Share

Chapter 81: The Poisoned Hour

Author: Dione Zeus
last update Last Updated: 2025-09-16 18:15:40
The city rose that morning bright and proud, as if it would not remember fire or blood. Market stalls bloomed along the avenues, banners snapped in a cold wind, and the central square swelled with people eager for celebration: food, music, proclamations of endurance. The duchess’s presence had become a promise the people could hold. Today, the crown of hope would be on display.

I stood on the palace balcony, looking down at the square where tables had been laid for a feast in honor of the guards’ valor. Countless platters steamed, barrels gleamed, and children darted between adults like quicksilver. The air smelled of spice and roasting meat, a thousand small comforts wrapped into a single bright morning.

“Careful,” Cassian said at my shoulder, his voice low. He had ridden with patrols before dawn, checking lines and watchmen, and now he wore the quiet gravity of a man who expected nothing to go smoothly.

“I never thought peace would come without a bribe,” I said, though my eyes never
Dione Zeus

Do you think Serina has a great chance of surviving the attacks and dangers on her path? Do you think Damien will let things go easily? Will Aria turn a new leaf? Sir Cassian, is he a friend or a foe? Let's find out… Will Serina and Cassian see through this, how much will love and thirst for revenge keep them going? Who is the main hand behind the serpent attacks and poisoning? Will the community not turn against Lady Serina since she can't save them all in perilous times.. What if she is dethroned and killed again🫢 Will her thirst for revenge lead to another rebirth or death? Let's see..👀 Short chapters or long chapters, which do you prefer?🌝 Comment your opinion below Let's make it happen🤗.

| Like
Continue to read this book for free
Scan code to download App
Locked Chapter

Latest chapter

  • REVENGE AFTER REBIRTH-THE LORD'S FORSAKEN BRIBE   Chapter 105: Quiet weight

    Morning came grey and heavy, as if the sky itself had not slept. The smoke from the night’s fire still lingered, thin threads that refused to fade. From the window of what was left of my chamber, I could see the workers clearing debris from the courtyard, carrying buckets of water, stacking blackened stone into neat piles. The palace was breathing again, but it breathed through pain.Cassian entered without knocking. His armor was polished but dented in places, a reminder that he had spent most of the night in the ashes with the others. He set a small bundle on my table, a handful of letters saved from the flames.“They found these in the west corridor,” he said. “Most of the others are gone.”I unwrapped the cloth. The letters were scorched around the edges, the ink blurred, but the seal on one of them was still clear, the serpent’s mark.“They were inside the palace,” I said quietly.Cassian nodded. “Too deep to be a courier’s mistake.”I ran my thumb over the seal. Aria’

  • REVENGE AFTER REBIRTH-THE LORD'S FORSAKEN BRIBE   Chapter 104: What Remains After Fire

    Smoke still hung over the city when the sun broke the horizon. The palace was half a ruin. Stone walls blackened, banners torn, courtyards littered with ash. The east wing still hissed where buckets of water had met the flames. I walked through it slowly, boots crunching over glass and debris. Every few steps a guard bowed his head, ashamed. None of them could look at me for long. Cassian followed close behind. His armor was smeared with soot, his voice rough from shouting orders through the night. “It started in the treasury,” he said. “They poured oil through the vents. Whoever planned this knew the palace better than we did.” “Someone inside,” I answered. “Always someone inside.” I stopped at the doorway to see what had been the record hall. The shelves were gone, nothing left but metal frames and smoke. Centuries of accounts, charters, and bloodlines are all gone. Cassian touched my shoulder. “You should rest.” I shook my head. “No. Rest is what she wants.” By midday,

