The Price Of Loyalty

Dominic’s POV

The silence in the hall felt suffocating, the weight of my own thoughts pressing down on me like a thick fog. I couldn’t stop thinking about Summer—the way she had rejected me last night, the hurt in her eyes when I tried to explain. I had told her I loved her, but the words hadn’t reached her. Not in the way I’d hoped. She didn’t believe me.

I gripped the back of the throne, feeling its cold, unforgiving presence beneath my fingers. Summer was different. She was a human, yes, but there was something in her—something untamed, something I couldn’t quite understand. She had a fire in her that made her more than just someone I was meant to protect.

I was starting to realize that I didn’t just want her under my protection. I needed her.

I needed to make her see the truth, to make her understand that everything I had done, everything I was doing, was for her.

But how?

I had been so focused on controlling everything around me, on maintaining my authority, that I had failed to see how much she was suffering. I had failed her.

With a frustrated sigh, I turned toward the door, already knowing what I had to do.

It was time to confront Summer again. And this time, I wouldn’t back down. But at the moment they were still things to take care of.

It was early afternoon with the sun was already high in the sky over the palace grounds, but the atmosphere was anything but warm. The air was tense, almost suffocating, as I sat on the throne in the grand hall. My gaze was fixed on the trembling figure kneeling before me—Hilda.

The servants had dragged her here at my command the moment dawn broke, and now she awaited her fate, her face pale, her hands clasped tightly in front of her. Despite her fear, there was a flicker of defiance in her eyes when she looked up at me, and that only fueled my anger further.

"You dared to defy me, Hilda," I said, my voice calm but laced with steel. "You not only disobeyed my orders but conspired to help Summer escape. Do you have any idea the chaos you could have unleashed?"

She swallowed hard, her voice trembling as she spoke. "I only did what I thought was best for her, Your Highness. She is human—she doesn’t belong here. She’s been miserable, and I couldn’t stand to see her suffer anymore."

The people of the Country have started to grow wings and even forgotten their places and it made me angry. Summer was what I bought into this house and no one made decision around her that I didn’t order.

I rose from the throne, my footsteps echoing in the silent hall as I descended toward her. My eyes bore into hers, my temper barely restrained. "What you thought was best? You took it upon yourself to decide what was best for her, knowing full well that she is under my protection? Do you understand what you’ve done?"

"I do," she whispered, her voice barely audible. "But I would do it again if it meant giving her the freedom she deserves."

Hilda was something, she didn’t behave this way earlier and now it was like there had been cold water splash all over her face and now she was sprouting out nonesense.

The audacity of her words struck me like a whip, and a growl escaped my throat. I circled her slowly, my anger simmering just beneath the surface. "You’ve been in my service for years, Hilda. I trusted you, and you betrayed me. Tell me—what punishment do you think is fitting for such betrayal?"

Her shoulders stiffened, but she didn’t answer. Her geared lowered to the ground and she didn’t meet my eyes. She couldn’t. They were various way to serve justice but yet I didn’t want to resort to the worst.

"Hilda," I growled, my tone sharp enough to make her flinch. "Look at me."

She hesitated before lifting her gaze, her eyes meeting mine. There was fear there, but also a quiet determination that infuriated me further.

"You know the laws of this kingdom," I continued, my voice low but menacing. "Treason is punishable by death."

A collective gasp rippled through the hall, the guards and servants present shifting uneasily. Hilda’s face turned ashen, but she didn’t plead for mercy.

"If you believe I deserve death, then so be it," she said softly, her voice steady despite the tremor in her hands.

I couldn’t kill her, I didn’t know why? Summer had grown found of her abs i didn’t want to end her life. I needed to pass out the information but death wasn’t the way to do it. They were alway other ways to show power without blood sprawling out of a living being.

I stared at her, my rage momentarily faltering. This was a woman who had served me loyally for years, who had cared for my household and done her duty without question—until now. She wasn’t a traitor. She was a fool, yes, but not a traitor.

But I couldn’t let her actions go unpunished. To do so would undermine my authority, especially after what had happened last night. The council was already questioning my judgment regarding Summer. If I showed leniency now, it would only embolden others to defy me.

"Hilda," I said finally, my tone cold and unyielding. "You will not be executed, but your betrayal cannot go unanswered."

Relief flickered across her face, but it was fleeting. She didn’t want to die. No one in the hall wanted to, they all feared death but enjoyed the site of it being passed to other.

"You are hereby stripped of your position as head of the household staff," I declared. "You will serve in the kitchens under strict supervision until further notice. And if you ever so much as look at Summer without my permission, I will not hesitate to carry out the full extent of the law. Do you understand?"

“But King Dominic—“

A voice started but I stopped it with a hand out immediately silencing whoever it was.

“That is all.”

The other voice kept quiet with a few muffled whispers here and there but none of the reaching my ear.

"Yes, Your Highness," she said, bowing her head.

"Good. Now get out of my sight."

The guards stepped forward to escort her away, and I turned my back on her, my hands clenched into fists at my sides. My anger hadn’t subsided; if anything, it had only deepened.

"Leave us," I commanded the rest of the room.

The hall emptied quickly, the servants and guards eager to escape my wrath. Once I was alone, I let out a sharp exhale, running a hand through my hair. My thoughts were a storm of conflicting emotions—anger, frustration, and something else I couldn’t quite name.

I had been too lenient. I knew that. But something about Hilda’s defiance, her willingness to risk everything for Summer, had stayed my hand.

And then there was Summer herself.

Her words from last night echoed in my mind, cutting deeper than I cared to admit.

“don’t belong here."

“You don’t own me."

"I’m better off dead than locked up here again."

The words she had spoken previously had shaken me and I felt terrible about the way I spoke but it her to be done.

Her defiance had shaken me, not because she’d stood up to me, but because she was right. She didn’t belong here. She was human, fragile, and out of place in my world. But the thought of letting her go, of losing her, was unbearable.

And then there was what I’d said to her—what I hadn’t meant to say.

“I love you."

The words had slipped out before I could stop them, and the look on her face had been one of pure shock. She didn’t believe me, of course. How could she, when I had kept so much from her? I didn’t feel any regret telling her how I felt, she couldn’t understand why I was doing all this but soon I knew she would. Soon she’d regain all her memories and it’d all make sense but for now she could go on hating me for trapping her. It hurts but it had to be done.

I couldn’t stop myself from expressing those words, I’d held them in for far too long. I closed my eyes all the memories flooding back. I missed her so much.

My jaw clenched as her a memory flash in my mind, a memory I never want to remember. The important thing was I needed to keep her close.

"Summer," I murmured to myself. "What am I going to do with you?"