MasukCHAPTER FIFTY-NINEALARIC’S POVToo many things were happening at once.Too many secrets.Too many lies.And the worst part?I no longer knew who to trust.The prisoners had been alive yesterday.Terrified, beaten, desperate to survive.I had planned to question them again secretly because something about their silence felt unnatural. Men afraid for their lives eventually broke under pressure.They always did.But before they could even speak, they were dead.Killed before they could speak.I clenched my jaw tightly.Someone inside this palace was moving against me now and this time openly.I stopped walking the moment a knock came from the door.“Enter.”The doors opened and Mason stepped inside.The second I saw him, one thought crossed my mind instantly.Elara.“Did you see her?” I asked immediately. “How is she?”The question left my lips faster than intended.Mason noticed it too.I could tell from the brief look in his eyes.Because for days now, I had done everything possible to m
CHAPTER FIFTY-EIGHTELARA’S POV“My queen... my queen...”Valerie said running in“What happened?” I asked weakly, pushing myself up from the bed.Valerie stared at me with widened eyes.“You won't believe what just happened. Those men in the prison are dead.”The sleep vanished from my body instantly.I sat upright.“What?”“They were murdered during the night.”For a moment, I simply stared at her.Dead?“But... why?” I muttered. “They were already imprisoned. They could barely speak from fear. That was my decision to keep them alive”Valerie swallowed hard before moving closer.“It seems the king wanted to question them. He believed they were hiding something.”My stomach tightened immediately.Of course he did.Alaric was not foolish.If something felt wrong to him, he would dig until he uncovered the truth with his bare hands.And now the prisoners were dead before they could speak.That alone was enough to confirm his suspicions.Valerie lowered her voice nervously.“Do you think
CHAPTER FIFTY-SEVENELARA’S POVI’m getting married.The sentence replayed in my head over and over again as I paced the length of my chamber. The word didn’t make sense.It didn’t exist in history. Not in the memories I carried. Not in the past I knew.My hands trembled slightly as I stopped near the window and stared out at the dark palace gardens. The wind rustled through the trees, making the leaves whisper secrets to the night.This had to be it.The war?The same war Alaric fought in the history I remembered. The one he returned from with a broken heart after seeing me in bed with Rowland.My stomach twisted painfully.If that future was already starting to shift… if events were already rearranging themselves… then I was running out of time.I resumed pacing.Every step felt heavier than the last.I had to stay away from Rowland.That much was clear.Until I understood what was happening, until I knew exactly where fate was trying to drag us, I couldn’t risk repeating the same m
CHAPTER FIFTY-SIXELARA’S POVThe moment he said it, the world inside my chest shattered.“I’m getting married.”For a second I thought I had heard him wrong. The words echoed in my head like a cruel joke that refused to fade.“You say what?” I asked slowly, my voice barely holding together.Alaric didn’t even look disturbed. He stood near the window, his back half turned to me, the fading evening light stretching across his shoulders like a crown made of shadows.“I said I’m getting married,” he repeated, his tone calm. Too calm.My heart slammed violently against my ribs.He had to be joking.This was not supposed to happen. It was never part of the plan. Not in the past. Not in the future. Not in any history I knew.My voice rose before I could stop it.“Get married to who?” I demanded, stepping closer. “Who the hell are you getting married to?”Now he turned fully toward me, his expression cold and distant. The kind of look that made it feel like he had already pushed me out of hi
CHAPTER FIFTY-FIVEALARIC’S POVThe worst part about betrayal is not the anger. It is the doubt that follows after.I had convinced myself I was done with her. I had repeated it like a prayer for two whole days. “I disgusted her”, that was what she said. The words still rang in my ears, sharp and humiliating. I had sworn with every fiber in me that I would deal with her. I would make her life miserable just as she had done with mine. And yet the moment I saw her in that hall , something inside me shifted.Her stare was not cruel. It was not mocking. It was not the look of a woman who despised her husband. It was steady. Almost pleading. And when she stepped forward, willing to sacrifice herself for those fools, I felt something twist in my chest.It did not make sense.Something about the whole situation sounded wrong. The missing money. The way it unfolded. The way she carried herself. I was already searching for a way to avert the trial even before I admitted it to myself. I did no
CHAPTER FIFTY-FOURELARA’S POV“Announcing…..”The heavy doors burst open.“My king.”Every head turned at once.Rowland.He strode in with authority and bowed deeply before Alaric, his voice calm but urgent.“Sire Rowland,” Alaric said, surprise flickering across his face. “What a pleasant surprise. I learned you had traveled.”“I have returned, my king,” Rowland replied. “And I bring something that will interest you. I looked into the gold case, and we discovered something… enlightening.”The court stirred.Alaric leaned back slightly. “As you already know, the missing coins were found in the queen’s chambers. I have chosen to grant her a trial instead of immediate punishment. What is it that you have found?”Rowland lifted his chin. “It may delight you to know, my king, that the queen is innocent.”A gasp rippled through the hall.My breath caught.“What do you mean?” Alaric demanded.“Bring them in.”The doors opened again, but this time not gently. Five figures were dragged ins
CHAPTER FIFTY-THREEELARA’S POV“Your Highness,” I began, forcing my voice to remain steady despite the weight pressing against my chest, “as you well know, during the time of the theft, I was at the Nations. And at the time you received news of it… we were in a hotel room. Pardon my choice of wor
CHAPTER FIFTY-TWOELARA’S POVThe moment he said he would give his verdict tomorrow, I knew something inside us had finally broken.I stood there watching Alaric walk away from me as if I meant nothing, as if everything we had shared was some elaborate mistake he was now desperate to erase. My ches
CHAPTER FIFTYGENERAL POVThey called her the vile queen again.The words moved through the palace like smoke after a fire, slipping under doors, curling around pillars, settling in the hearts of servants who once dared to smile at her. By morning, the entire kingdom seemed to whisper the same thin
CHAPTER TWOVIVIAN'S POVThe sheets were still tangled around us, damp with sweat, when I whispered his name.“Adrian.”He hummed against my neck, still buried inside me, lazy and content. His breath was warm on my skin.“Baby,” I said softly, fingers tracing the line of his shoulder. “You didn’t u







