The great hall emptied slowly, courtiers and guards filing out in hushed clusters, their footsteps echoing off the high stone vaults like retreating rain.

The queen’s body remained on the bier, white silk now stained at the edges with the prisoner’s blood. Torches guttered low, casting long shadows that stretched across the floor and climbed the walls. Ashen stayed near his father, one hand resting lightly on the back of the throne, face carved from granite as he stared down at the woman who had raised him.

King Aden sat motionless, eyes fixed on nothing in particular, the weight of crown and conscience pressing equally heavy.

Lumina lingered only long enough to watch Adam be led away by two attendants, his shoulders bowed, his fury spent into something quieter and more dangerous.

Serena stood apart from the others, arms wrapped around her middle, face pale but composed. When Lumina turned toward her, Serena met her gaze without flinching.

Lumina crossed the hall in measured steps, blindfold still in place, posture regal despite the lingering weakness in her limbs.

She reached Serena and extended a hand. Serena hesitated for half a heartbeat, then placed her palm in Lumina’s.

Neither spoke as they walked out together, side by side and Ashen didn’t miss this, he was having bad feelings but at the same time trying to believe he was mistaken.

The heavy doors closed behind them with a soft thud that sealed the hall’s grief inside. Outside, the corridor stretched long and dim, lit only by iron sconces spaced far apart.

Their footsteps echoed in perfect rhythm, two women moving with purpose, away from the mourning and toward something colder.

Ashen did not follow but remained where duty and memory pinned him, standing vigil beside his father and the body of the woman who had once called him son.

Lumina led Serena down a narrow side passage, past tapestries of ancient dragon flights and forgotten battles, until they reached a small antechamber used for private audiences.

The door was plain oak, unmarked, the kind of entrance no one noticed unless they were meant to. Lumina pushed it open.

Inside, a single brazier burned low, throwing faint orange light across bare stone walls and a narrow table.

She released Serena’s hand and closed the door behind them. The latch clicked like a promise kept.

Serena exhaled, shoulders dropping the last pretense of composure. "You enjoyed that."

Lumina removed the blindfold slowly, folding the silk with deliberate care.

When she looked up, her eyes gleamed not with silver fire this time, but with quiet, vicious satisfaction.

Serena gasped at this moment, "Yo... You can see now?" Lumina placed her hands on her lips.

"Yeah... I am only doing this so you know how much I respect and trust you." Serena let out a big smile at this moment.

"I enjoyed watching her kneel," she said. "I enjoyed watching her beg. But enjoyment is a luxury. What I felt was justice."

Serena leaned against the table, arms crossed. "She screamed for you to t help her and you let them drag her away.... You do have a heart of stone."

Lumina’s lips curved. "She stopped being my sister the moment she began maltreating me. Today was the first phase."

She stepped closer to the brazier, holding her palms toward the heat as though warming herself against a chill only she could feel. "The next phase is making Rhynera regret ever setting foot in this world. Regret ever thinking she could destroy me and walk away untouched."

Serena watched her, expression unreadable. "You think the dungeon will break her?"

"The dungeon is only the beginning." Lumina turned, eyes narrowing.

"Well, I don’t know how my father will react but having the thought of seeing her sit there in the dark, listening to every drip of water, every scrape of boots overhead, wondering if today is the day the king remembers her name. She will feel the child move inside her and know she may never hold it. Then she will break down and speak out the truth herself."

She paused, letting the words settle between them like smoke.

"Good," Lumina continued, voice dropping lower. "At least now she has gotten herself into trouble she doesn’t even know about yet. Let’s see how our lovely father saves her when the evidence piles higher than his pride."

Serena’s brows lifted. "You think King Aden will let her rot?"

"I think Aden will do what kings always do: protect the crown first, the family second. Rhynera is a liability now. A murderer in the royal bed. He will weigh her against scandal, against whispers in every court from here to the eastern marshes. And when the scales tip..." Lumina shrugged, a small, elegant motion. "He will cut the rope."

Serena pushed away from the table and paced in a slow circle around the room, boots clicking softly on stone.

"Adam won’t let her die quietly. He’s half-mad with grief already. If he finds out the child might not be his..."

"Then he becomes another piece on the board." Lumina’s tone stayed even, almost gentle. "Grief makes men reckless. Reckless men make mistakes. We watch, wait, and guide the mistakes until they serve us."

Serena stopped pacing and faced her. "And when the funeral is over? When the ashes are scattered and the court starts asking questions?"

Lumina smiled slowly. "Then we remind them who poisoned the queen. We remind them who lied about loyalty. We remind them that betrayal has a price, and Rhynera will pay it in full body, name, and legacy. All of it."

She stepped closer to Serena, voice softening to a near-whisper. "You did well today. You spoke when it mattered. You held your tongue when I needed silence. That buys you a favor."

Serena met her gaze without blinking. "I didn’t do it for a favor. I did it because she tried to take everything from me, my husband, my child, my place. If she falls, I rise."

Lumina nodded once. "Then we understand each other.... And make sure anyone who knows about this is silenced." Serena nodded in agreement.

For a long moment neither spoke. The brazier crackled, sending sparks drifting upward like tiny stars dying young.

Finally, Lumina replaced the blindfold, tying it with practiced ease. "Return to the hall. Stay close to Adam. Watch him. If he moves against the king, tell me. If he moves against Rhynera, let him. Either way, we gain ground."

Serena inclined her head. "And you?"

"I go back to my husband." Lumina’s voice warmed slightly at the mention of Ashen. "He mourns a mother who never truly existed. I will comfort him."