CHAPTER 77: CHAPTER 78 – THE QUEEN’S HAND

The banquet hall smelled of death and spiced wine. Servants moved in silence, gathering shattered glass and overturning bodies, their eyes carefully avoiding the Queen’s dais.

Kai stood with Velis, Astra, and Lyra in a tight knot near the far wall. None of them had sheathed their weapons yet.

A royal page approached, bowing low. "Her Majesty requests your immediate presence... privately."

Velis’ jaw tightened. "That’s either a reward or a trap."

"Sometimes both," Astra murmured, wiping the last streak of blood from her rapier.

Lyra didn’t say anything, but Kai felt her watching him. Always watching.

They followed the page through a set of heavy oak doors that closed behind them with a deep thunk. The sound reminded Kai of a tomb being sealed.

The corridors beyond the banquet hall were empty, lit only by wall sconces that burned with steady, golden light. The air was cooler here, carrying the faint scent of lavender — an almost absurd contrast to the carnage they’d left behind.

Finally, they reached a smaller set of double doors, their surface inlaid with intricate gold filigree. Two royal guards stood flanking the entrance, their armor polished to a mirror sheen.

The page bowed again, gesturing toward the doors. "Her Majesty awaits."

The guards swung them open, and the four stepped into the Queen’s private audience chamber.

It was nothing like the hall — no chandeliers, no long tables, no rows of courtiers. Only a circular room draped in deep crimson and black, the walls hung with silk banners that caught the firelight like blood.

At the center, the Queen sat in a high-backed chair carved from blackwood, one arm resting lazily on the armrest, the other idly tracing the rim of a crystal goblet.

Her gaze found Kai instantly. "Come closer."

They obeyed, the sound of their boots muffled by the thick carpet. When they stopped a few paces from her, she leaned forward just enough to let the firelight catch the curve of her smile.

"You saved my life tonight," she said, voice soft but sharp enough to cut glass. "You also killed one of my most trusted nobles."

Kai’s grip on his dagger tightened. "He was trying to kill you."

"Was he?" Her tone made it sound less like a question and more like a dangerous game.

She rose from her chair, moving toward him with the slow, deliberate grace of someone used to watching others step aside.

When she reached him, she extended her hand — pale, slender, and ringed with gold.

"I offer you my gratitude, Kai," she said. "And my hand."

Velis shifted beside him. Astra raised an eyebrow. Lyra’s expression didn’t change, but her gaze sharpened.

Kai stared at the offered hand, knowing full well this was no gesture of affection. This was the first move of a new game.

And in the Queen’s game... you didn’t get a second chance to play.

Kai didn’t take her hand immediately.

Instead, he let the silence stretch, watching her, measuring the faintest flicker in her expression. The Queen didn’t blink, but he caught the faintest tightening at the corners of her eyes — not impatience, but anticipation.

"What exactly does this mean?" he asked.

Her lips curved. "It means that from this moment forward, you are mine."

Velis took a half step forward. "Define ’mine.’"

"Loyal to me above all others," the Queen said, turning her gaze briefly on Velis. "My eyes, my blade, my shadow in the dark. And in return..." She turned back to Kai. "...I will make you untouchable. Not even the High Council will dare breathe against you without my leave."

Astra gave a low whistle. "That sounds like power wrapped in a noose."

The Queen’s eyes flashed. "Power is always a noose, my dear. The only difference is who gets to hold the rope."

She stepped closer to Kai, so close he could smell the faint trace of spiced wine on her breath. "You killed a man tonight, Kai. A man whose family commands half the city’s trade routes. His death will cause ripples. Some will call you a murderer. Others will call you a hero. I can make sure you remain the latter... but it comes at a price."

"And the price?" Kai asked.

"You will obey me without question. You will protect me with your life, and you will act in my name — whether in the light of day or the darkest hour of the night." She paused, tilting her head. "And when I ask you to kill, you will not hesitate."

Lyra’s voice cut in, low and cold. "You’re asking him to be your assassin."

