Please Divorce Me, My Emperor

CHAPTER 14

The blizzard that swept down from the Frostfang Ridge was nothing compared to the icy silence inside the imperial carriage.

For three agonized days and nights, the carriage bounced over frozen roads, escorting the wounded Emperor back to the capital under maximum military guard. Inside, Aurelia barely slept. Her silk gown was ruined, stiff with dried blood, but she refused to change. She sat at Kaelen’s side, holding ice compressed to his chest and forcing small sips of anti-toxin down his throat while the royal physicians fought to extract the remnant of the assassin’s venom from his body.

By the time the sprawling black-and-gold spires of the Sun Palace appeared on the horizon, Kaelen’s fever had finally broken, though he remained dangerously weak, his skin pale and his breathing shallow.

Yet, as the imperial column approached the outer gates of Solaria, no cheering crowds awaited them. The heavy iron portcullis was lowered, and high atop the gatehouses stood guards clad in silver-and-white liveries—not the imperial dragon colors, but the crest of the High Council.

"What is the meaning of this?" General Vance thundered, riding his warhorse up to the drawbridge. "The Emperor has returned! Open the gates!"

A high-ranking lord stepped onto the battlements—Grand Minister Sorel, a close ally of the imprisoned Duke Valerius.

"By decree of the High Council of Lords!" Sorel’s voice echoed down from the ramparts. "Reports reached the capital that His Imperial Majesty was slain in the North! In light of his absence and the treasonous actions of the Rosenthal house, the High Council has assumed emergency regency! Lower your weapons and surrender the Empress for immediate trial!"

Aurelia pulled back the leather curtain of the carriage window, her blue eyes narrowing into slits of pure, lethal steel.

A coup.

They had deliberately spread rumors of Kaelen's death while he was isolated in the mountains, using the news to seize control of the capital's inner guard, lock down the treasury, and take the city before the main army could return.

"Your Majesty," Vance whispered, riding up to her window, his hand on his sword hilt. "We have three thousand weary troops. We can breach the outer gate, but if they hold the inner palace, they could execute the loyalist ministers inside before we reach them."

Aurelia looked back at Kaelen, who stirred weakly on the cushions, his dark eyes flickering open as he reached out his hand toward her.

"Aurelia..." Kaelen rasped, his voice raw. "Do not... let them..."

"Hush, my love," Aurelia whispered, leaning down to press a soft, lingering kiss to his forehead. "You defended me in the North. Now let me take back your empire."

She turned to General Vance. "Order two legions to set up a visible siege camp at the main gate to draw their focus. Give them the impression we are preparing for a long siege."

"And you, Your Majesty?" Vance asked.

Aurelia reached into her travel trunk and pulled out a simple, dark hooded cloak and her light steel sword. "I know every secret passage, drainage tunnel, and servant route built into that palace. I am going inside."

----

The subterranean aqueduct beneath the Sun Palace was damp, pitch-black, and smelled of ancient stone and river mud. Aurelia led a handpicked squad of twelve elite dragon guards through the narrow, vaulted tunnels, their boots splashing silently through ankle-deep water.

Using the master blueprints she had memorized during her treasury audits, Aurelia guided them straight beneath the West Wing, emerging through a hidden stone panel behind a dusty tapestry in the palace archives.

The palace was in complete chaos. Sentries loyal to the rebel council were patrolling the grand corridors, while servants were confined to their quarters under armed guard.

"Move to the central courtyard and secure the bell tower," Aurelia instructed her squad leader in a harsh whisper. "When the bell rings three times, open the side gates for General Vance's strike team."

"Understood, Empress," the captain nodded, slipping down the shadowy hall with his men.

Aurelia turned toward the Grand Council Chamber. She needed to retrieve the Imperial Seal and the sovereign mandate from the Emperor's desk before Sorel and his conspirators could forge a decree of royal abdication.

She crept through the quiet gallery of the Sun Hall, her hand resting on the pommel of her sword.

Suddenly, a sharp clack of iron boots echoed from the cross-corridor.

"Well, well," a smooth, mocking voice purred from the shadows. "The little bird returns to her cage."

Aurelia whipped around, drawing her sword.

Stepping out from behind the marble pillars were twenty heavily armed mercenary guards, led by Lord Cedric—Duke Valerius’s nephew and commander of the council's personal guard.

"Empress Aurelia," Cedric sneered, raising a crossbow. "We knew you wouldn't leave your precious palace behind. Drop the blade, or my men will put a dozen bolts through you before you take another step."

Aurelia looked around. The corridor was narrow, leaving her no room to dodge a volley of crossbow fire. Her guards were already en route to the bell tower; she was entirely alone.

Slowly, deliberately, Aurelia lowered her sword, letting it clatter against the stone floor.

"A wise choice," Cedric smirked, stepping forward and roughly seizing her wrists, binding them in heavy iron shackles. "The High Council is eager to put you on trial for treason before the sun sets."

Aurelia offered no resistance as they dragged her down the winding stairs toward the lower dungeons. As the heavy iron door of the cell slammed shut behind her, she sat calmly on the cold stone bench, looking up at Cedric through her lashes with a cold, terrifyingly confident smile.

"Tell Minister Sorel he had better hurry," Aurelia said softly, her voice echoing in the dark cell. "Because when my husband walks through those gates, there won't be enough of you left to put on trial."