Princess Of The Skulls - Chapter 34: Chapter 34

The throne room had been transformed into an arena of accusations and drawn steel. My father sat on his iron throne, flanked by his most loyal guards, while Prince Aldric knelt in chains before the dais. Blood streaked his golden hair, and his autumn-leaf eyes burned with fury that promised retribution.
"Ah, daughter," my father said as I entered. "Perfect timing. It seems your intended husband has been caught in treasonous conspiracy against both our houses."
I kept my expression carefully neutral, though my heart hammered against my ribs. "What treasonous conspiracy?"
"Planning to murder both Lord Cassius and me during the wedding ceremony, with the help of a
Thornfield assassin." Father's smile was winter-cold. "Did you know about this, Seraphina?"
The question was a trap with no safe answer. Admit knowledge and join Aldric in chains. Deny it and appear weak, uninformed, manipulated by men who should have been beneath my notice.
"I knew Prince Aldric was more intelligent than he appeared," I said carefully. "But I didn't realize he was intelligent enough to plan regicide."
"Indeed. Which raises the question—what else might he have planned that we don't know about?" Father gestured, and more guards dragged in a second prisoner.
Kael looked worse than Aldric, his face a map of fresh bruises and cuts. But his dark eyes found mine across the room, and I saw no surrender there, only calculation. He was planning something, even now.
"The assassin refuses to speak," Father continued. "But I'm told you've had encounters with him in the past. Perhaps you could encourage his cooperation?"
Another trap. He wanted me to interrogate Kael, to demonstrate my loyalty by breaking the man I'd kissed in the tower. The man who'd risked everything to warn me about the conspiracy.
"Gladly," I said, drawing my ceremonial dagger. The blade sang as it cleared its sheath, and I saw Kael's eyes widen slightly. Good. Let him think I was capable of anything.
I approached him slowly, letting the blade catch the light. "You've been a thorn in my side for months," I said, my voice carrying clearly through the throne room. "Infiltrating my home, threatening my people, making me look weak."
"Princess—" he started, but I silenced him with the dagger's point at his throat.
"I didn't give you permission to speak." I leaned closer, until my lips nearly brushed his ear. "Trust me," I whispered, so softly only he could hear.
Then I drew the blade across his throat.
The cut was shallow, barely more than a scratch, but it bled freely. Kael gasped and fell forward, his chains clattering against the stone floor. To the watching court, it looked like I'd executed him with casual efficiency.
"Seraphina!" Aldric's roar of anguish echoed through the chamber. "You murdered him!"
"I eliminated a threat," I replied coolly, wiping Kael's blood from my blade. "As any good queen would do."
Father's approval radiated from the throne like heat from a forge. "Excellent. I'm pleased to see you haven't let sentiment cloud your judgment." He gestured to the guards. "Remove the body. As for Prince
Aldric, he'll be kept secured until after the ceremony. Can't have him disrupting the festivities."
As the guards dragged Kael's lifeless form away, I caught the barest flicker of movement—his fingers twitching in what looked like a death spasm but was the signal we'd arranged. The potion
I'd coated my blade with would slow his heartbeat and breathing to near-death levels for several hours.
Long enough to be declared dead and removed from immediate danger.
"What happens to him after the ceremony?" I asked, nodding toward Aldric.
"That depends on how cooperative he proves to be as a widower," Father said. "He might live long enough to provide legitimacy to our rule, assuming he learns to keep his mouth shut."
The casual cruelty of it made my blood boil, but I forced myself to nod as if I approved. "Wise. A living puppet is more useful than a dead martyr."
"Indeed. Now, you should prepare yourself. The ceremony begins in three hours, and you'll need time to cleanse yourself of the assassin's blood."
I curtsied deeply, playing the obedient daughter one last time. "Of course, Father. I wouldn't want to appear before our guests in such a state."
But as I left the throne room, Aldric's words echoed in my mind. We'd planned for discovery, but not for complete capture. Now Kael was supposedly dead, Aldric was chained, and I was walking toward a ceremony that would end with my willing participation in my sacrifice.
Unless I embraced my grandfather's offer and became something more than human.
The skull chamber's whispers seemed to follow me through the corridors, growing louder with each step toward my destiny.