Chapter 79 The Queen Regent's Last Lie
Chapter 79 The Queen Regent's Last Lie
POV: Caelum
I make it to the throne hall entrance before she catches me.
The Queen Regent.
Not following anymore. Blocking my path.
Guards flank her. Weapons drawn but uncertain.
"Move," I say.
"No."
"I will go through you if necessary."
"Then do it. But hear me first."
I stop. Not because she commands it. Because I am curious.
What lie will she tell now? What excuse will she offer?
"Speak quickly."
She steps closer. Brave or foolish. Maybe both.
"Nyra was never defective," she says.
The admission shocks me into silence.
"What?"
"She was never broken. Never wrong. We knew that from the beginning."
"You lied to me."
"We protected the throne. There is a difference."
"No. There is not."
The Queen Regent's expression hardens.
"She was a pheromone black hole. Absorption without emission. One in ten million. Maybe rarer."
"I do not understand."
"She could nullify Alpha dominance. Strip away pheromone influence. Make bloodline irrelevant. That made her the most dangerous person in the kingdom."
"Dangerous to who?"
"To everyone who relies on hierarchy. On dominance. On the natural order."
"So you bled her. Kept her weak. Called her defective."
"We exploited her rarity, yes. We had to. The alternative was killing her. We chose mercy."
I laugh.
The sound is broken. Bitter.
"Mercy. You call three years of cages and chains mercy?"
"Compared to execution, yes. We let her live. Used her carefully. Kept her safe."
"Safe? You destroyed her!"
"We preserved the throne. That is our duty. Our only duty."
I step closer. She does not retreat.
"You knew she was stabilizing me. Knew she was the only thing that worked. And you still took her away."
"We believed the fated mate would replace her function. We were wrong."
"You were cruel. There is a difference."
"We were necessary. The throne requires stability. Requires hierarchy. Requires order. She threatened all of that."
"By existing?"
"By being what she is. A void. A nullifier. A walking refutation of everything our system is built on."
I process this. The scope of the lie. The depth of the betrayal.
"How long have you known?"
"Since the blood tests. Since the first time we examined her. We knew immediately what she was."
"And you told me she was defective. Told me she was lucky to serve. Told me I was being generous letting her bleed for me."
"We told you what you needed to hear to maintain stability."
"You lied."
"We ruled. That is what ruling is. Necessary lies to maintain necessary order."
The rage surges. Unchecked. Overwhelming.
I attack.
Not her. Her guards.
They move to intercept. Too slow.
I am faster. Stronger. Fueled by bloodline madness and righteous fury.
I throw the first guard into the wall. He crumples. Does not rise.
The second tries to use dominance. Floods the space with Alpha pheromones.
It works on everyone else. Not on me.
I am too far gone. Too broken. Too beyond reach.
I grab him by the throat. Lift him. Throw him aside.
The third and fourth attack together.
I fight them both. Brutal. Efficient. Years of training taking over.
They fall.
All of them fall.
I stand over them. Breathing hard. Eyes wild.
The Queen Regent watches. Does not flee. Does not call for more guards.
Just watches.
"You will doom us all," she says quietly.
"You doomed us when you bled her. When you lied. When you built a throne on her suffering."
"The throne has stood for centuries. It will stand centuries more."
"No. It will fall. Because it is built on lies. And lies always collapse eventually."
"Where will you go?"
"North. To find her. To apologize. To beg forgiveness I do not deserve."
"She will not forgive you."
"I know."
"She may kill you."
"I know that too."
"Then why go?"
"Because dying trying to make it right is better than living knowing I did not."
The Queen Regent is silent for a long moment.
Then speaks.
"She was the best of us, you know. Despite everything we did to her. Despite the cages and chains and blood. She chose to save people anyway. Chose to help. Chose to protect."
"I know."
"We should have honored that. Should have protected her. Should have given her choice."
"But you did not."
"No. We used her. Because it was easier. Because the throne demanded it. Because we could."
"And now the throne falls."
"Yes. I suppose it does."
She steps aside.
Clears the path.
"Go. Find her. Beg your forgiveness. It will not save you. Will not save us. But perhaps it will give you peace before the end."
I walk past her.
Stop at the threshold.
"Why tell me the truth now? Why admit it?"
"Because lies no longer serve their purpose. The throne is falling whether we pretend or not. Might as well face truth at the end."
"Do you regret it? What you did to her?"
She considers.
"I regret that it failed. That we could not maintain control. But the act itself? No. I would do it again if it preserved the throne."
"Then you deserve what is coming."
"Perhaps. But so do you, Heir. You knew. Deep down, you always knew something was wrong. And you chose to ignore it because it served you."
She is right.
I hate that she is right.
But she is.
I knew. I chose not to see. Chose the throne over truth.
Chose stability over her.
And now I live with that choice.
"Goodbye, Grandmother."
"Goodbye, Caelum. I hope you find what you are looking for. Even if it destroys you."
I leave.
Walk through the palace one last time.
Servants scatter. Nobles whisper. Guards watch but do not interfere.
I am leaving. Abandoning the throne. Walking away from everything.
And no one stops me.
Because deep down, they all know.
The throne is already dead. Already fallen.
I am just the first to admit it.
I reach the palace gates.
They open without prompting.
I step through.
Into the city. Into the unknown. Into the north.
Behind me, I hear the Queen Regent scream one last time.
"You will doom us all!"
I do not look back.
Just keep walking.
She is right. I will doom them.
But they doomed themselves first.
I am just the consequence finally arriving.