, Thessara stepped forward and snatched it from her hands.

"How dare you? What the hell do you think you're doing right now?" Elara screamed wildly like a wild boar.

"I told you, your downfall is coming and now it's here," Thessara said, glancing at the vial. It was exactly like she thought. Black magic. One strong enough to send a Lycan to his deathbed.

She turned to Caelum and nodded, putting a stamp on their suspicions.

"You spelled his majesty, Elara," Caelum said, stepping forward.

"W-what? Have you lost the rest of your mind? How can I—"

"—Spell your own king?" Caelum cut in sharply, stepping even closer. "That's what I'm trying to understand."

"Ever since the king's unfortunate unconscious. I've looked into all that I can….and I found out, days before your supposed suicide attempt. Your aunt Jocelyn came to see you and not just that, afterwards you promised your maid what? A title or is it money if she lied to the king about your health. You bribed the healer who came to see you there too. And to top it off….we've also caught you red-handed." He nodded at the vial in Thessara's hand, "This is your confession in a bottle."

Elara's eyes darted around the room like a trapped animal. She laughed, it was hollow and strained. "You'll believe the words of mere maids and lowlifes over mine?" She scoffed, stepping closer to Caelum. "Don't forget who I am, Caelum. You might be the beta but I am the—"

"You're nothing, Elara. You're not regent. You're not general. You can never ever be queen. You're absolute filth."

Caelum removed the scroll in his hands, and her eyes widened even more, seeing she was cornered.

"By the order of his majesty, King Thorne, Vargan Rhukor of Obsidian, and the ruler of the other realm. You're to be imprisoned in the deepest cell of the dungeon until your execution day is decided."

Elara's face drained of color. "W-what? You can't do this! I am royalty! I rule this court!" Elara shrieked.

To the side, Jocelyn had begun to back away as slowly as she could, but before she could even get further, Thessara held her from behind tightly. "Where do you think you're going, dear sister?"

Jocelyn smiled, feeling ropes tighten around her wrist by a warrior. Thessara faced her, brows cocked up.

"Did you forget? You're a co-conspirator, Jocelyn. You provided Elara with the black magic. You're never getting out of this one, sister. It's finally your end," Thessara said.

Jocelyn huffed, rolling her eyes. "You should know by now, sister. I'm never leaving this palace. I'm like a shadow you can never get rid of. Await my return," Jocelyn said as she was dragged out.

Meanwhile, Elara was thrashing and screaming like a possessed woman as two guards grabbed her.

"You'll regret this! You'll all regret this! I'll bring this entire palace down before I go down alone!"

"Take her away and lock her up. No visits whatsoever," he ordered, watching as the former general was dragged away.

"Tell that bitch, Adina! Tell her it's not over. If Thorne isn't mine, he'll never be hers. He'll never be anyone's. Tell her I'll be back for her," Elara screamed as she was dragged out.