All Chapters of The Queen is Man: Chapter 51 - Chapter 60

"You’re dead, Noah."The words hit me like a physical blow. I didn't move. Couldn't. My heart hammered against my ribs, a trapped animal sensing the cage door locking for good. I looked at Ethan. He was standing by the heavy oak door of the Shadow Gallery, silhouetted by the flickering torchlight from the hall. He wasn't wearing his crown, but he’d never looked more like a King."Dead?" My voice came out as a thin rasp. "The city... they saw me win the trial. They saw me stand.""They saw a demon collapse in his own filth." Ethan stepped toward me. His boots clicked on the stone. "The official decree went out an hour ago. Queen Abigail succumbed to the Northern poison. The Southern Prince is a memory. A tragedy to justify the taxes I’m about to levy for the war.""You murdered my name.""I saved your life." He reached out, his fingers brushing the ice-blue silk of my sleeve. "The High Priest is still scouring the catacombs with silver-tipped spears. He wants to burn the 'Demon' who co

"Where did you get that?"Elara stood in the doorway. The wooden tray in her hands rattled. She didn't drop it. Her eyes—usually dead, milky things—were pinned to the floorboard I’d just pried up. She didn't speak, but her hands were shaking. The porcelain bowl of broth sloshed, spilling over the side."I found it under the bed, Elara. Why is there a man in a Royal Guard uniform hidden under the King’s floor?"She didn't answer. She couldn't. She just set the tray down on the small table and gestured for me to put the wood back. She pointed at the door. He's coming. That was the message in her frantic, silent movements."No. Look at him." I held the small, framed canvas up to the torchlight. "Look at the eyes. The jaw. He has the same scar on his chin I got in the Ravine. This isn't just some guard."Elara grabbed my wrist. Hard. Her skin was like cold parchment. She shook her head. Her mouth opened, but only a wet, raspy sound came out. She looked terrified."Is this why I'm here?" I

"Drop the torch."The guard’s voice cracked. He held the crossbow leveled at my chest. I didn't drop it. The flame licked the air, casting long, shivering shadows across the leather-bound spines of the Royal Library."I have the King’s seal," I said. I held up the signet ring Ethan had left on the nightstand. It felt heavy. Like lead. "The High Priest is dead. The Shadow Gallery is a tomb. I need the records from the 2024 Expansion. Now.""The King said no one enters. Especially not a ghost." The guard’s finger tightened on the trigger. "You shouldn't be here, Prince Noah.""The King is currently occupied with a rebellion at the gates and a father who wants his head." I took a step forward. The tip of the bolt was inches from the sapphire in my collar. "Do you really think he’ll care if I read a few books? Or do you want to be the one to tell him why the 'Demon' he loves is bleeding on his rug?"The guard swallowed. He looked at the ring. He looked at my eyes. He lowered the weapon. "

"Pour the wine, Noah."The silver chain rattled. It was a heavy, rhythmic sound against the stone floor. I stood behind the velvet chair where Charlotte Reed’s sister, Lady Elena, sat with a smirk that looked like it had been painted on with spite. I was wearing nothing but the sheer Northern silks—white, thin, and insulting. The silver collar pressed against my windpipe every time I moved my head."You heard the King." Elena reached out, her fingers trailing over the mahogany table toward Ethan’s hand. "Don't be slow. I’m quite thirsty.""He’s not slow." Ethan didn't look at her. He stared at me. His eyes were dark, tracking the way the silk clung to my chest. "He’s just adjusting to his new jewelry. Aren't you, Noah?""The silver is a bit heavy, Your Majesty." I picked up the crystal decanter. The red wine inside looked like old blood. "Maybe I’m out of practice playing the servant.""You aren't a servant." Ethan’s hand snapped out, catching my wrist. Hard. "You're my consort. And t

"Did you enjoy the smell of the rot?"The question hit me before the door to the bedchamber even finished closing. Ethan was sitting in the high-backed chair by the hearth. He wasn't wearing his crown. He wasn't even wearing a tunic. Just trousers and the heavy, jagged scars crossing his back like a map of a war zone. He held a needle in one hand and a pot of black ink in the other."I needed answers, Ethan." I leaned against the door. The silver chain rattled against the wood. "The kind you don't give. The kind that don't involve silk and leashes.""Answers." Ethan stood up. He walked toward me, the firelight catching the sweat on his chest. He didn't look angry. He looked... hollow. Like someone had scooped out his insides and left the shell. "You went to Matthew Collins. The man who built your cage. You thought a snake would give you the truth?""He told me about your father."Ethan stopped. His jaw tightened so hard a muscle in his neck jumped. "My father. The Great King Aethelred