CHAPTER 109: A QUEEN’S DECREE

We sat in a tense, suffocating silence, three disparate souls caught in the web of a fate none of us had chosen. Queen Lilith, a vision of fire and shadow, lounged on her throne of obsidian and gold, her crimson eyes gleaming with a detached, almost predatory amusement as she watched the drama unfold. And Christina and I, the unwilling actors in this grand, royal play, sat on chairs forged from my own restless shadows, our own minds a chaotic battlefield of conflicting emotions.

Christina was uncomfortable, her small body rigid with a tension that was almost a physical thing. She finally stood, her movements sharp, jerky, as if she could no longer bear the weight of the silence. "Who are you?" she demanded, her voice a low, fierce whisper that was a stark contrast to her usual quiet, gentle demeanor. "Tell me. What is all this? You deceived me, you married me... do you think you are any different from Leon? You are worse. He was a monster I could see. You... you are a shadow I cannot comprehend."

Lilith, from her throne, brought her right leg over her left, a gesture of casual, almost bored, amusement.

Christina’s voice rose then, a note of genuine, heartbreaking despair in her tone. "I trusted you," she said, her voice cracking with a barely suppressed sob. "And now, look at me. You say you have freed me, but you have thrown me into a greater, more dangerous mess. I have to live the rest of my life in fear of being caught, in fear of being executed for a lie you created." The weight of her new reality seemed to crash down on her all at once, her shoulders slumping in defeat.

I listened to her, my own face a mask of cool, detached indifference. But inside, something hot and angry was beginning to simmer. I stood then, my own movements a slow, deliberate counterpoint to her frantic, desperate energy, and came face to face with her.

"Christina," I said, my voice a low, dangerous thing, "tell me. I saved a girl from becoming a mere toy, a political pawn to be used and then discarded. Was I wrong? I saved a family from the torment of a forced, loveless marriage. Was I wrong? Did I use you in a cruel, malicious way? Did I force you to do anything against your will? Because I seem to remember helping you, protecting you. And what did I ask for in return?"

Silence.

"And what did I get?" I continued, my voice a low, venomous whisper. "Your blame."

"I know things didn’t go the way I had planned," I growled, my own frustration, my own anger, finally breaking through my carefully constructed mask of indifference. "And this fucking marriage... I never wanted it. It’s because of this bi—" I caught myself, my gaze flicking to the amused, and very dangerous, Queen. "—I mean, this beautiful lady over there."

Lilith’s smile widened. "I get what you wanted to say earlier," she purred, her own voice a low, dangerous thing. "But isn’t it a little too dangerous to call a queen that? I could kill you right now, you know."

"Enough of your games, Your Majesty," I snapped, my own patience finally wearing thin. "I am not in the mood to play. And don’t you forget, I have done you a favor far greater than any you have done for me. In fact, it would have been better for me if I had never asked for your favor in the first place."

"You ungrateful brat," she hissed, her own voice a low, dangerous thing.

"Say whatever you want," I retorted, my own voice a low, cold thing. "But the truth will not be changed." I shifted my gaze back to Christina. "Now, tell me. Where was I wrong?"

She couldn’t say anything. But then, her own voice a low, desperate whisper, she asked, "I don’t know. But at least... at least tell me who you are."

"That doesn’t matter," I said, my own voice a low, dismissive murmur. "I am just a simple human who wants a quiet, and very wealthy, life. And power. And—"

"That’s enough of your ambitions," Lilith interrupted, her own voice a clear, commanding thing. "I have a plan for you two."

"What is it?" I asked, my own voice a low, suspicious thing.

"You will become a lovely, loving couple," she said, her own voice a low, triumphant purr.

"What?!" Christina cried, her own voice a mixture of shock and a dawning, horrified disbelief. "Your Majesty, there is no way that is happening."

"Listen," Lilith said, her own voice a low, patient thing. "I am not saying you have to be truly married. Just... pretend. For a time. To avoid suspicion from the Knight Commander and the other noble houses. And as for you, Ashen," she said, her gaze fixed on me, "you will leave for your Academy. You will continue to build your power, your influence. And you, Christina," she continued, her own voice a low, gentle murmur as she turned to the pale, trembling girl, "I can make arrangements for you to join the Vampire Academy. They accept people from other races, and there, under the protection of a different sovereign, you can live your life as you wish, far from the prying eyes of the Dragon Kingdom. It is a clean slate. That is all I can do. The rest... is up to you."

The room fell silent once more, the weight of her words, of her unexpected, and surprisingly merciful, offer, hanging in the air between us. It was not the freedom we had wanted, not the justice Christina deserved, but it was a path forward. A new, and very dangerous, beginning forged in lies and shadows. For now, it would have to be enough.

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