Chapter 14

Chapter 14
Violetta’s POV

I knew something was wrong the moment I entered the throne hall, because the doors were already swung wide open and the guards who normally stood on either side of the entrance were nowhere to be seen. The corridor outside was filled with so many restless whispers, and the attendants were gathered in small clusters near the pillars, glancing nervously toward there as if they were expecting something to happen at any moment.

Also, the way in which they had looked at me was odd, and it was as if they were talking about me.

But why?

I slowed my pace, trying to study their faces only for my personal maid to rush toward me with a pale face and also with skepticism. Usually, she respected me but wasn’t scared… but this time around she seemed a bit nervous being around me but was forcing herself to try and act normal.

“Your Majesty,” she whispered, her voice shaking as she stopped just short of touching my arm.

“What happened?” I asked her, trying to keep my voice the same as usual, so she wouldn’t see the fact that I was worried.

I could tell she was terrified from the way her eyes were darting toward the main doors before she shook her head. “I don’t know, my Queen.”

“Then why are you looking at me like that?” I pressed.

She opened her mouth to say something, but nothing came out, and after a second of watching her struggle, I walked straight past her and headed inside.

The entire council was gathered around the long table, but this time they weren’t waiting for me to take my seat or preparing to present their usual complaints. They were standing together as if waiting for me to answer for something or like they wanted to interrogate me, and Evander was positioned right in the centre of the room with a folded piece of paper in his hand.

My stomach dropped the second my eyes landed on the paper, because tension in the room told me it wasn’t anything good.

“What is that?” I asked, holding my hand out.

He didn’t give it to me though, he simply pursed his lips before speaking. “Something we received this morning, Your Majesty.”

“From whom?” I asked.

“It was delivered anonymously,” he replied, taking a slow step toward me.

My eyes narrowed as I scanned the faces around the table, watching the way several councilors refused to meet my eyes. “And what does it say?”

Nobody answered for a long moment.

“Evander,” I commanded, demanding his attention.

He slowly unfolded the paper, his hands steady before he looked straight into my eyes. “Your Majesty… is it true? Because this confirms the rumours with proof. We are only asking to give you the benefit of doubt as you are our queen still.”

My heart began pounding against my ribs, so hard that it made my hands feel cold. “Is what true?”

“That you’re not entirely fae,” he said.

“That is not news to anyone. Fae-wolf. My fae side is stronger, which is the reason I have wings… why’s that a problem? Thorne was the same.”

“You have deceived us!” He shouted, pointing a finger at me. “You are a demon hybrid.”

Someone else cursed under their breath, shaking their head. “Like I said, it is impossible. She shouldn’t even exist, and she has been hiding it from us while sitting on our throne.”

My body turned cold but I refused to let it show. “If I were one, do you realize it would have killed me before I ever became a toddler?”

Evander took another step forward. “This details your lineage. Is it true?”

I looked around the room, taking in the sea of faces watching me with horror and resentment, and in some cases, an almost excited hunger to see me fall.

I swallowed past the lump in my throat, knowing that any lie would only make things worse. They probably already had scribes looking deep into my history and were probably unfolding everything. Plus there were other ways to sense the presence of a demon, and even though I’d kept it suppressed for years because of the hex my mother put, I could feel it fading away these days. “Yes.”

The hall erupted into chaos. “You lied to us!” a lord shouted, slamming his hand against the wood.

“She deceived the entire kingdom from the very beginning!” Lady Vykrael yelled, stepping forward with her eyes flashing in fury. “Execute her for treason!”

“She cannot remain on our throne!” another voice joined in. “She carries tainted blood, and she will bring ruin upon our people if we don’t kill her before she turns on us!”

I stood completely still in the middle of the room, listening as the very people who had bowed their heads and sworn loyalty to me yesterday began debating how quickly they could have me put to death.

I looked back at Evander, who was the only one not joining in the shouting, but was simply watching me with a cold, distant expression.

“You concealed this from the court,” he said, speaking over the noise.

“Yes,” I answered.

“For how long?”

