Chapter 159 The price of the crown
IRIS
The sunlight in the dining hall feels warmer than it did a moment ago as the sun sets, soft and bright over the polished tables. I’m still settling into the quiet aftermath of the coronation, my crown safely removed, my shoulders lighter now that the ceremony is behind us.
Daisy and I are laughing about something ridiculous, something about throwing silver chalices at people, and Darian stands a few steps away, speaking with two council members. He looks relaxed for the first time in what feels like weeks.
Everything feels… peaceful.
Too peaceful.
A strange prickle crawls up the back of my neck. A shift in the air, like the quiet right before a predator strikes. I turn instinctively toward Darian just as he begins to say something to the council member.
And then it happens so fast I don’t fully process it.
A figure rushes from the shadows behind him—silent, fast, lethal.
Hands clamp around Darian’s throat.
Darian’s body jolts, his breath cut off instantly.
I don’t realize I’m screaming until the sound shocks even me. “Darian!”
The entire hall freezes.
Everything stops.
Gasps ripple through the room, chairs scrape back, but no one moves closer. No one dares.
Because the person holding Darian by the throat, dragging him slightly off balance, is Zeus.
Zeus who should be in the dungeon.
Zeus whose eyes burn with feverish rage and triumph.
Zeus who has one arm locked around Darian’s neck and the other poised like he’s ready to snap something important.
“No one moves,” Zeus snarls, his voice echoing through the hall like a whip. “Not a fucking step.”
His grip tightens, and Darian’s jaw clenches. He doesn’t struggle. He’s too strategic for that. But I see the flare of pain in his eyes. I see the veins standing out on his neck. My heart slams violently against my ribs as the room spins, disbelief and horror mixing in my blood.
I take one step forward, just one, and Zeus yanks Darian back harder, using him as a human shield.
“I said don’t move!” he roars.
The guards who had half-risen freeze mid-motion. Daisy covers her mouth, eyes wide and horrified. Every Lycan, every servant, every council member everyone goes rigid.
And Zeus laughs.
He laughs like this is entertainment.
“You thought you could lock me away,” he hisses, lips curling as he lowers his mouth near Darian’s ear. “You thought you could take everything from me. The throne. The kingdom. ”
He flicks his gaze to me at that last word, and my blood goes cold.
Darian tries to pull in a breath. “Zeus…”
“Shut up,” Zeus snaps, squeezing tighter. Darian chokes, the sound painfully raw.
Something snaps inside me.
My wolf doesn’t surge violently like before. This is different. Silent. Focused. Cold.
My vision narrows to Zeus.
I scan my surroundings for anything I can use.
And then I see it.
In the corner of the room, half-hidden behind a fallen chair, is a heavy silver goblet, ornate, thick and solid. It must’ve rolled from one of the tables after the coronation preparations.
My heart pounds, but my breathing steadies. My movement must be silent. Unnoticed. Calculated.
Zeus continues speaking, his voice dripping with venom.
“You stole my future, Darian,” he says. “You stole everything I was meant to be. And now I’ll take it back. Starting with your life, unless you all kneel right now and acknowledge me as-”
He doesn’t finish the sentence.
Because I move.
Quietly. Quickly. Instinctively.
I slide behind the tables, my dress whispering softly, my breath slow despite the adrenaline rushing through me. Every part of me trembles, but my grip on the goblet is steady as I wrap my fingers around the cold metal.
I take one more step.
Zeus doesn’t see me.
He doesn’t expect me.
No one expects me.
“Iris,” Darian chokes out, barely a sound, just a whisper, but our bond carries it to me like a command and a plea all at once.
I break into a run.
My feet barely touch the ground.
Zeus turns too late.
I swing the goblet with every ounce of strength in my body, all the fear, anger, and love exploding into one motion.
The silver crashes into the side of Zeus’s head with a sickening, echoing crack.
His grip loosens instantly.
Darian rips free, stumbling forward, coughing violently as he clutches his throat.
Zeus collapses to one knee, clutching his head, blood already dripping between his fingers. He snarls in disbelief and pain, eyes wild as he looks up at me.
“You!” he growls.
But I’m shaking too hard to process anything except that he’s down.
Darian is breathing.
Alive.
I reach him before he can fall. My hands fly to his face, his throat, anywhere I can touch to make sure he’s still with me. “Are you okay? Darian, goddess, say something.”
He coughs again, pulling in a ragged breath. His hand closes over mine.
“I’m okay,” he rasps, voice hoarse and broken from the chokehold. “I’m okay, Iris. You saved me.”
The relief is so overwhelming I almost collapse.
But Darian straightens, slowly, painfully and turns toward Zeus with a coldness I’ve never seen before.
The hall is silent. No one breathes.
Darian steps forward, his voice raw but thunderous.
“Zeus McAlister,” he says, each word sharp as a blade. “By the authority of the crown you sought to steal, by the bloodline you betrayed, and by your attempt to kill your king, ”
Zeus flinches, still trying to stand but failing.
“You are banished.”
A murmur sweeps through the hall.
Darian continues, stronger, louder, replacing his pain with dominance.
“You are cast out from all McAlister territories. From every region under our rule. From every home, every land, every sanctuary. Set foot on these grounds again, and you will be killed on sight.”
Zeus spits blood onto the floor. “You think you can kill me?”
Darian steps closer, expression unreadable. “I don’t need to. The world will. Because after today, you no longer have a family. You have no pack. No name. No claim. No power.”
Zeus’s eyes widen, flickering with something nearly human, like losing his name cuts deeper than anything else.
Then his face twists into rage again.
“This isn’t over,” he snarls.
Darian’s voice drops low, lethal. “Yes, Zeus. It is.”
Guards close in, but Darian lifts a hand. “No. Let him crawl out on his own.”
A painful silence follows as Zeus staggers to his feet, wobbling, blood dripping down his cheek from the goblet’s impact. He glares at us one last time, at Darian, then at me, fury burning hotter than fire, before limping toward the doors.
No one stops him.
No one speaks.
No one wants him here ever again.
The moment the doors shut behind him, the tension in the hall breaks like a dam bursting. Voices rise in whispers, shock, disbelief. Daisy rushes forward, her eyes huge.
“Iris? holy shit…what did you…are you…” she stirred but I don’t hear the rest.
Because suddenly, a sharp, stabbing pain pierces my stomach.
I gasp, clutching my abdomen. It feels like something is twisting inside me, pulling, burning. My knees buckle.
“Iris?” Darian’s voice cuts through the haze instantly, alarm exploding in every syllable. He catches me before I hit the ground.
The pain intensifies, hot, brutal, like claws scraping inside me. My breath comes in short gasps. “D-Darian… something’s wrong…”
His arms wrap around me, strong and desperate. “Help!” he roars, voice cracking with panic for the first time since I’ve known him. “Someone get the healer! Now!”
The room erupts in chaotic movement. Feet pound against the marble. Voices shout. Daisy kneels beside me, grabbing my hand as tears fill her eyes.
“Oh goddess, stay with us, Iris!”
The pain surges again, harder this time, and I cry out, curling instinctively into Darian’s chest. My vision blurs.
Darian holds me tighter, stroking my hair, trembling. “Iris, look at me. Stay with me. You’re okay. You’re okay..”
But his voice breaks.
I try to speak, but the pain steals my breath.
Everything spins.
And then, blackness licks at the edges of my vision.
The last thing I hear is Darian’s voice, raw and terrified, calling my name over and over as he presses his forehead to mine.
“Iris, stay with me. Please, stay with me. ”