Chapter 169 Cloaked figure
Immediately, pens began to scratch furiously across paper.
Cameras flashed.
Audrey swallowed nervously, her hand tightening in his. Darius continued. “Today marks a turning point for our realm.”
A ripple passed through the crowd.
Audrey felt her pulse quicken. Darius turned his head slightly, his eyes meeting hers for the briefest moment. Something warm and reassuring passed between them before he faced the reporters again.
“With my future queen, Audrey, by my side,” he announced, “I have decreed a new law.”
A hush fell over the hall. Even the reporters seemed to lean forward in anticipation.
Darius’s voice carried clearly across the chamber.
“A law that abolishes the slavery of humans within our territories.”
For a single heartbeat—
Silence.
Then the hall exploded with whispers.
“What?”
“Did he just—?”
“This is unprecedented!”
Reporters surged forward in a wave of voices, questions erupting from every corner.
Cameras flashed violently. Audrey’s breath caught in her throat. She could feel the tension instantly—shock, outrage, disbelief. The announcement had struck exactly the way she feared it might.
Her fingers tightened painfully around Darius’s hand.
Guards immediately stepped forward, restraining the crowd as reporters tried to push closer.
But amid the chaos— The cloaked figure had reached the perfect position.
The blind spot beside Audrey.
Slowly, he slipped a hand beneath his cloak.
His fingers closed around polished wood.
A bow. With careful precision, he withdrew it.
Another hand pulled free a single arrow. The chaos of the reporters masked the quiet click as he notched the arrow against the bowstring.
He lifted it slowly.
His eyes narrowed behind the mask.
His target was clear. The queen consort.
On the platform, Audrey was trying to steady her breathing when Darius suddenly stiffened beside her. Something flickered at the edge of his vision.
A movement.
A glint.
Then, the arrow cut through the air. Fast, Deadly.
Darius reacted on instinct. “Audrey!”
He grabbed her and spun.
His body turned sharply, shielding her completely as he wrapped his arms around her. The arrow struck him. The impact drove deep into his flesh with a sickening sound.
Darius roared.
The sound was primal, furious, echoing through the hall like thunder. Across the crowd, the masked archer cursed under his breath.
“Damn it.”
Everything froze.
The reporters dropped their gazes instantly, instinctively bowing under the Alpha’s furious roar. But the archer didn’t hesitate, he turned and ran. His cloak fluttered violently behind him as he pushed through the crowd and fled toward the exit.
“Elijah!” Maximus barked sharply.
Elijah was already moving. “Guards!” he shouted. “After him!”
Boots pounded across the marble floor as soldiers rushed in pursuit. But Audrey didn’t hear any of it. Her entire world had narrowed to one horrifying sight.
The arrow.
It had pierced through Darius’s body.
The shaft protruded from both his chest and back. Blood stained his clothes, tainted hers.
Audrey’s breath left her in a shaky gasp.
“Darius…” Her voice broke into a sob.
Her hands trembled violently as she reached for him, terror crashing through her chest like a tidal wave. “Oh my Goddess… Darius…”
He was already moving.
His eyes glowed gold with fury, the Alpha inside him raging. He stepped forward, ready to chase the attacker. But Audrey grabbed his wrist desperately.
“No!” Her voice cracked. “Stop! Please, Darius!”
Only then did he seem to realize the arrow, still lodged in his body.
He glanced down at it briefly like it was nothing but a slight inconvenience, before looking toward the corridor where the guards had vanished.
“I have to go,” he growled, rage simmering in his voice. “No one attacks you and walks away.”
Tears spilled down Audrey’s cheeks. “You’re injured!” she cried. “Look at you!”
Her hands clutched his arm as if letting go would mean losing him forever. “Please don’t go. Please… just let them handle it.”
For a moment, the fury in Darius’s eyes didn’t fade. Then he looked at her, really looked at her.
Her face was pale with terror. Tears streamed endlessly down her cheeks.
Her hands were shaking. Slowly, his expression softened. Darius lifted his hand and cupped her face gently, his thumb brushing away her tears.
“Are you hurt?” he asked quietly.
Audrey shook her head frantically. “No—but you are!” Her voice broke again.
How could he be asking after me right now?
“You’re bleeding, Darius… please…”
He exhaled slowly, relief flickering across his face.
"Good". Then his gaze hardened again as he looked toward the exit.“The bastard aimed for you.”
He stepped forward again.
Audrey clung to him“Please don’t go,” she begged. “You could collapse… you could—”
Maximus stepped forward firmly.
“We will find him, Your Majesty.”
Darius hesitated. Maximus’s voice was unwavering.
“I give you my word.”
The Alpha King finally stilled.
Behind them, the guards were already clearing the hall, forcing reporters back as chaos erupted once more. Maximus turned sharply.
“Escort the King and the future Queen out. Clear the reporters immediately!”
The guards obeyed instantly.
And Audrey stayed beside Darius, holding onto him with trembling hands, terrified that the arrow lodged in his body might take him away from her before they even made it out of the hall.
~
AUDREY
I bit down viciously on my lower lip, trying my hardest to not let my tears fall endlessly. With my blurry gaze I rushed out of the room, meeting Monroe at the door of our chambers. Monroe placed the tray of medicinal herbs and balms in my hands, his shaking nervously.
A frown pulled at my lips and I directed my questionable gaze his way, "Are you not going to come in to treat the King?"
Monroe shook his head in the negative, taking a little step back "T-the king is not in a good frame of mind, he is angry so I fear he will not let me close to him to treat his wounds"
"He will allow only you"
"But I do not know how to apply these" I frown, worry pinching at my skin with every passing second.