“My entire life,” I told him. “For good reason.”

“And you expected us to allow you to rule over us?” he asked, shaking his head.

“I expected you to judge me based on what I have done for this kingdom,” I said, raising my voice so the others would hear me. “I have protected these lands, and I have kept us out of unnecessary wars. I have shown my loyalty to the crown when Thorne was king. I have shown my loyalty to the fae kingdom since he appointed me his queen. Do not act like we have not progressed since I ascended the throne.”

A councilor near the back laughed bitterly. “You expect us to trust a creature that shouldn’t exist in our world?”

I felt something inside me snap. “I am not a creature. I am your queen, and I am of your kind despite who my mother was.”

“You are no longer queen,” Lady Vykrael spat, walking up beside Evander. “The throne must be restored to a legitimate bloodline immediately, and you will be stripped of your title.”

“No, that is not enough!” someone else roared from across the chamber. “She should be executed for her deceit! If she is removed peacefully, her loyalists among the guard may rebel against us!”

“They already will,” another lord argued. “Which means a civil war is inevitable if we don’t handle this right now.”

My stomach twisted violently at the mention of a civil war, realizing that this whole disaster was happening because of something I had been born with and had never asked for. I looked around the hall, seeing how quickly they had stopped caring about the kingdom and were already choosing sides, preparing to tear each other apart over my blood.

And then I suddenly understood what Svetlana had been doing this entire time.

The murders near the borders, the carved markings on the dead soldiers, the growing unrest in the city, and now this anonymous letter—she had planned every single detail to lead to this exact moment. If the fae turned against their own queen and started fighting among themselves while the wolves were being blamed for the dead bodies, both territories would collapse into total ruin, leaving Svetlana free to resurrect Azythar without anyone having the strength left to stop her. Then together they would take over.

I took a step backwards toward the open entrance, and Evander noticed the movement immediately.

“Violetta?” he called out, his voice sharp with warning.

I looked at him, and for the first time since I had met him, I didn’t see a councilor trying to advise me, but an enemy who was ready to watch me die to save his own position. I couldn’t stay in this palace for another second especially while they were actively preparing to lock me in the dungeons and decide my execution, and not while the kingdom was about to fracture into violence.

I turned on my heel and bolted.

“Stop her!” someone screamed from behind me.

I ran as fast as my legs could carry me, using my speed to push past the approaching guards before they could draw their weapons or close the outer doors. I darted into the wide corridor, ignoring the startled gasps of the attendants as they scattered out of my path.

“Your Majesty, stop!” a guard yelled, but I didn’t look back.

I kept running through the winding hallways until I reached my quarters, slamming the door shut and throwing the bolt across it to buy myself a few minutes. My hands were shaking so badly as I hurried around the room, grabbing only the few essential items I needed to survive.

I couldn’t even remember the last time I had panicked. Maybe when I was still a young child and had the fear of being found out.

I buckled my sword around my waist and pulled a few knives and a small skin bag. My dinner had been served already, so I simply grabbed the fruits and bread—non-perishable items that would last for a while—before I got myself together.

My mind drifted to Selene almost immediately. I couldn’t go to her because if the fae guards were tracking me, they would eventually follow my trail straight into wolf territory, and if they found me hiding there, they wouldn’t just try to kill me—they would accuse the wolves of harbouring a traitor and start the very war I had been trying to prevent.

I rushed over to the balcony and threw open the tall glass windows, letting the freezing night air rush across my face. Behind me, the door was rattling so hard as the guards began pounding against it, demanding that I surrender.

Funny how the kingdom I had spent years defending had turned against me in less than an hour.

It would have been understandable if they found evidence against me that I was betraying the fae, but all I had done was protect the lands. It was my whole identity, and I had not even acknowledged my demon and angel side. My mother had made me not to, and for good cause. And now… it had all collapsed. In the space of less than a week.

I climbed up onto the ledge of the balcony, looking back at my room for one final moment to say goodbye to the life I had built, and then I jumped into the darkness of the gardens below and flew into the night.