Chapter 31: The Ambush

The dinner table was set for thirty. It was a grotesque display of luxury in a time of siege.We were using the remaining stock of the Royal Cellars—crystal goblets that had survived the Coup, plates of gold-rimmed porcelain, and enough silverware to melt down and forge a tank. But the food... the food was the tragedy.We were serving roasted root vegetables, salted fish, and a very dense, very dry loaf of black bread. It was peasant food served on King's china."Positively rustic, Your Majesty," Colonel Jefferson said, slicing into the tough bread with a serrated steak knife. He took a bite, chewed thoughtfully, and swallowed."We call it 'The Resistance Stew'," I said, taking a sip of water. "Because it resists being chewed."Jefferson didn't smile. He didn't even blink. He had eyes like a shark—grey, flat, and dead. He sat at my right hand. Armano stood behind my chair, his hand resting on the pommel of his sword. Every time Jefferson moved, Armano shifted his weight, a subtle, pred

Chapter 32 - The Hospital Bed

The silence in the converted storage room wasn't peaceful. It was heavy. It had weight, pressing against my eardrums like deep ocean water, drowning out everything except the rhythmic, high-pitched beep of the heart monitor.It was a torturous sound, a metronome counting down the seconds of a life that hung suspended in the balance.Dr. Vose and her team had left an hour ago, exhausted after three hours of surgery. They had stabilized him, they said. They had stopped the bleeding, removed the bullet fragments, and patched the hole in his lung. But they had also given me a prognosis that sat in my stomach like a stone: he was in a coma. A deep, protective slumber while his body tried to knit itself back together.He might wake up in an hour. He might wake up in a week.Or he might never wake up.I sat on a rickety metal stool that had been scavenged from the mining equipment depot. I hadn’t moved since the doctors walked out. I hadn’t slept. I hadn’

All Chapters of Coronation Of A Disaster: Chapter 31 - Chapter 32

Chapter 31: The Ambush

Chapter 32 - The Hospital Bed