All Chapters of Dead Queens Don't Kneel Twice: Return of the Beheaded Empres: Chapter 21 - Chapter 30

YUNA'S POVValerius was standing when I entered.That was never good. Sitting Valerius was managed Valerius — contained, deliberate, working through something at his own pace. Standing Valerius had already decided. His body was coiled with the energy of a man who had been building toward something all evening and was now ready to release it.His chamber was lit by a single bank of candles on the far wall. The rest of the room was shadow, deep and swallowing, the kind of darkness that seemed to move at the edges of your vision."You permitted Lucian to come to the dining hall," he said."I thought it would please you to—""I didn't ask what you thought." He turned from the window. His eyes were flat and pale, the color of winter sky before snow. "I asked that he remain with the household staff during formal functions. That was the instruction.""He wanted to see you," I said. "He asks about you constantly. He loves you and I thought—""You thought." He crossed the room toward me and so

YUNA'S POV"Soranya."The name left my lips like a breath I'd been holding for three years.The figure in the doorway didn't move. Didn't speak. Just stood there, those dark eyes fixed on me, and let the silence stretch."No," I said again, shaking my head. "No, you can't be. I watched you die. I watched the blade fall. I saw your head—" My voice broke. "I saw them take your body. I saw them bury you. I stood at your grave. I stood there and I watched them put you in the ground."Still nothing."Say something," I begged. "Please. Say something. Tell me I'm wrong. Tell me this is some trick. Tell me—""I came back."The voice was muffled through the mask, but I knew it. I knew it the way I knew the sound of Lucian's breathing in the dark. I had heard that voice in my nightmares for three years. I had heard it in the quiet moments when I let myself remember what I had done."No," I whispered. "No, that's impossible. People don't come back from the dead. They don't—""Did you miss me?"T

CASTIEL'S POVI burst through the door and my heart stopped.She was on the floor. Blood on her hand. Glass everywhere. Shaking so badly I could see it from across the room. Her whole body was trembling, her shoulders heaving, her breath coming in short, ragged gasps that sounded like she was drowning.I crossed the space in two strides and dropped to my knees beside her. My hands found her shoulders, gripping her, trying to steady her. She was so cold. So small."Nessa. Look at me."She couldn't. Her eyes were fixed on the broken mirror, wide and terrified. The whites of her eyes were visible all the way around. I had never seen her like this. Never. Not when she was starving at the gate. Not when she faced Valerius in the throne room. Not even when she fell apart in my arms after the feast."Hey." I squeezed her shoulders. "Hey. Look at me. Please."She dragged her eyes to mine. They were wet. Frightened. So much fear in them that it made my chest ache."I've got you," I said. "You'

NESSA'S POVThe courtyard had been transformed into something obscene.What was once an open training ground where wolves had bled and warriors had fallen was now a spectacle of wealth and excess. Silk banners hung from every pillar, deep crimson and gold, bearing the Ketharan crest like a brand. Flowers draped from the balconies above—winter roses, impossibly out of season, their petals dark and velvety against the cold stone. The sheer cost of it made my stomach turn. Every petal was a coin. Every banner was a declaration. Every detail screamed power.Rows of seating had been arranged in a semicircle around a raised dais. Velvet cushions in deep burgundy. Gilded armrests carved with wolves mid-hunt. Everything designed to remind you exactly whose house you were in. Whose rules you followed. Whose whim decided your fate.Nobles filled the seats. Wolves and humans alike, dressed in their finest, their jewels catching the morning light like scattered stars. The air hummed with conversa

VALERIUS POVThe first woman stepped forward.She was young. Barely eighteen. Dark hair cascading down her shoulders. Full lips parted slightly. The kind of girl who had probably been told her whole life that her beauty would open doors. She was trembling. Good.She reached for the ties of her dress and let it fall.The silk pooled at her feet. The crowd murmured. Some nobles leaned forward with interest. Others looked away, clearly uncomfortable. A few of the older ladies pressed their lips together in disapproval.I didn't care what they thought. This was my court. My rules. My pleasure.I watched her stand there, completely nude, her hands at her sides. Her breasts were full and round, her nipples hardening in the cold air. Her hips curved into smooth thighs. A triangle of dark hair between her legs.She was trying to look confident. Trying to look like she wasn't terrified. But I could see the way her hands trembled at her sides.I leaned forward. My eyes traveled over her body. S