Lumina stood motionless near the bier, the white silk draping the queen’s body catching the torchlight in faint, shimmering waves.

The hall felt colder now, the air thick with incense and grief and something sharper than anticipation. She kept her blindfold in place, head slightly tilted as though listening to every breath in the room.

Adam’s voice broke first,. "What do you mean? That she is the one who killed my mum?"

He glanced wildly between Rhynera and Serena, chest rising and falling too fast. Serena crossed her arms, lips curving into a slow, satisfied smirk.

"I... I don’t know what you are talking about," Rhynera stammered, pressing one hand to her swollen belly as though the unborn child could shield her. "I never killed the queen."

Serena clapped once, sharp and deliberate and two guards dragged a third man forward. He stumbled between them, head bowed so low his chin nearly touched his chest. Guilt rolled off him in waves as he refused to lift his eyes.

Ashen turned slowly toward Serena, then flicked his gaze to Rhynera. "So you are saying she killed the queen? Where is your evidence?" He asked, unable to believe this.

King Aden’s fist tightened on the arm of his throne. He kept his face composed, but the knuckles stood white against the dark wood. He had never loved the queen the way a husband should, yet the murder of a queen inside his own palace was a stain he could not ignore. Bad news like this spreads faster than fire through dry thatch.

Serena lifted her chin. "I didn’t want to speak ill of the dead. I wanted to give her the respect she deserved in her final hour. But you are pushing me."

She nodded toward the prisoner. "I noticed your lovely wife, Rhynera, always slipping out in the middle of the night. I grew suspicious. One evening I followed her. That was when I saw her speaking with this man."

Adam lunged forward. He seized the prisoner’s wrist and heat flared along his palm dragon fire licking just beneath the skin. The man hissed in pain but did not pull away.

"Do you know her?" Adam demanded, voice low and lethal.

The prisoner swallowed hard, eyes fixed on the floor.

Adam tightened his grip. Flames danced higher along his fingers. "I asked a question. Do you know the princess?"

Rhynera dropped to her knees with a soft cry, hands cradling her stomach. "I can’t believe this... Don’t trust me? So this is how easily you all turn your backs on me?"

She looked up at Lumina, eyes wide and pleading. "Lumina... didn’t you know me? Why would I poison the queen?"

Lumina tilted her head slightly, expression hidden behind silk. "Know you? Sister... I cannot tell much about you. I cannot even know your face clearly. How did you expect me to know more?"

"Lumina!" Rhynera’s voice cracked with shock. "You are my sister! You should support me!"

Lumina sighed, soft and measured. "The man has not even spoken yet. Why do you assume he would lie about knowing you? If you are innocent, we will know soon enough."

King Aden finally spoke, his tone heavy with authority. "Do you know the princess?" He gestured toward the bier. "You can see the body of the queen on the ground. So let me ask again. Do you know this woman?"

Before the prisoner could answer, Adam leaned closer. "Lie, and you lose your life."

The man trembled. He lifted his head just enough to glance at Rhynera. Tears streaked his cheeks. "Your Highness... you promised this would not get me in trouble..."

Rhynera shook her head frantically, eyes huge. "I don’t know anything... I don’t... I don’t know this man... My lord..."

She scrambled forward on her knees and clutched Adam’s leg. "I swear on my life and the life of our unborn child, I do not know this man!"

Adam went rigid. His hand still burned against the prisoner’s wrist, but the fire guttered. He stared down at his wife as though seeing her for the first time.

"You... you..." He murmured, voice fracturing.

Ashen closed his eyes for a single heartbeat. Lumina exhaled quietly.

Rhynera crawled the last few feet to Lumina and grasped her hands.

"Lumina... save me, sister. You know when I lie and when I speak the truth. Please tell them. I... I don’t know this man."

She fell fully to her knees, forehead nearly touching the stone, tears streaming. Lumina looked down at her sister kneeling, begging, broken. Satisfaction bloomed warm and dark in her chest. This exact moment had lived in her mind for years. Seeing it happen felt like closing a long-open wound.

"Enough!" King Aden’s voice rolled through the hall like thunder. He fixed the prisoner with a hard stare. "You stand before the king. You are given one more chance. Do you know this woman?" 𝐟𝕣𝗲𝕖𝕨𝗲𝐛𝗻𝗼𝐯𝗲𝚕.𝗰𝚘𝐦

The man collapsed to his knees. "Yes, Your Highness... I know this woman. She is the one who wanted me to sell her the poison. I didn’t..."

His words died as a shadow detached from the wall behind the throne. The king’s most trusted guard silent, faceless in black armor materialized in an instant. A blade flashed once. The prisoner’s head struck the floor with a wet thud. Blood pooled beneath the bier, dark against pale stone.

A collective gasp rippled through the hall.

King Aden rose slowly. "Throw her in the dungeon. I will decide what to do with her after the queen’s funeral."

Rhynera’s scream tore through the silence. "What... Your Highness, my child... please!"

She lunged toward Adam. "Adam... please speak to the king. I am carrying your child!"

Serena opened her mouth to speak, but no sound came. She turned sharply toward Lumina and saw the faint silver glow beneath the blindfold. Understanding flashed across her face. She closed her mouth at once.

Rhynera grabbed Adam’s hands, sobbing. He wrenched free so violently she sprawled backward onto the stone, skirt pooling around her.

Adam towered over her. "You bitch! You deserve death!"

He lunged, fingers closing around her throat. Rhynera clawed at his wrists, gasping. "Adam..."

"Adam!" King Aden roared.

Guards rushed forward, prying Adam’s hands away. Rhynera collapsed in a heap, coughing and weeping. "Please... save me... Lumina... help!"

She reached toward her sister one last time. Lumina did not move.

The guards lifted Rhynera under the arms and dragged her toward the side doors. Her screams echoed down the corridor, desperate, fading only when the heavy doors slammed shut.

Silence fell again, heavy and suffocating.

Adam stood frozen, staring at the blood on the floor. His hands shook. Serena watched him with wide eyes, one hand pressed to her own belly.

King Aden sank back into his throne. "The funeral rites will proceed at dawn. Everyone will attend.... So you are dismissed for now."

No one moved for several heartbeats.

Ashen stepped forward and placed a hand on Adam’s shoulder. Adam flinched but did not pull away.

"Come," Ashen said quietly. "Not here."

Adam let himself be led toward the side exit. Serena followed at a distance, eyes never leaving her husband’s back.

Lumina remained where she was, blindfold hiding the satisfaction that curved her lips. The queen was gone. Rhynera was chained. The board had shifted exactly as she had planned.

She felt Ashen’s gaze on her from across the hall searching, questioning. She turned her head slightly toward him, offering nothing more than the smallest tilt of acknowledgment.