LOGINKADEThe dungeon stairs were slick with moisture and old blood. My boots rang against the stone like hammer strikes as I descended alone, torchlight flickering across the walls and throwing long shadows that danced like dying men. The air grew thicker with every step—damp, metallic, laced with the stink of fear and piss. Good. Let it choke them.Two guards snapped to attention at the bottom landing. I didn’t acknowledge them. Corvin’s cell was the first on the right, iron bars thick as my wrist. He was pacing when I stopped in front of them, military boots scuffing the filthy straw. His uniform was torn at the shoulder, face flushed with the same arrogant rage he’d worn in the council chamber. The moment he saw me his lips curled.“Well, well. King Kade himself. Come to gloat?” His voice echoed off the stone. “Or have you finally realized what a mistake you’ve made?”I said nothing at first. I simply lifted the leather folder in my left hand and opened it. Inside were the sealed stat
CHAPTER 106ROWAN My mind would not stop spinning. Should I just tell the other kings myself? Telling them could mean death, especially with Dante’s temper. He was just starting to see me as more than a pet, more than something they bought at an auction. They were beginning to treat me like I belonged, like I mattered. If I told them the truth now, everything could shatter. I could lose them. I could lose the only safety I had ever known. What if they all turned away from me like Kade had in the hallway?I stood up and paced the room, my hands shaking a little. The next day I forced myself to get up and go to the hospital to see Alastair. The guards followed me at a distance, but I barely noticed them. When I reached the medical wing, Varynia was standing outside Alastair’s room, looking exhausted but still trying to hold it together. I hugged her and we walked into Alastair's ward.We sat with Alastair for a while. Varynia held his hand and talked to him softly. Suddenly Alastair
CHAPTER 105 I left the hospital area with a heavy heart, the coffee in my hand growing cold as I walked back through the quiet corridors. Kade had ignored me completely. He had walked right past me without even a glance, like I was invisible, like I did not matter. The hurt settled deep in my chest and would not leave. I kept wondering what I had done wrong. Had I said something? Had I disappointed him? The thoughts spun around in my head, making my steps feel heavier with every hallway I passed. When I reached my room, I closed the door behind me and sat on the edge of the bed, staring at the floor. The palace still felt heavy with grief from the ball, and now this silence from Kade made everything feel even worse. Kade had looked right through me. That hurt more than I wanted to admit. I could not sit there any longer. I stood up and left the room again, telling the guards I was just going for a short walk. . I went back toward the hospital wing, hoping to find Kade and talk to
ROWAN I woke up slowly, the warmth of Dante’s head still resting on my stomach. He had fallen asleep there after I had stroked his hair for a while. He had only slept for about two hours — nothing too serious — but even that short rest made me feel a little lighter. With everything that had happened at the ball, the poisoning, the fear, the locked room, I had missed the kings so badly. I needed them. I needed their presence, their touch, their voices to remind me I was not alone in this heavy, grieving palace. Dante looked beautiful while he slept. His face was softer than usual, the cold mask gone, replaced by quiet vulnerability. His dark lashes rested against his cheeks, and his breathing was slow and even. I wanted to reach out and brush the hair from his forehead, but I did not want to wake him. He had carried so much. He deserved this small moment of peace. Eventually Dante stirred. He lifted his head, looked at me for a long moment, then leaned in and gave me a deep, slow
DANTE The moment the last noble left the hall, I turned to the nearest guard captain and gave the order without hesitation. “Take fifty guards and search General Corvin’s residence immediately. Bring back every document, every letter, every vial, every piece of evidence you find. Search the entire property — cellars, attics, stables, everything. Do not leave a single drawer unopened. If anyone resists, detain them. Report directly to me the moment you return.” The captain bowed sharply. “Yes, Your Majesty. We will leave at once.” I watched as tens of guards formed up and marched out of the palace in disciplined lines, their armor clinking under the torchlight. Only then did I allow myself a slow exhale. The night had been long and bloody, and the noble houses were already stirring with discontent, but we could not afford weakness now. I turned to my brothers. Lucien was still scowling toward the doors the nobles had exited through, while Kade stood silent and watchful as always
CHAPTER 102The guards dragged General Corvin into the interrogation room with his hands bound behind his back. His uniform was still pristine, but his face was flushed with fury and disbelief. He struggled against their grip as they forced him into the chair and secured the chains. I stood across from him with Lucien on my left and Kade on my right, our expressions cold and unyielding. The air in the room felt thick with tension.Corvin glared up at us, his voice loud and defiant the moment the guards stepped back. “This is an outrage! You dare arrest me like a common criminal? I have served the crown loyally for years. I demand an explanation right now!”I looked down at him without emotion. “You are here because we have evidence that you ordered the massacre at Blackthorn Hollow and the poisoning at the ball. You drugged Rowan and tried to corner him while he was vulnerable. You set a trap meant to kill the kings. Speak. Deny it if you wish, but we already know the truth.”Corvin l
CHAPTER 34ROWANVarynia had left quietly after that slap still echoed in the room, her footsteps fading down the corridor until the only sound left was the steady beep of Kade’s monitors and the faint rasp of his breathing through the oxygen mask. She had hugged me tight one last time, whispering
CHAPTER 31DANTE We drove hard through the night. The guards followed in tight formation behind, their armor clinking softly with every stride, but none of us spoke much because words felt unnecessary when the air itself carried the promise of violence waiting just beyond the next ridge.The smell
CHAPTER 28 DANTE I woke up slowly in the unfamiliar bed, my head throbbing faintly from the whisky I had consumed the night before, and the moment full awareness hit me, I realized with sharp irritation that I was still in Rowan's room, the sheets tangled around my body and th
CHAPTER 27ROWAN“What are you doing here?” I asked sharply the moment Dante stepped fully into the room and closed the door behind him with a soft but deliberate click that echoed in the quiet space, my voice coming out higher than I intended because my heart had already started racing the second







