bChapter /bb109 /b

    Thorne’s POV

    The silence was suffocating, stretchingut between us like a rope ready to snap,

    bAnd /bthen, it did.

    The chaos erupted all at once.

    Everyone scrambled to their feet, panic shing across their faces as they backed away from Thorne, eyes wide in terror. Danton was the first to move, his eyes zing with fury as he rushed at Thorne. But before he could even reach him, ra was there, her leg raised, and a swift kick sent him flying

    bback/b.

    The sound of his body crashing into the floor was drowned out by the tter of the tablecloth bring yanked away in Danton’s desperate grab for bnced Silver and china scattered across the floor, the sound of them breaking adding to the noise of the room. But it didn’t matter. The attention of the room was already on Therme.

    He was at the cage now, the huge iron lock in his palm. It only took a twist before it snapped, breaking apart like ba /btoy.

    Without a second thought, Thorne ripped open the door and pulled the young woman out, his voice harsh, “Get out. Now

    The woman stumbled backward, her face a bmask /bof fear, One brogue /btried to stop her, but Thorne wasn’t having any of it. With a single hand, he grabbed the man by the throat and lifted him off the floor. Before anyone could even process what had happened, the rogue was flung across the room, bcrashing /binto the far wall with a sickening thud.

    “Stop them!” Latice’s voice cracked, his eyes wide with desperation. “Somebody bdo /bsomething Guardsb!/b”

    But the room was frozen in bce/bb, /btoo terrified to move.

    Danton was still sprawled on the floor, clutching his broken hip, groaning in pain. Kimberly sat calmly in her seat, sipping wine as if nothing out of the ordinary was happening. She didn’t even look bup/b.

    Thome turned toward Lance, his entire body drenched in blood, his bface /bgrim as he walked toward the Rogue King. He picked up ba /bcandlestick from the nearest table, his gaze unwavering.

    Lance’s bvoice /bwavered as he backed away, “Guards, get in here! Help! Kimberly-

    Kimberly braised /ban eyebrow but said nothing. She was watching, waiting, maybe even enjoying the spectacle.

    The guards finally poured into the hall, but they were too far across the room to make a difference. By the time they arrived, Thorne was already beside

    Lanceb. /b

    Lance tried to dodge, his body bawkward/b, but Thorne was too bfast/b. His hand seized the cor of Lance’s shirtb, /byanking it down to expose his chest. And then, with one swift motion, he jammed the candlestick into Lance’s heart.

    The room went deathly silent.

    ra’s breath caught in her throat. She watched as Thorne stood bover /bLance, his expression cold, unmoving. bWas /bthis it? Was Lance finally going to

    But then, Lance let out a gasp. The candlestick was still lodged in his chest, but the wound wasn’t bleeding. Instead, it was closing, healing right before their eyes.

    Lance’s chest seemed to… regenerate. The wound was gone in seconds, as if it had neverexisted.

    ra’s mind was racing, “What the hell?”

    bLance /bwiped the blood away from his mouth, bhis /bvoice steady but filled with something like quiet amusement. “You did it again, Thorne”

    Thorne’s eyes narrowed, his voice hard. “You’re not dying that easily, are you?”

    Lance coughed, blood spilling from his lips. “…I wanted to be friends with you…

    Thorne’s lips curled into a snart. “The fuck you are,

    The room hold its breath as Lance’s jaw clenched, a muscle twitching in his cheek. He red at Thorne, but the Rogue King wasn’t backing down.

    Lance staggered to his feel, his voice still dripping with contempt, “You really think you can kill me? You think I’m vulnerable?”

    Thorne just snorted. “It was worth a try!”

    Lance straightened, wiping thest of the blood from his chin, his voice a low growl. “You’ll learn. The Rogue King can’t die. Not like that, Not ever. The Moon Goddess gifted us immortality.”

    bra’s /bheart hammered in her chest, her thoughts spinning “immortal…”.

    Thorne’s gaze flicked to her, then back to Lance. “We’ll see about that,” he muttered.

    The Rogue King’s eyes narrowed, a bitter smile tugging at his lips. “If you’re ready to be friends, I’m right here. But you won’t get anywhere without me.”

    fuck yourself,” Thome shot back. His voice was ice cold.

    Lance’s jaw tightened, but he didn’t say another word. Instead, he turned away, his posture rigid, and gestured for the other rogues to clear the way- Thorne and ra didn’t look bback /bas they walked out of the banquet hall, hand in hand. bThey’d /bmade their point. But bra /bcouldn’t shake the ling that this wasn’t overb, /bNot by a long shot.

    As soon as they were in their room, ra couldn’t hold back any longer. She turned to Thorne, her voiceced with concem. “Do you think he’s really immortal?”

    Thorne didn’t hesitate. “No.”

    “Then how do you know?”

    Thorne gave a grim shrug, his expression unreadable. “Lance wasn’t always the Rogue King. There was another before him. I’ve heard rumors that thest one didn’t die of natural causes.”

    ra’s eyes widened. “You mean someone killed him?”

    Thorne nodded, his voice low and steady. “Exactly. And if we can find out who did it, maybe we can kill Lance too.

    ou think they’ll really tell bus /bhow to kill their king?”

    ra bit her lip, her mind racing. “But… we’re surrounded by roguesb. /bDo you

    Thome pulled her into his arms, his tone soft but firm. “We don’t need them all. We just need the right one. And don’t forget we’ve got Jory inside.

    At the mention of Jory, ra’s eyes brightened. “Right. I forgot about him. He’ll find us soon. Three days, rightb?/b”

    Thorne nodded. “Exactly. We just have to wait. Three days might feel long, but trust me, things are about to get interesting.”

    ra couldn’t suppress a smile. She was starting to feel that thrill of anticipation. There was no turning back now.