All Chapters of His Regret, The Crown's Claim : Chapter 111 - Chapter 120

~ Kael's POV ~I woke up to the sound of a heartbeat that wasn't mine.I knew the sound of Risa's heartbeat and I could feel it anywhere, but this…this one wasn't that of the woman I loved.This was different. It was a frantic, echoing thrum, vibrating through the very floorboards of the room where I slept. I sat up in the heavy darkness, my hand instinctively sweeping across the sheets to where Risa should have been.But the bed was cold and empty."Risa?" I called out, my voice sounding hollow but I was met with silence. Not the peaceful silence of a sleeping palace, but a vacuum of sound that made the hair on my arms stand up. I got up immediately from the bed. I checked the bathroom, the water-marbled tile reflecting nothing but shadow. I checked the sitting room, but it was empty too. All the rooms were empty.My chest tightened as I couldn't think of where she would possibly be at this time.“The true bloods!” I growled. But it wasn't possible that they had gotten to her while

~ Cade's POV ~It felt like the walls were breathing. The hot air fanning on my skin.It wasn't a trick of the light or the slow rot of my mind but I could really see the stone blocks of the Void Cell expanding and contracting like the lungs of a dying beast. Every time the shadows shifted, they felt like oily fingers brushing against the back of my neck. I huddled in the far corner, the cold from the floor seeping into my bones, but I barely felt it. I was clawing at the stone, my fingers digging into the microscopic fissures until my nails cracked and bled, leaving dark streaks against the gray."Zara..." I wheezed, the name sounding like a dry leaf rattling in a storm. "Zara, please. The medicine. Just... just one drop."The silence in the Cell wasn't empty of course. It was like a cruel joke told by the gods to mock my suffering. I felt the crushing silence that made my eardrums throb. In the North, there were always sounds, the howling wind, the rustle of the pines, the rhythmic

I reached the Rose Garden just as the voices drifted over the manicured hedges, high, shrill, and dripping with the kind of cruelty that only the bored nobility could muster."It’s a shame, really," I heard Lady Elara say. I have never liked this woman since day one. She was the daughter of a high council Duke, a woman who had spent years angling for a position in my court. Her voice was a cruel titter. "To be a Queen in name, but a curse in reality. They say the King can’t even touch you without being burned. Is that why you sneak around the library like a common thief, Risa? Looking for a way to trick him into staying? Or perhaps a way to fake a mark you’ll never earn?" She sneered.I stopped at the edge of the path, my blood boiling. Risa was standing in the center of the gravel walk, her back to me. Her shoulders were shaking, her hands clenched at her sides. I could feel her empathy bleeding into the air, she was feeling Elara’s petty jealousy and the spite of her friends as if

The ceiling felt like it was pressing down on me, the intricate carvings of the rafters swirling in my vision. My body didn't feel like my own for a bit, it felt like a suit of armor made of lead, every muscle fiber singing with an agonizing thrum. I tried to lift my hand to wipe the sweat from my brow, but the simple movement sent a bolt of pain through my shoulder.“How long?” I managed to croak, my throat feeling as though I had swallowed shards of glass. “How long… have I been here?”A servant, whose hands were shaking so violently she almost dropped the damp cloth she was holding, leaned over me. “Please, My Lady, you must stay still. The healers said speaking would only drain you further. You are so weak.”“I’m fine,” I lied, though the room tilted dangerously to the left. I grabbed the servant’s wrist, my grip surprisingly tight despite my exhaustion. I could feel her fear, a prickling sensation against my palm. She thought I was going to curse her. She thought I was the monst

For over twenty-four hours, these council men had been pounding on the gates of the palace, their demands for an audience with me echoing through the palace. I had ignored them all. It was all noise. The only thing that mattered to me was Risa opening her eyes. I had sat by her side, watching the silver glow beneath her skin, listening for a breath that wouldn't come. My heart was so heavy and even when the servants tried to serve me water, I couldn't stomach it. But now, she was awake. The fire in her eyes had cooled to a haunted brown, and she was safe for now.She seemed to be in a daze but I was happy she had her breath back and she could look at me even though those eyes held profound sadness like she had seen the end of the world and we weren't in it together. I adjusted the cuffs of my black dress shirt, the silk cool against my skin. I looked in the mirror one last time. My eyes were bloodshot, the dark circles beneath them a testament to the night I’d spent on my knees. I