All Chapters of Blood ,Fire and Frost: Chapter 111 - Chapter 120

Selene POV:The chamber is full before I arrive.That alone tells me everything.When people stop waiting for you to enter before gathering, it means they’ve already decided the conversation will happen with or without your consent.The council hall was never meant to hold this many bodies. Advisers press shoulder to shoulder with regional delegates, aid coordinators, security liaisons. Even a few civilian observers stand along the walls, faces tight with anticipation and anger.Rowan stands at the center.Not seated.Not restrained.But very clearly positioned.I feel the Axis react, a low, protective surge that wants to pull him back, out of reach. I suppress it with practiced precision.If I shield him now, I invalidate everything I’ve said about choice.I take my seat.“Begin,” I say.A councilor named Vereth steps forward. Old-school bureaucrat. Prides himself on

Lucien POV:Exposure is not about revelation.It’s about timing.Dumping everything at once overwhelms people. They drown in detail and cling to the nearest authority for air. I learned that long before Selene took the crown.So I do it slowly.I seed the leak through secondary channels first. Independent analysts. Local scribes with reputations for skepticism. Former hub engineers who know how to read a ledger and smell bullshit through three layers of polish.No commentary.No framing.Just documents.Resource prioritization tables labeled Cooperative Alignment Index.Internal memos discussing “behavioral drift correction.”Aid delay justifications phrased as logistical variance.Then I wait.The coalition responds exactly as predicted.They deny.Then they clarify.Then they contextualize.Then they accuse.By the time their official statement drops, the phrase has already mutated again.

Selene POV:The array activates at dawn.Of course it does.They want witnesses.I feel it before any alert reaches me. The Axis tightens, not in pain, but in anticipation, like a storm pulling itself together strand by strand. The sensation crawls along my spine, familiar and terrifying.Lucien was right.They didn’t try to seize it.They provoked it.Across the city, emotional density spikes in synchronized waves. Fear first. Then grief. Then rage layered over both like a blade.Not random.Engineered.My breath comes slow and controlled as I step onto the balcony overlooking the eastern districts. Screens flare to life across public spaces, broadcasting my image without my authorization.They want my face attached to what comes next.“Citizens,” a coalition voice announces smoothly, “remain calm. This is a controlled stabilization event.”Liar.The Axis surges.I do not suppress it.I do not

Selene POV:They call it a summit, but it’s a tribunal dressed in silk.The chamber is circular by design, tiered seating rising like a coliseum, every sightline angled inward. No throne. No balcony. No elevation.They want me level.Lucien warned me this would be symbolic. Rowan wanted to stand behind me anyway. I let him. Not as a shield. As a reminder.The Axis tightens the moment I cross the threshold, reacting to the density of intent in the room. Fear, resentment, ambition, hunger. Not the raw kind. The curated kind.I do not flare.I do not suppress.I let it exist quietly inside me, coiled and watchful.A representative from the Coalition Council rises. Neutral colors. Carefully calm voice.“Queen Selene,” he says, deliberately using the title instead of my name. “Thank you for honoring this emergency assembly.”Honor.As if refusal were ever an option.“You d

Selene POV:I wake up knowing something is wrong.Not because of pain. Not because of the Axis. But because the room feels… hollow. Like sound itself is reluctant to exist here.The monitors beside my bed are dark. No telemetry. No public feed. Just the slow, human rhythm of my own breathing.Lucien is sitting in the corner when I open my eyes, posture loose, expression anything but.“How long was I out?” I ask.“Six hours,” he replies. “Long enough for the world to decide what you did meant.”“That sounds ominous.”“It is.”I push myself upright, ignoring the wave of dizziness. The Axis stirs gently, like it’s checking on me rather than bracing for impact.“Where’s Rowan?”Lucien doesn’t answer immediately.My chest tightens. “Lucien.”“He’s contained,” he says finally. “Not arrested. Not yet.”The words hit harder than I expect.“For what?” I deman