  • REVENGE AFTER REBIRTH-THE LORD'S FORSAKEN BRIBE   Chapter 103: Letter of Ruins

    I woke before dawn, long before the bells. I hadn’t slept much; Aria’s lies still echoed in every corner. Even silence carried her voice.Cassian stood by the window when I entered the war room. His armor was half buckled, his hair still damp from the morning rain.“She’s turned the council against itself,” he said. “Half of them believe I sold secrets to your sister.”I moved to the table and spread the newest reports across it. Letters, sightings, names. “Then we give them proof she’s lying.”He frowned. “How?”“By finding the mouths she feeds,” I said. “Every rumor starts somewhere. Find it, and we cut it off before it spreads again.”Cassian nodded. “You want spies.”“I want truth,” I said quietly. “And I don’t care how we find it.” By noon, the city was restless again. The rain had stopped, but the air felt thick, waiting for something to happen.I rode through the streets with only a small escort. People stopped to stare. Some bowed; others looked away.Rumor had teeth. You c

  • REVENGE AFTER REBIRTH-THE LORD'S FORSAKEN BRIBE   Chapter 102: Whispers in the Flame

    The rain fell hard that night. It washed the city streets clean, but it could not wash away the fear.From my balcony, I watched the drops beat against the marble rails, the sound steady, almost soothing. It was the only thing that felt calm anymore.Cassian joined me quietly. His presence was grounding, a steady warmth beside the storm.“More fires in the lower district,” he said. “Small ones. Controlled. Set to draw attention.”“Distractions,” I murmured.He nodded. “Someone’s testing your reach.”My fingers gripped the balcony edge. “Aria.”Her name left a taste like iron on my tongue.She was clever enough not to strike twice in the same place. Every move she made was meant to confuse, to pull me thin. The people were beginning to question which Valcrest they could trust; the serpent or the flame.Cassian turned to face me, his eyes searching mine. “You can’t keep defending this city alone. Let me take the northern quarter.”I shook my head. “You’re still healing.”“I’ve healed

  • REVENGE AFTER REBIRTH-THE LORD'S FORSAKEN BRIBE   Chapter 101: Ashes in the mirror

    The city hadn’t slept in days. Fear had become a living thing, moving through the streets, whispering in the markets, curling up in the corners of every home.One name carried on every breath.Aria.The woman who had once been caged beneath the palace now walked free again.And I could feel her presence in every flicker of shadow. The council hall felt colder that morning. The nobles spoke in circles, demanding executions, while others begged for peace. I didn’t answer them right away. I just watched the flame burning in the center of the table, its light steady against the gloom.“We will not chase ghosts,” I finally said. “We will find her, but not by tearing apart the city we swore to protect.”Lord Alaric scoffed. “You think to reason with a serpent?”I looked him in the eye. “No, I intend to starve it.”They fell silent. Cassian stepped closer to me, his expression calm, but his eyes told me he was tired. He hadn’t slept, not really. None of us had.“The merchant’s death

  • REVENGE AFTER REBIRTH-THE LORD'S FORSAKEN BRIBE   Chapter 100: Empty Cage

    While i trust my instinct, i went down to the dungeon, torchlight spilling across the stone. The iron doors hung open, hinges bent. Bodies laid crumpled on the ground, their blood soaking into the cracks.Captain Varrek knelt beside one of the fallen, his jaw tight, his hands clenched. “They’re dead. All of them. Slained.”I stepped forward, my heart pounding as I reached the final cell. The bars gaped wide, chains lying useless on the floor.Empty.Aria was gone.The sound of it roared in my ears, louder than battle. She was free.Cassian’s hand brushed mine, steadying me. His voice was low. “It was her. It had to be. Someone let her out… or she made them believe she was worth freeing.”My throat was dry, my chest tight. “I should have ended it when I had the chance. I let her rot in the dark, thinking it was enough. But serpents do not rot. They shed their skins.”And now she had shed hers.The council chamber seethed with fury. Nobles shouted over one another, voices shrill wi

More Chapters
Explore and read good novels for free
Free access to a vast number of good novels on GoodNovel app. Download the books you like and read anywhere & anytime.
Read books for free on the app
SCAN CODE TO READ ON APP
DMCA.com Protection Status