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67

Penulis: Gun ink
last update Tanggal publikasi: 2026-04-05 02:08:39

You will burn the Southern flank or I will have your heads before the sun hits the harbor."

My voice didn't shake. I squeezed the heavy wool of Ethan's cloak, the scent of cedar and his musk clogging my throat. The silver clasp dug into my collarbone. I stood behind the translucent silk screen, my silhouette tall and sharp against the flickering torchlight of the War Room.

"The King’s orders are specific," I said. "General Vance, you move the ballistae to the East Gate. General Kael, you hold t
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  • The Queen is Man   69

    "You’re going to hand me over like a sack of grain?"I backed away from the map table. My heels hit the stone floor with a sharp, hollow click. Lord Halloway didn't look up. He kept his eyes on the tactical markers. His hands were shaking. I could see the sweat staining his silk collar."Matthew Collins has ten thousand men at the gate, Noah." Halloway finally looked at me. His eyes were bloodshot. Desperate. "The walls are crumbling. The West has already taken the lower docks. If we give him what he came for, maybe he doesn't burn the palace.""He didn't come for me out of mercy." I grabbed a heavy glass carafe from the table. My knuckles were white. "He’s my brother. You think he wants a family reunion? He wants a trophy. He wants to show the North that he can take their King’s favorite toy and keep it for himself.""It’s better than dying." Thorne stepped out from the shadows. He was clutching a signed scroll. "The nobility has reached a consensus. You’re a Southern prince. You’re

  • The Queen is Man   68

    "Don't move. Not another inch."Ethan’s voice cracked. He sat on the floor, leaning against the heavy iron-bound door of the vault. His crown lay discarded in the dust. His hair, usually slicked back, hung in damp, tangled clumps over his eyes. He held a spool of golden silk cord in his lap, his fingers shaking as he looped it."Ethan, the generals are waiting." I stepped toward him, my palms open. "The West has reached the inner gate. If I don't go back behind that screen, the army will collapse.""They're gone. Everything's gone." He looked up. His eyes weren't the eyes of a King. They were the eyes of a boy watching his world burn. "They're coming for me, Noah. Just like my father did. He's in the hallway. I can hear the belt hitting the stone.""That’s cannon fire, Ethan. Not a belt." I knelt in front of him. I reached for his hand. "Give me the keys. I'll go out there. I'll tell them you're preparing a final strike. I'll buy us time.""No!" He lunged forward. He didn't grab my ha

  • The Queen is Man   67

    You will burn the Southern flank or I will have your heads before the sun hits the harbor."My voice didn't shake. I squeezed the heavy wool of Ethan's cloak, the scent of cedar and his musk clogging my throat. The silver clasp dug into my collarbone. I stood behind the translucent silk screen, my silhouette tall and sharp against the flickering torchlight of the War Room."The King’s orders are specific," I said. "General Vance, you move the ballistae to the East Gate. General Kael, you hold the bridge. No one crosses. Not even the wounded.""The King hasn't spoken in three days." Vance’s voice was like gravel. "Why does he hide behind a curtain? The men need to see his face, not a shadow in a dress.""The King is occupied with the defense of the inner sanctum." I leaned closer to the silk. My shadow grew, looming over the map on the table. "Do you question the Wolf’s decree, Vance? Or do you just want to see if his teeth are still sharp?"Kael shifted. His armor clattered. "We don't

  • The Queen is Man   66

    "Drink."Ethan pressed the rim of the silver chalice against my lips. The wine was thick, metallic, tasting of crushed berries and something darker. I swallowed. Some of it escaped, staining the front of my white silk tunic. He didn't pull the cup away. He watched the drop roll down my throat."I can't... the noise. Ethan, the bells."I tried to push his hand back. He didn't budge. Outside the heavy oak doors of the Shadow Gallery, the world was screaming. The iron bells of the North were tolling—a rhythmic, frantic clanging that signaled the end. Matthew Collins’ fleet hadn't just arrived. They were breathing down the neck of the capital."The bells aren't for us." Ethan set the cup on the floor. It tipped. Dark liquid bled into the white rug. "They’re for the men who still think there's a world left to save. Look at me, Noah.""They're calling you a demon." I grabbed his forearms. His skin was fever-hot. "The heralds... they're shouting it in the streets. They say I've hexed you. Th

  • The Queen is Man   65

    "The walls are down."I didn't move. I couldn't. The floor beneath my feet hummed with a low, rhythmic vibration that had nothing to do with the wind. Another boom followed. This one was closer. The heavy glass in the balcony doors rattled against the lead frames."They’re early," Ethan said. He was standing by the stone railing, his silhouette cut out against a sky that was turning the color of an open wound."The Alchemist said they’d wait for the tide." I walked toward him. My bare feet felt every tremor in the masonry. "He said Matthew Collins wouldn't risk the rocks.""Matthew Collins didn't come for the rocks. He came for you." Ethan turned. His eyes were dark. Blown out. He looked at the silver collar around my neck, then back to the horizon. "He’s using fire-oil. He’s burning his way through the harbor.""Ethan—""Don't." He grabbed my wrist. His fingers were cold. Hard. "Listen to that sound. That’s the end of the world as we knew it. Do you hear the screaming?""I hear the c

  • The Queen is Man   64

    "Don't look at the window."Ethan’s voice was a rasp. He didn't move from the edge of the bed. He just sat there, his shoulders hunched, his head hanging between his knees. The orange glow of the burning harbor crawled up the stone walls, flickering like a dying pulse."I can’t look at anything else." I pulled the heavy fur tighter around my chest. "The ships are getting closer. I can see the flags now. My father’s lion.""Let him come." Ethan stood up. He walked to the small table by the hearth. He poured two glasses of wine. His hand shook. The glass clinked against the ceramic. "He’s coming for a crown that’s already melting. He’s coming for a son who doesn't exist anymore.""He’s coming for a son he thinks needs saving." I turned away from the glass. "He doesn't know I’m the one who gave you the keys to the Southern vaults.""You did that to survive." Ethan walked over. He handed me a glass. "You played the villain to keep your head. It’s the only smart thing you’ve done since you

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