King's Cage Victoria Aveyard Novels & Stories

I took the sword and ran towards it, I could fit through it. I pushed the large vase under it and used it as a ladder to lift me so I could see what lies beyond— the woods with dozens of vervain. I felt the wind as it brushed my face and the scent of the flowers lingered in the air. The window was too small that I would struggle by just putting my head out. I need to get through this and run to the woods to be able to seek refuge in my father’s alliances. I pried it open as I attempted to crawl out of it but a loud voice called out my name in the garden. “Victoria,” Lord Zakariah shouted, “come out or I will kill your father.” My body tensed up as I heard the word father.

“His Majesty is… resting in his apartments. He will preside when his health allows.” First up, the court will examine us - curious onlookers sizing up rare creatures - then call forth the weak king. East wing holds our rooms - roomy, richly dressed, yet clearly a cage. From the panes, a straight fall down to the water below. Oak makes the door heavy. Just one way in or out. Right away, Alex stations two of us by the threshold. Paige drops down on a couch covered in soft fabric just as the attendant steps away, her calm falling apart. Heavy air presses in around her - too many scents mixed together, thick like smoke. She breathes out, voice low: “Everything feels too much right now.”

They wander past the east wing corridor to get other work done. ___________ That evening, Ava couldn't sleep. She searched everywhere but all she got was the same old answer. Something tells her the tomb of the first king was at the Royals' cemetery. So, after finalizing, she decided to leave the palace for the cemetery once everybody was asleep. Even knowing how dangerous it was, her inquisitiveness had gotten the best of her. She loitered until it was almost midnight, she didn't take the lamp like she had thought she would, the moon was up in the sky, glowing brightly.

’ Jayden prayed, ‘I hope you can rest in peace and the nightmare will end? King Victor’s body was preserved well inside the crystal ice casket, created by the power of the Frostbringer. The coffin was shaped hexagonal prism and stood vertically above the ground. The pilgrims could see the King clearly through the transparent ice coffin. He looked grand in his royal apparel while kept holding his sword and shield on his chest. Next to the king, stood Queen Victoria’s casket, whose body also preserved beautifully inside the crystal ice. The queen wore a royal silk dress with golden tiara embellished on her long wavy hair. She had passed away right after she gave birth to her youngest son, Aid

The view stole her breath. A fortress sprawled below her, carved into a mountain cleft. Wolves patrolled the walls—not in human form, but furred and massive, their eyes glinting in the grey light. Beyond the walls, pine forest stretched to the horizon, endless and dark. Above it all, a sky the color of bruised plums. The Nightshade Dominion, she remembered. His territory. His kingdom. And she was his prisoner. Or his mate. She wasn't sure which was worse.

Again, Aodh lifts his foot coming down faster and heavier trying to squish the werewolf king beneath him. My heart stutters as I think of what could possibly happen. I didn’t want to lose Kellen. I didn’t want to think of a life in this realm without him. I couldn’t bear the thought of Tala and Prince Connor living without the werewolf king. “Aodh!” I yell hoping he will focus on me and stop his attack on Kellen. But he doesn’t. Aodh’s assault on Kellen quickens when he maneuvers both his feet trying to squish the wolf king under them.

Novels I had casually mentioned loving years ago in old, forgotten conversations were left neatly on the nightstand. Even the meals brought to me were curated precisely around my dietary dislikes. It was a suffocating realization, he hadn't just kidnapped me. He had studied me. He was watching me through invisible eyes, molding my prison into a terrifyingly intimate reflection of myself. Then, on the fourteenth night, the routine broke. A maid entered the room, placing a stunning, form-fitting black velvet dress on the bed along with a simple, elegant note written in a sharp, heavy script:

**Chapter 59: Fire and Hunger** The weight of command didn’t leave Raven when the doors closed. It followed her. Into the silence. Into the dark. Into the space between heartbeats. *** By the time she returned to their chamber, the castle had gone still. No war council. No voices. No expectations. Just quiet. *** Victoria was already there. Waiting. *** Not in armor. Not as a princess. Not as a commander. *** Just her. *** Candlelight flickered across the room, casting soft gold against crimson silk and shadowed stone. Victoria stood near the bed, her dark hair loose over her shoulders, her expression unreadable for half a second—

The shackle around my ankle was heavy, and my legs gave out. I managed to keep from falling by gripping the table, but I realized I wasn’t even allowed to leave the kitchen with these legs. Just as I collapsed, the man returned with a black box in his hand. He knelt in front of me and said, “The loser has to follow the winner’s punishment. You knocked over the dominoes, so you lost this game.” “I lost……? You never said that.” “Didn’t I?” The man tilted his head. I didn’t know what was in that black box, but he had brought it. I didn’t want to look inside. After a pause, the man flicked his finger and tapped the lid of the black box, then added,

"Do not say that. Do not ever say that." "Why not?" Elowen asked. "It is the truth. I would rather die free than live in a cage, even if that cage has silk sheets and a king who thinks he is protecting me." "You think you are the only one in a cage?" Corvin asked, his voice breaking. "I am king of an empire I cannot control, surrounded by nobles who plot my death, bound by Crown Sight that shows me a thousand futures where everything I love turns to ash. I do not have freedom either, Elowen. I have duty and responsibility and the weight of a crown that will crush me if I make one wrong choice."