The Queen’s smile widened, but she didn’t look at Lyra. "I am offering him the freedom to survive in this court. In this city. In this world."

Kai glanced at Velis, Astra, Lyra — each of them wearing a different version of the same thought: this was a trap, but it was also a lifeline.

The Queen still held her hand out. The firelight danced in her rings, glinting like tiny knives.

Kai knew one thing for certain. If he took her hand, there would be no going back.

The chamber seemed smaller now, as if the walls had crept closer while they spoke. The fire popped in the hearth, its glow throwing shadows that made the Queen’s smile look even sharper.

Kai’s heartbeat slowed to a steady, deliberate rhythm. Every choice in this palace is a blade, he reminded himself. And some cut deeper than others.

Velis shifted his stance, ready to intervene if Kai moved the wrong way. Astra leaned back slightly, as though already calculating escape routes. Lyra... Lyra didn’t move at all, but her eyes locked on his with an intensity that almost hurt.

The Queen’s hand hovered between them — a pale, unyielding bridge to a future that could end with him crowned or buried.

"Decide, Kai," she said softly, her voice threading into the silence like a snake into grass. "Take my hand... or walk away, and see how long you last without me."

A thousand possibilities flashed in his mind: the whispers in the corridors, the assassins in the dark, the knives disguised as smiles.

His palm twitched, just once.

Velis’ jaw clenched. Astra’s fingers tightened around her rapier hilt. Lyra’s breath caught so faintly only Kai noticed.

Kai lifted his arm. Slowly. Deliberately.

His fingers were an inch from hers when the sound came — faint, metallic, from the shadowed corner of the chamber.

The Queen’s smile didn’t falter, but her eyes flicked past him.

Someone else was here.

Kai didn’t move at first. The faint sound — like steel dragging against rough stone — had already shifted the room’s balance.

Velis stepped forward, putting himself between Kai and the far corner. His sword’s polished edge caught the firelight, a thin silver arc ready to strike.

Astra’s hand flicked, and a dagger slid silently from her sleeve, the motion so fluid it might have been part of her breathing. "Queen," she murmured, "your chamber isn’t empty."

The Queen’s expression didn’t change, but Kai noticed the subtle angle of her head — the same way one tilts toward the sound of a rattlesnake in tall grass.

"Who’s there?" Lyra’s voice was low, but it carried an edge sharp enough to cut air.

No answer came. Only the soft hiss of leather against leather, like a hand adjusting its grip on a weapon.

Kai kept his body angled toward the Queen, but his eyes tracked the shadows. He could still take her hand. He could still say yes and bind himself to her power in that single instant. It might be the only way to survive whatever was hiding in the dark.

Or... he could step back, refuse her, and fight both the danger in front of him and the one in the corner.

His fingers curled and uncurled, the decision suspended in the space between two heartbeats.

Then the shadow shifted — and began to move toward them.

Next Chapter Preview – Chapter 79: Shadows in the Queen’s Chamber

The Queen’s private audience room should have been sealed — no guards inside, no windows, no doors left ajar. Yet the faint scrape of metal against stone proves otherwise. Someone has breached her sanctum, and they’ve been here long enough to choose the perfect moment to strike.

Kai’s hand hovers inches from the Queen’s. Accepting her offer now could make him a protected weapon... or a conveniently placed scapegoat. Refusing could mean turning his back on her — and exposing himself to an enemy he hasn’t even seen yet.

Velis draws steel without a word. Astra steps into the open, daring the hidden intruder to reveal themselves. Lyra stays close to Kai, her blade angled low, eyes scanning every shadow.

But when the figure finally emerges, it’s not an assassin in black... it’s someone from Kai’s past. Someone who should be dead.

And they’re here for only one reason — to make sure Kai doesn’t leave this room alive.

Call to Action:

The banquet was only the appetizer — the real hunt begins now. Will Kai seize the Queen’s hand or face the shadows alone? Tap to continue and find out who just stepped out of the dark... before they make their first move.