Ashes Beneath the Throne
1307 Words
Seraphine gasped as Selyra stormed into her chamber. The heavy doors slammed against the stone wall, the force rattling the crystal vials on the windowsill. Selyra’s boots struck the ground in hurried, erratic steps, her golden hair disheveled, her face streaked with tears and anguish.
“They took him!” she cried out, collapsing to her knees beside the bed, her hands reaching desperately for Seraphine’s. “They took Taevin—my brother! They locked him up like some criminal!”
Seraphine pushed herself up with a hiss, the searing ache in her ribs from the recent skirmish flaring sharply. “What?” she asked, her voice tight with pain. “Why would they imprison Taevin? He’s just a boy!”
“I don’t know!” Selyra sobbed. “They said he’s a danger to succession… something about bloodlines. But he’s barely fourteen, Seraphine!”
Before she could respond, the doors groaned again—this time slower, more deliberate. A figure stepped through, cloaked in muted black and royal crimson. His presence filled the room like a storm threatening to break.
Alaric.
He walked with the weight of a crown that hadn’t yet touched his brow, his gaze meeting theirs with a guilt so heavy it could drown cities.
“You should be resting,” he said softly to Seraphine.
Seraphine rose slowly, her breath catching from the pain but her voice sharp and unrelenting. “You locked him away.”
Alaric’s eyes flickered. “He was being watched. He wasn’t safe—none of us are.”
“He’s a child!” Seraphine snapped. “A child who’s done nothing wrong. And you let them treat him like a traitor!”
Alaric’s jaw tightened. “They’re planning to use him. To replace me. He has Kaedor’s blood. Stronger. Purer, they say.”
“So your answer is to lock him up?” Seraphine growled. “That’s not protection, Alaric—that’s fear. That’s you giving in to your mother’s obsession with control.”
Selyra stood now too, trembling with fury and heartbreak. “Alaric… I defended you. I believed you were different. But this? This isn’t who I stood beside.”
He turned his gaze away, shame etched into every line of his face. “I’m sorry.”
“Then make it right,” Selyra demanded, stepping closer, gripping the sleeve of his cloak. “Free him. You’ll fix this. Promise me.”
Alaric’s voice was hoarse. “If I release him, they’ll come for me… for all of you. My enemies wait for the smallest misstep.”
“We don’t care about the throne!” Selyra cried. “We just want our family whole again!”
Alaric looked toward the moon through the stained-glass windows, its silver light casting bars of shadow across the chamber. “I never asked for any of this,” he said softly. And with that, he turned and left.
Later — The Private Court
A cloaked soldier knelt before Alaric. His armor was splashed with blood, his sword hand still trembling.
“We found the assassin,” he reported.
Alaric’s gaze sharpened. “Who?”
“Vexior Drayen,” the soldier said. “We tracked him underground. But it was a trap. Soldiers ambushed us. Half our unit… gone.”
Alaric’s fists clenched. “It was an inside job. Someone fed him information.”
The soldier hesitated. “Yes, my lord. Someone high within the court. And… there was a message.”
Alaric raised an eyebrow. “Speak.”
The soldier cleared his throat. “He said, ‘Unity is a lie. The heir is cursed. The throne belongs to the flame.’”
Silence fell like a sword.
Alaric turned toward the moon, the shadows deep on his face. “Even with a Moonblood child growing within her… they still call peace a lie. They fear bloodlines more than war.”
He closed his eyes. “Let them fear me, then. But they will not touch her again.”
In Seraphine’s Chamber
Selyra sat slumped on the edge of the bed, her sobs now quiet, but relentless. Her face was buried in her hands, shoulders shaking. Beside her, Seraphine lay propped on pillows, pale but resolute. She reached over, stroking Selyra’s hair with fingers that trembled.
“I’m sorry,” she whispered. “I wish I could shield you both from this madness.”
The door creaked open, and Seraphine’s spine went rigid. The scent of roses, ash, and authority filled the room. Celeste entered, regal in her silver robes, her presence gliding like smoke—impossibly graceful and sharp-edged.
Seraphine’s eyes narrowed. “What are you doing here?”
Celeste moved toward her like the silence before lightning. “How are you feeling?”
“I’m breathing,” Seraphine said coldly. “Selyra—give us a moment?”
Selyra hesitated, then brushed away her tears and left with a last glance at Seraphine.
The moment the door shut, Seraphine pushed herself upright. “What did you do?”
vyreth’s expression remained unreadable. “What I had to.”
“Don’t lie to me!” Seraphine snapped. “You set a trap. You tried to kill me—because you believe this child is cursed. You cursed Kaedor’s line. And now, you’re doing it again. Under my roof.”
vyreth’s voice was smooth as polished glass. “I protected this realm. Kaedor’s bloodline is poison. I saw it in flame and bone.”
Seraphine’s voice cracked. “You cursed his line. You cursed Eren. Didn’t you?”
vyreth gave a haunting nod. “I cursed them. If anyone kills my son, they’ll lose their own. That was the curse. A blood price. The old magic honors blood. Eren’s death demanded balance.”
“And Alaric?” Seraphine demanded. “Is he not the heir you tried to destroy?”
vyreth turned her face away, shadows playing across her features. “He slew Emperor Kaedor. On the battlefield. With fire and fury. That blood now pulses in your unborn child.”
Seraphine froze, her hand drifting instinctively to her stomach. “You believe… my child is cursed?”
“I saw a vision,” vyreth whispered. “A child born under eclipse and flame. A girl, slaughtered before her first breath. Her cries echoed in Kaedor’s shadow. Death was her destiny.”
Seraphine blinked, her breath shallow. “But I’m carrying a boy…”
vyreth’s voice dropped. “And what if, on the day of birth, that changes?”
The air grew thin.
“You gambled with our lives,” Seraphine whispered. “All for a vision you weren’t even sure of. You let Taevin suffer. You endangered this child. For a ghost prophecy?”
“I do what is necessary,” vyreth replied, her voice ice.
“No,” Seraphine spat. “You don’t protect legacies, Mother. You poison them.”
“You let love blind you,” vyreth hissed. “He killed Kaedor!”
“He fought him,” Seraphine shot back. “In battle. Not in the dark. He fought with honor while Kaedor tried to scorch the skies.”
her mother’s face hardened. “And you think he’s innocent?”
“I know he is,” Seraphine said, her voice trembling with fury and faith.
Elsewhere — The Dungeons
Taevin lay on the cold stone floor, chains biting into his wrists. His silver hair was damp with sweat, his lips cracked. He stared at the barred window, where a sliver of moonlight barely reached him.
Outside, two guards spoke in hushed tones. One of them—young, uncertain—glanced toward the cell and whispered, “He’s just a kid. You really think he’s dangerous?”
The older one grunted. “It’s not about what he’s done. It’s about what they fear he might become.”
- Writer
