Chapter 77 COMPLETELY ALONE
Athalias scream tore through the tower and struck the stone like a living thing, splintering, echoing, refusing to die.
Her body convulsed against the cold floor, fingers scraping uselessly as if the stones might open and swallow her pain. Each breath came ragged, dragged from her chest by force.
Blood spread beneath her in slow, dark rivulets, seeping into the cracks she had memorized over months of isolation. Her vision swam. The world narrowed to heat, pressure, and the sickening emptiness where something precious had been.
“No,” she whispered, the word barely sound. “Not my child…”
Her hands trembled as they moved to her stomach. The realization hit harder than the pain. It hollowed her out, left her gasping as if her lungs had been torn free.
Everything she had fought for. Every silent endurance, every humiliation swallowed, every careful step taken to protect the fragile life she had bore—it was gone.
A sob broke free, raw and animal.
She was all alone.
The tower loomed around her, tall and merciless. Pale light filtered through the narrow slit of a window high above, illuminating motes of dust that drifted lazily, that was uncaring.
Chains of runes glowed faintly along the walls, etched deep into the stone. They pulsed with a low, constant hum that vibrated through her bones. It was of magic, old and binding.
Athalia dragged herself toward the wall, nails scraping until they bled. She pressed her palm against the glowing symbols. Pain flared instantly, sharp and blinding, forcing her back with a cry. The magic rejected her violently, like a living thing defending its cage.
She collapsed again, chest heaving.
Only one person could have woven something like this.
Selene.
The thought crept in despite the agony, curling around her mind like smoke. Selene, with her silver eyes and measured words, who had sworn loyalty not to the crown, but to Athalia herself. Selene, who had stood beside Athalia when the court had turned cold, had placed steady hands on her shoulders and promised she would not be alone.
"Why would she...?" she murmured.
The question faltered, dissolved under the weight of Athalia’s exhaustion and grief. She shook her head weakly, as if the motion could scatter the thought.
No.
She had trusted the wrong people before. She knew that now. She had learned it the hard way, through betrayal wrapped in smiles and poison disguised as care. But Selene had saved her life more than once.
Athalia closed her eyes, breathing through the ache that settled deep in her bones. Faith, fragile and battered, still clung to her.
“If Selene had woven this magic, there was a reason. There had to be.” She muttered.
Elsewhere, the palace trembled under raised voices.
King Adrian stood at the center of the council chamber, his hands braced against the long table, knuckles white. Sunlight streamed through the high windows, illuminating the carved banners that bore his sigil, but the warmth did nothing to cool the fury radiating from him.
Celine stood opposite him.
Once, she had occupied that space with confidence, draped in silk and jewels, her chin lifted in quiet defiance. Now, she stood stripped of ornament, her gown plain, her hair pulled back without adornment. Even so, her eyes burned with conviction.
“You accuse me as though I am your enemy,” she said, her voice steady. “Everything I did was for you.”
Adrian’s jaw tightened. “You poisoned my wife, the Queen.”
A murmur rippled through the gathered councilors. Several shifted uncomfortably in their seats. Others stared openly, hungry for every word.
Celine lifted her chin higher. “I protected you.”
“By slowly killing her?” Adrian snapped.
“She was already dying and a threat,” Celine replied. “You know it. The court knows it. A sick queen with too much influence that hides in a tower, carrying a child we’ve never seen and whose loyalty could never be guaranteed…”
“That child is mine and I gave instructions for them to remain there till she’s strong enough to sit on her throne,” Adrian cut in, his voice dropping to a dangerous calm.
Celine hesitated, just for a fraction of a heartbeat.
“I have seen kingdoms fall,” she said carefully. “I have watched men like you lose everything because they trusted too deeply. I would not let that be your fate.”
Adrian straightened, turning his gaze toward the council. “I do not need your help fixing a kingdom, I’m capable enough to do that.” He said “I was warned, but I Ignored it. But now I’ll take action.”
The room stilled.
“Whispers reached me months ago,” he continued. “Of herbs slipped into Athalia’s tea and servants paid to look the other way. I ignored them because I wanted to believe loyalty still meant something. Until it was confirmed when the council gathered for the Queens dethronement.”
He turned back to Celine. “You took advantage of her sickness and unavailability to take the throne.”
Her lips pressed together. “Why do you always chose her over reason?”
“I chose the truth,” Adrian said. “And you chose ambition.”
One of the elder councilors rose, his voice measured. “Your Majesty, whatever her crimes, stripping a consort of her title sets a dangerous precedent. We urge restraint.”
Adrian did not look at him. “She attempted to assassinate the queen.”
“But she failed,” another councilor interjected. “We believe the queen lives.”
Adrian’s eyes flashed. “Does she? I have sent guards to search but it seems the tower or the path to it vanished. And my wife and son are still missing. ”
The statement landed heavily and no one spoke.
Celine’s expression flickered. “Athalia is alive. She must be.”
“Really?” Adrian said. “Because she is strong? Or did you hide her somewhere only you know?”
“I didn’t. I swear.” She said,
He stepped away from the table, circling Celine slowly. “You will be stripped of your title. You will be removed from court. You will never again claim a place at my side.”
Celine laughed softly. “No, Adrain please. Don't think this ends here. Maybe something is wrong.”
Adrian stopped in front of her. “You are wrong. And it ends now.”
Guards stepped forward at his signal. Hands closed around Celine’s arms.
She leaned toward him as they dragged her away, her voice low. “You think Selene is loyal to the crown?”
Adrian stiffened.
“What did you say?” he demanded.
Celine smiled, sharp and knowing. “Ask her where your queen truly is.”
The doors slammed shut behind her.