Ashen’s world had collapsed in a single devastating moment.

He had poured every last drop of his remaining power into that final spear, all his grief, all his rage for Alex’s murder, every ounce of strength his drained body could summon.

He had meant to kill Vespera. He had needed to kill the woman who had poisoned and slaughtered his brother.

He never expected Lumina to throw herself in front of it.

Tears streamed down his face in torrents. His voice cracked into desperate sobs. "Lumina! I am sorry... I’m so sorry! I didn’t mean to hit you! I only wanted to kill her, she killed Alex! Please... please don’t leave me!"

Blood kept pouring from her mouth and the massive wound on her side.

Every cough sent fresh crimson spilling over her lips and down her chin, staining her black-and-red gown and his own clothes. Her silver eyes were half-lidded, dimming rapidly.

Ashen rocked her gently, pressing his forehead to hers, tears falling onto her face. "Live... please live. I regret everything. I was blind with rage. I can’t lose you too. Please, Lumina... stay with me. I love you... I never stopped. Don’t die because of my mistake!"

Her breathing was wet and ragged. More blood bubbled from her lips with every shallow exhale.

His legs felt like water, but pure desperation gave him strength.

Ashen lifted her carefully into his arms, cradling her against his chest as blood soaked through his tunic. He staggered to his feet and began running a broken, stumbling dash through the ruined halls.

"Lord Drex!" he roared at the guards who rushed toward him.

"Where is Lord Drex?! Get him now!"

He burst into the royal healing sanctum, legs nearly collapsing under him as he laid Lumina gently on the wide treatment altar.

Lord Drex had just arrived from where he had gone, and he took one look at her condition and his face paled.

"By the ancestors..." he whispered.

"Please!" Ashen fell to his knees beside the altar, gripping the old man’s robes. "Save her! Use everything, every elixir, every forbidden technique! I don’t care what it costs. Just save my wife!"

Lord Drex nodded gravely and got to work immediately. His hands glowed with potent emerald and golden healing light as he poured centuries of knowledge into Lumina’s ravaged body.

Serena stood beside her father, tears in her eyes, assisting with every ounce of her own power. She was already tired, though her pregnancy isn’t showing too much but one could still tell.

Hours passed as Ashen paced like a caged beast, then dropped back to his knees, watching helplessly as Lumina’s condition only worsened. Her skin grew paler.

Her breathing shallower as more blood continued to seep despite their best efforts.

Frustration and dejection crushed him. He slammed his fist into the stone floor, cracking it. "Why isn’t it working?! Do more!"

Lord Drex finally stepped back after what felt like an eternity. Sweat poured down his aged face. His hands trembled with exhaustion. He looked at Ashen with deep sorrow.

"My Lord... I am truly sorry. We have done everything possible. There are several poisons on her and also The wound carries your own dragon essence mixed with her celestial power. They are rejecting each other violently inside her. I... I do not believe she can survive this. The damage is too extensive." The words hit Ashen like a death blow.

He stood frozen for several long seconds, then walked out of the sanctum in complete silence. He couldn’t speak, as several thoughts ran in his head, the thought of losing his wife in this never crossed his mind for once.

He always sees her as the most powerful he had ever come across, yeah he always planned to protect her but he never planned to baby her. After all, she hated it.

He made his way to the throne room on pure instinct.

There King Aden, his father, sat upon the Dragon Throne, watching him enter with calm, calculating eyes.

Ashen fell to his knees in the center of the hall, head bowed, shoulders shaking as fresh tears escaped.

"Father..." His voice was raw, broken.

"I never wanted any of this. I only wanted a normal life. I was finally happy I had a woman I truly loved. Lumina... She was everything. And now I am about to lose the most important person in my life... all because of this cursed throne. This endless game of power and revenge."

King Aden rose slowly, descending the steps of the throne.

"That is the price of being my son," he said coldly. "Normal life was never an option for you. Rulers cannot afford love. They cannot afford weakness. She was supposed to die anyway. It is better this way."

Ashen’s head snapped up. Rage ignited in his veins. The entire throne room began to shake violently, chandeliers swaying, pillars trembling. He rose to his feet, claws extending, eyes blazing with murderous fury.

He lunged forward to strike his own father.

Aden raised one hand calmly. A powerful barrier stopped Ashen inches away.

"Why do you think I hid the truth about your mother’s death all these years?" the king said, voice steady and merciless.

"Of course, I knew you discovered Sephora was not your real mother. I have always known everything. I am the one who killed her, your true mother. I did what had to be done. I will do anything to protect this realm and secure your place on the throne."

Ashen staggered backward, eyes wide with shock. His father continued, unflinching.

"Don’t you want to hear the story of your real mother? How powerful was she? An enchantress with immense strength. But the truth was, every enchantress must die, which has always been the law of Drakonis. You are different from your brother because you are the son of an enchantress and the King of Drakonis. That forbidden blood flows in your veins. It is what makes you stronger... and what makes you a threat if not controlled."

Ashen stood completely frozen, the weight of the revelation crushing him. His mind reeled. The shaking in the throne room stopped abruptly.

All color drained from his face as he stared at the man he had called Father his entire life.

The man who had murdered his real mother is the same man who had shaped his entire existence