Chapter 55

The blood was still fresh on the stones when Tharx arrived. His general lay lifeless, the body already cooling in the dim torchlight of the war room. The scent of iron thickened the air. The courtiers, warriors, and advisors who had gathered around the scene stood in a stunned, rigid silence.

Aeliana pressed her lips together as she stepped into the room. The tension was suffocating. Even before she saw Tharx's face, she knew what was coming.

His rage.

Tharx was motionless, his dark cloak pooling behind him like the shadow of a storm. His eyes, burning embers in the low light, locked onto the body of General Korvan, one of his most trusted commanders. A man who had fought by his side for years. A man who was now dead-struck down in the halls of his own empire.

Aeliana clenched her hands at her sides. This wasn't just a death. This was a message.

The rebellion had begun.

Tharx exhaled slowly, then turned to the assembled nobles and warriors. His voice, when he spoke, was ice.

"Find them."

A warrior stepped forward, hesitating. "Your Majesty, we are already-"

Tharx's gaze cut to him, sharp as a blade. "I said find them." His voice was deadly calm. "And when you do, bring me their heads."

The warrior flinched and bowed, then hurried from the chamber. The rest of the room held their breath.

Tharx took a step closer to the body, then another. He crouched down, fingers grazing the crimson-stained stone. When he stood again, something had shifted in him. Aeliana could see it.

The last tether of restraint had snapped.

He turned on his council. "Lock down the palace. I want every entrance guarded. Every soldier loyal to me is to patrol the streets. No one moves without my permission." He took another breath, steadying himself before delivering the words that made the room shudder.

"Round up the dissenters. Those who spoke against me-those who hesitated in their loyalty." His voice darkened. "Arrest them. Publicly."

Silence.

Even the most hardened of his advisors hesitated.

"Your Majesty-" a noble began, but Tharx cut him off with a single look.

Aeliana saw it in their faces. The same thing she felt burning in her gut.

Fear.

Tharx had always been ruthless, always been a ruler who commanded with an iron fist-but this was something different. This wasn't strategy. This wasn't control.

This was desperation.

By the time Aeliana found him again, the palace was already in chaos. The courtyards and corridors echoed with the sounds of boots, orders shouted, and the distant wails of those dragged from their homes.

She found Tharx in his war chamber, standing before the massive strategy table, staring at the map of his empire.

"You're unraveling." The words left her mouth before she could stop them.

Tharx didn't look up.

"You should not be here," he said, voice taut.

"And you should not be tearing your own empire apart," Aeliana shot back.

Finally, his gaze lifted to hers. His expression was unreadable, but his eyes-those dark, smoldering eyes-were full of something dangerous. "You think I have a choice?" His voice was quiet, but there was an edge beneath it, a lethal undercurrent.

Aeliana took a step closer, defiant. "You do have a choice. You always have."

Tharx exhaled sharply, stepping away from the table. He ran a hand over his face, the tension in his shoulders making him look like a man on the verge of either shattering or exploding. "They murdered my general in my own halls," he said. "They will not stop there."

"I know," Aeliana said, her voice softer now. "But this?" She gestured toward the chaos outside. "This isn't control, Tharx. This is fear. You're letting them dictate your actions."

His expression darkened. "If I do not act, they will take everything from me."

"And if you destroy everything in your path, there will be nothing left to rule," she fired back.

Silence.

His hands clenched at his sides. Aeliana saw the flicker of something in his expression-something raw, something vulnerable. But then, just as quickly, the mask slipped back into place.

He turned away from her, his voice cold again. "You don't understand what it means to hold power."

She took another step forward, closing the distance between them. "Then make me understand."

Tharx let out a harsh laugh, but there was no humor in it. "You think I want this?" He turned to face her, eyes burning. "You think I enjoy watching my empire crumble from within?"

She met his gaze without flinching. "I think you're scared."

His jaw tensed. "I do not fear them."

"No," Aeliana said softly. "But you fear losing."

For a moment, he just stared at her. Then, voice dangerously quiet, he said, "And what do you think I should do? Let them take everything from me?"

Aeliana's heart pounded. "No. But you need to be better than them."

Tharx stepped closer, his presence overwhelming. "You think I can afford mercy?"

"I think if you don't stop this," she whispered, "you will become the very thing you swore to destroy."

His eyes flickered with something unreadable.

Aeliana swallowed, then made the decision-the one she knew could break them both.

"If you don't care," she said, voice barely above a whisper, "then let me go."

The air in the room changed.

Faster than she could react, Tharx grabbed her wrist, yanking her toward him.

Her back hit the stone wall.

Not in anger.

In desperation.

His grip on her arm was tight but not painful, his body so close that she could feel the heat radiating from him. His breath was uneven, his muscles rigid.

"You think I don't care?" he whispered.

Aeliana's breath caught in her throat.

His fingers curled against her wrist, his forehead almost touching hers. "I care too much."

The words cracked something inside her.

She had spent so long trying to decipher him, trying to understand the man behind the empire. She had seen his fury, his control, his cruelty.

But this-this was something else.

This was fear.

This was vulnerability.

Aeliana could barely breathe.

"Tharx" she whispered.

For a moment, she thought he might kiss her.

For a moment, she wanted him to.

But then-

He let go.

Stepping back, his expression shuttered. His fists clenched at his sides. He turned away, facing the strategy table again.

The moment was over.

Aeliana exhaled, pressing a hand against the wall to steady herself.

She had her answer now.

This war wasn't just about power anymore.

It was about them.

She didn't leave.

Not yet.