Chapter 60

Darkness.

Aeliana's mind swam in it, floating somewhere between consciousness and oblivion. She was aware, distantly, of the ache in her limbs, of the tightness at her wrists where the bindings cut into her skin. The air smelled of damp stone and cold iron.

Not the palace.

Not home.

She was somewhere else.

Footsteps.

She forced her eyes open.

The room was dimly lit, flickering torchlight casting long shadows against the cavernous stone walls. A cold draft whispered across her skin.

And across the chamber, seated in a heavy iron chair, watching her with a slow, deliberate smile-was Draxis.

"Ah," he murmured. "You're awake."

Aeliana inhaled sharply, her head still spinning. She forced herself to sit up, her arms straining against the ropes that bound her wrists behind her.

Draxis leaned forward, resting his forearms on his knees, watching her like a predator studying its prey.

"You were always the key," he mused. His voice was calm, conversational, almost pleasant. "Tharx has made you more than a consort. More than a prize." He tilted his head. "He has made you his weakness."

Aeliana forced herself to breathe. To think.

"You're wasting your time," she said.

Draxis chuckled. "Am I?"

"You think taking me changes anything?" she continued, voice steady. "You think this will make him bow to you?"

Draxis exhaled a short laugh, standing to his full height. He was tall, broad-shouldered, dressed in dark armor that gleamed beneath the firelight. A scar ran down the left side of his face, disappearing beneath the high collar of his tunic.

"Oh, I don't expect Tharx to bow," he said. "That's not in his nature."

He took a slow step forward.

"I expect him to burn."

Aeliana refused to let the chill that ran down her spine show.

Draxis studied her, amused. "Tell me, do you know how many have tried to kill him?"

She said nothing.

He smirked. "I do. I have spent years watching Tharx carve his way through this empire. Every enemy he faced, every kingdom he crushed, every warlord who thought they could challenge him."

His eyes darkened.

"I fought beside him once," he murmured. "Before he decided he alone was fit to rule. Before he betrayed me."

Aeliana's pulse quickened.

Draxis crouched before her now, meeting her gaze. "And now, after all this time, I have finally found the one thing that makes him human."

He reached out, trailing a single finger along the frayed edge of her sleeve. "You."

Aeliana wrenched away from his touch.

Draxis only smiled. "Tell me, what are you to him?"

Her jaw clenched. "You seem to have already made up your mind about that."

"Oh, I have theories," he admitted. "But what interests me is-do you know?"

She didn't answer.

Draxis exhaled, shaking his head. "You don't, do you?" He leaned in slightly. "Does he call you his queen?"

Silence.

A smile ghosted across his lips. "No. He doesn't, does he? He keeps you close, guards you like something precious, but he does not name you. Does not claim you."

Aeliana swallowed hard.

Draxis's voice dropped lower. "And yet he would burn this world for you."

She forced herself to meet his eyes. "Then I suggest you start running."

Draxis chuckled. "Brave." He stood again, exhaling. "But misplaced. You think Tharx will come for you. And he will." His smile faded. "But this is not a rescue, little queen."

Aeliana's stomach tightened.

"This is war."

She held his gaze. "Then you should be afraid."

Draxis's expression remained unreadable.

"You misunderstand," he said. "I don't need to defeat Tharx in battle. I don't need to kill him." His gaze darkened. "I need to break him."

He took a slow step closer.

"And you," he said softly, "are how I do that."

Aeliana's breath caught as his meaning sank in.

"I will give you a choice," Draxis continued. "Betray him, and walk away. Leave him, and I will ensure you live."

She stared at him.

"And if I refuse?"

His smile sharpened. "Then you will watch him fall."

Aeliana's heart pounded, but she refused to let fear take hold.

"You think you can make me betray him?" she said, voice steady.

Draxis watched her for a long moment. "I think I don't have to."

She frowned.

Draxis turned slightly, pacing as he spoke. "Tharx is a ruler who thrives on control. The moment he loses it, he will unravel." His smirk returned. "And you-you are his greatest uncertainty."

He glanced at her. "You have no idea what power that gives you."

Aeliana forced her expression to remain blank.

Draxis exhaled. "But I do."

She said nothing.

Draxis smiled again. "You will have time to consider my offer."

He turned to the guards at the door. "Prepare the prisoner."

Her stomach twisted. "For what?"

Draxis glanced back.

"For war."

The battlefield was a vast stretch of open land, dry and cracked, the sky above heavy with the weight of an impending storm.

Aeliana stood at the center of it, bound and surrounded by Draxis's soldiers.

The wind tugged at her cloak, dust swirling at her feet.

Across the field, at the crest of the hill-Tharx.

He sat astride a dark warhorse, his black and gold armor gleaming beneath the light of the dying sun.

And behind him-his army.

A sea of warriors stretched across the ridge, banners raised, weapons gleaming.

But Aeliana only saw him.

Even from this distance, she could feel his gaze on her.

Tharx had come.

Draxis stepped forward, raising a hand.

"Tharx," he called. "You made this too easy."

Tharx did not speak. Did not move.

Draxis smirked. "The terms are simple. You surrender. You step down. And she lives."

Silence.

Aeliana's heart pounded.

Then-

Tharx dismounted.

He moved slowly, deliberately, his expression unreadable as he strode forward, stopping just at the edge of the battlefield.

For a moment, he simply looked at her.

Then he unsheathed his sword.

Draxis sighed. "Of course."

Aeliana clenched her fists.

Tharx's voice, when he finally spoke, was lethal.

"You have made a mistake."

Draxis smirked. "Enlighten me."

Tharx's golden eyes burned.

"You took what is mine."

Aeliana's breath caught.

Draxis exhaled, shaking his head. "So be it." He turned to his soldiers.

"Kill them all."

Aeliana's pulse roared.

And as the armies clashed, steel meeting steel, fire and war exploding around her-

She knew.

This was the battle that would decide everything.