Chapter 1: The Price of Blood Untitled Episode
Lyra's POV
The throne room smells like fear and expensive perfume. I keep my eyes on the marble floor, counting the cracks in the stone while the men argue about my fate. My father has been dead for three days, and already they fight over his Empire like wolves over meat.
"The girl goes to whoever controls the military," General Marcus says. His voice is sharp, cruel. "That's how it's always been."
"The law states that the princess belongs to the Imperial family," Chancellor Wilhelm argues back. "She cannot be given away like property."
I almost laugh. Cannot be given away? They've been discussing who gets to own me for the past two hours. Like I'm a prize horse or a piece of land.
My knees hurt from kneeling, but I don't dare move. Not when fifty of the Empire's most powerful men surround me, each one hungry for power. Each one looking at me and seeing not a person, but a symbol. Whoever owns Emperor Theron's daughter owns his legacy.
"Enough."
One word. That's all it takes for the room to fall silent.
I know that voice. Deep, cold, and completely without mercy. General Kael. The Shadow General. The slave who became the Empire's greatest warrior.
The man who hates me more than anyone else in this room.
Heavy boots walk across the marble floor. They stop right in front of me. I can see the black leather, splattered with dried blood. He must have come straight from the battlefield. From crushing another rebellion in my father's name.
No. In his own name now.
"Look at me."
I raise my head slowly. My breath catches in my throat.
Kael is beautiful the way a sword is beautiful. All sharp edges and deadly purpose. His dark hair falls past his shoulders, and a scar runs from his left eyebrow down to his jaw. But it's his eyes that make my stomach twist. Gray like winter storms, and just as cold.
Those eyes have haunted my dreams since I was thirteen. Since the first time I saw him in my father's throne room, standing in chains while Father laughed at the conquered prince.
He's not in chains now.
"Your Majesty," I whisper. Because that's what he is now. The council confirmed it yesterday. Emperor Kael, first of his name. The slave prince who took my father's throne.
His mouth twists into something that isn't quite a smile. "How formal. Tell me, Princess, do you know why you're here?"
"Because you summoned me."
"Because you belong to me now." He circles me slowly, like a predator studying prey. "The council agreed. You are mine by right of conquest. Mine by law. Mine by every tradition of this Empire."
My hands shake, but I force my voice to stay steady. "I understand."
He stops in front of me again. Reaches down and grabs my chin, forcing me to meet his eyes. His fingers are rough, calloused from years of holding a sword.
"Do you? Do you understand that your father killed my entire family? That he burned my kingdom to ash? That he put chains on a ten-year-old boy and made him fight in death matches for entertainment?"
Each word hits like a blow. I want to say that I didn't know. That Father never told me the whole truth. But what good would it do? I am Theron's daughter. His blood runs in my veins.
"Yes," I whisper.
"Good." He releases my chin and steps back. "Stand up."
My legs are numb from kneeling, and I stumble as I rise. Someone in the crowd laughs. Kael silences them with a look.
"From now on, you are mine," he says loud enough for everyone to hear. "You will live in my quarters. You will serve me personally. You will do exactly as I say, when I say it. Is that clear?"
"Yes, Your Majesty."
He turns to the crowd. "Anyone who touches her without my permission will lose their hand. Anyone who helps her escape will lose their head. She is my property. My prize. My vengeance."
The word 'vengeance' echoes in the throne room.
"Take her to my chambers," he orders the guards. "Chain her to the bed. I'll deal with her after I finish here."
The guards grab my arms. As they drag me away, I hear Chancellor Wilhelm protest. "Your Majesty, surely this is excessive. She's just a girl. She had nothing to do with her father's crimes."
"Neither did I," Kael replies. "I was just a boy. That didn't stop her father from making me a slave."
The throne room doors close behind us, cutting off whatever Wilhelm was going to say next.
The guards don't speak as they march me through the palace halls. Servants scatter when they see us coming. Some of them were my friends once. Now they look at me with pity or fear or satisfaction. The princess brought low. The mighty fallen.
My father's chambers are on the highest floor of the palace. Kael has claimed them, of course. Everything that was my father's is his now.
Including me.
The guards shove me inside and chain my wrist to the bedpost with a golden shackle. It's almost funny. Even in slavery, I get gold.
"The Emperor will be here soon," one guard says. There's something like sympathy in his voice. "Best prepare yourself."
Then they leave, and I'm alone.
I sit on the edge of the bed and stare at the shackle on my wrist. This morning, I was a princess. Tonight, I am a slave.
And my master is the man who has every reason to destroy me.
