Chapter 57 Sir Marcus Strikes
Drakon's POV
"There!" A guard pointed at a figure running across the castle courtyard. "That's Sir Marcus!"
I transformed fully and launched into the air. My dragon wings beat powerfully as I chased him.
Sir Marcus ran with supernatural speed. Too fast for a normal human. Magic. He was using magic to escape.
"You won't get away!" I roared, diving toward him.
He looked back, grinned, and threw something at me. A vial. It exploded mid-air into thick black smoke that burned my eyes.
I flew through it blindly, coughing. When my vision cleared, Sir Marcus had vanished.
"Search every inch of this castle!" I commanded, landing heavily. "He can't have gone far!"
But even as I said it, I knew we'd lost him. He'd planned this too well.
I transformed back to human form and surveyed the damage. Three fires still raged. The armory was completely destroyed. The food stores were ash. The stables were smoldering ruins.
Months of preparation. Gone in one night.
"Your Majesty!" Thorne ran up, soot covering his face. "We found something in your chambers. The assassination trap Sir Marcus set."
I followed him to my room. A complex arrangement of blades and poison needles lay dismantled on my bed.
"If you'd pulled back the covers, these would have triggered," Thorne explained. "Instant death. Very professional work."
"How did he get into my private chambers?"
"Someone gave him access. Someone with authority." Thorne's voice was grim. "We found this hidden under your pillow."
He held up a piece of parchment. I recognized the handwriting immediately.
Elara's handwriting.
My hands shook as I read it:
"Tonight at midnight. The king will be in the armory investigating the border reports. Set the trap in his chambers while he's distracted. He won't suspect anything. After he's dead, open the south gate for the invasion force. Everything is proceeding according to plan.
E"
"No," I whispered. "She couldn't have written this. She's been in the dungeon."
"She could have written it earlier. Before her arrest." Thorne pointed at the date on top. "See? This was written three days ago. Before the festival. Before everything came out."
I stared at the letter. At Elara's handwriting. At proof she'd planned my assassination.
"This proves she wasn't just a victim," Thorne said quietly. "She was actively working to kill you. This wasn't just about protecting her sister. This was deliberate betrayal."
"But Lily was real. The blackmail was real."
"Maybe both things are true. Maybe Queen Morgana blackmailed her at first. But somewhere along the way, Elara chose to continue. Chose to help kill you even after falling in love." Thorne's voice held no judgment. Just sadness. "People are complicated. She could have loved you and still decided you had to die."
I couldn't breathe. The emptiness where the bond used to be felt like a gaping wound.
She'd planned to kill me. Written instructions for my assassination. Set everything in motion.
And I'd almost protected her. Almost chosen her over my kingdom.
"There's more," Thorne said. "We found maps in Sir Marcus's abandoned room. Plans for tonight's sabotage. All in Elara's handwriting. Dates, locations, methods. She planned everything."
He showed me more papers. More evidence. All in her writing.
Detailed plans for destroying the armory. The food stores. The stables. Everything that had burned tonight.
"She orchestrated all of this," I said numbly.
"It appears so."
"But why? If she loved me, if the bond was real, how could she plan my death?"
"I don't know." Thorne put a hand on my shoulder. "Maybe the bond was real but not strong enough. Maybe her fear for her sister overrode everything else. Maybe Queen Morgana has some hold over her we don't understand."
"Or maybe," I said bitterly, "she's just a very good liar who fooled us all."
More guards ran up. "Your Majesty! Sir Marcus escaped through a secret tunnel. We found it hidden behind a tapestry. It leads outside the castle walls."
"Of course he did." I laughed without humor. "And Elara probably told him about that tunnel. Probably gave him every secret passage. Every weakness."
The guards looked uncomfortable but didn't deny it.
I walked to the window. Stared out at my burning castle. At the destruction one woman had caused.
"Execute her," I said quietly.
"Your Majesty?"
"Elara. Execute her. Three days from now. Public execution. I want everyone to see what happens to traitors."
"Drakon, maybe we should..."
"That's an order, Thorne." My voice was dead. Empty. "She planned my assassination. She helped destroy our defenses. She was working with Sir Marcus the entire time. She deserves death."
"What about Lily? What about the blackmail?"
"I don't care anymore." The emptiness consumed everything. "Elara made her choices. Now she pays the price."
Thorne was quiet for a long moment. Then: "I'll make the arrangements."
He left.
I stood alone, holding the letters. Holding proof of complete betrayal.
And I realized Queen Morgana had won after all.
She'd destroyed my trust. My heart. My ability to see clearly.
She'd turned me into exactly what she wanted, a king consumed by rage and grief, making terrible decisions.
But I couldn't stop myself.
Couldn't pull back from the edge.
Could only watch myself fall.
Three days. Then Elara would die.
And maybe this pain would finally end.
A guard rushed in. "Your Majesty! The prisoner! Something's wrong with her!"
"What now?"
"She collapsed in her cell. The wound on her chest is bleeding heavily. The healers say she's dying. She might not survive the night, let alone three days."
I should have felt nothing. Should have let her die.
Instead, panic flooded through me.
"Take me to her," I ordered. "Now."
Because despite everything, despite the betrayal and evidence and broken trust, I still couldn't let her die.
Not yet.
Not until I understood why.
Why she'd done this. Why she'd destroyed us both. Why love hadn't been enough.
I needed answers.
And Elara was the only one who had them.