Semua Bab The Queen is Man: Bab 61 - Bab 70

"Where do you think you’re going?"The voice echoed through the wet, stone mouth of the drainage tunnel. I froze. My hands were buried in the black sludge of the city’s underbelly. Sewage soaked into the hem of my white silks. The cold was a physical weight, pressing against my lungs. I didn't turn around."Further than you can reach," I whispered. My teeth chattered."The Alchemist is dead, Noah." Matthew’s daughter, Elara, stepped out of the shadows of the arched masonry. She wasn't holding a tray of grapes. She held a dagger. The blade was stained with something thick and dark. "He tried to open the sea-gate. The King’s men were already there. They don't take prisoners anymore.""He said—he said the diversion would work." I scrambled backward, my back hitting the damp, mossy wall."The diversion worked for me." Elara wiped the blade on her tunic. "Not for you. You're the one with the glowing neck, remember?"She wasn't lying. The sapphire in the silver collar wasn't just blue anymo

"Execute the demon."The words didn't come from a stranger. They came from Lord Halloway, the man who had taught Ethan how to hold a sword. He stood at the head of the Great Council table, his hand trembling as he pointed at the closed doors of the royal bedchamber."My kingdom is under siege, Halloway." Ethan didn't move from the throne. He sat with his legs crossed, the silver-headed cane he’d used since the ravine leaning against his knee. "Matthew Collins’ ships are in the harbor. The Southern King is at the gates. And you’re worried about who’s in my bed?""The people think he’s a curse!" Halloway slammed a stack of parchment onto the mahogany. "The declaration from the West arrived an hour ago. They aren't citing land disputes or trade taxes. They call it a Crusade. An 'unholy' stain on the Northern crown. They say the foreign Prince has bewitched you into a blasphemous decadence.""Blasphemous decadence." Ethan tasted the words. He leaned forward, the firelight catching the sha

"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

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

"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