Chapter 101 Hundred and four
“Don’t say it, Sienna. Please… don’t.”
Ryder’s voice cracked through the courtyard, hoarse and raw, the kind of sound that could tear open a soul. Sienna froze mid-breath. Her heart slammed against her ribs. Every instinct in her begged her to run to him, to hold him steady before the curse dragged him under again.
But she couldn’t move.
Because if she stepped one inch closer, he would die.
“Your Majesty,” Elder Theron pressed, leaning on his staff. “The realm waits.”
“I know,” she whispered.
Renna folded her arms smugly. “Then speak. Or shall we take your silence as proof of disloyalty?”
Sienna didn’t look at her. She kept her eyes on Ryder, the man she had fought for, bled for, chosen even when choosing him set the world on fire. His dark hair clung damply to his forehead, his broad shoulders trembling under the weight of visions only he could see. The curse clung to him like a living shadow, coiled around him, dragging him down inch by inch.
“Sienna,” Ryder murmured again, gripping the pillar to stay upright. His chest rose and fell in uneven bursts. “Don’t do this to us.”
“I’m doing it to save you,” she breathed.
His eyes burned at that, burned with fury, anguish, and a kind of love that hurt to look at.
“Save me?” he whispered. “By destroying me?”
She shook her head weakly. “I… I don’t have a choice.”
“You always have a choice,” he snapped, fire flickering in his gaze despite the pain ravaging him. “You choose them over us, ”
“That’s not what I’m doing.”
“Then what are you doing?” he demanded. “Tell me what this is, Sienna. Tell me how this helps me.”
She had no words.
Theron saw her hesitation and pounced.
“Your Majesty,” he said sharply, “the crowd is losing patience. Your authority is at stake. If you cannot decide, we will decide for you.”
The wolves murmured. Footsteps shifted. Fear rippled across the courtyard like a rising tide.
Sienna straightened her spine. “You won’t take the throne from me.”
“Then prove you are worthy of it,” Theron replied. “Condemn the threat standing before you.”
“A threat?” Sienna whispered. “Is that what you truly believe he is?”
Theron’s gaze hardened. “What I believe does not matter. What the realm believes does.”
Renna stepped closer, her voice dripping like poisoned honey. “Your people need you to protect them. They need clarity. They need strength.”
Ryder’s breathing hitched. His knees buckled, and he dropped forward, catching himself with one shaking hand. The curse pulsed viciously, silver veins glowing under his skin, twisting like barbed wire.
Sienna’s stomach twisted.
Every time he got nearer to her…
Every time he tried to speak her name…
Every time his heart reached for hers…
The curse punished him for loving her.
She felt her own pulse falter at the thought.
“Look at him,” Renna murmured. “He is losing himself. Soon, he will be nothing but a creature. And you will be the cause of it.”
“Shut your mouth,” Sienna snapped.
Renna only smiled.
Theron raised his staff again. “Your decree. Now.”
Ryder lifted his head, and the desperation in his eyes reached her where she stood, as real as if he had touched her soul.
“You promised me,” he whispered. “You promised you wouldn’t give up.”
She felt her breath catch.
“I’m not giving up,” she said. “I’m trying to save, ”
“Lies,” he rasped. “Don’t lie to me. Not now.”
“Ryder, ”
“Say what you feel,” he said. “Not what they want.”
Her lips parted… but what she felt would kill him.
She felt the curse coil again, saw Ryder jerk in agony. His hands slammed into the ground. Stone cracked beneath him. The crowd stepped back, gasping.
“Sienna, ” He choked. “Please, don’t do this. Don’t let them win.”
She took one small step backward. The crowd saw it. Theron saw it. Renna saw it.
Ryder saw it most of all.
His expression shattered.
“No,” he whispered. “No, no… Sienna, don’t you move away from me.”
Her throat trembled. “If I move toward you, you’ll die.”
“And if you move away,” he rasped, “I’ll die anyway.”
Silence fell over the courtyard.
Sienna closed her eyes for one brief heartbeat.
She saw the future if she chose him,
Ryder writhing in pain, torn apart by a goddess who hated their bond.
His life ending with her name on his lips.
Not because he was weak.
But because he loved her.
She opened her eyes again.
Ryder was staring at her, waiting for her to save him.
Theron was waiting for her to choose duty.
Renna was waiting for her to fall.
And the crowd…
The crowd waited for a queen to stand tall.
“Sienna,” Ryder pleaded. “Don’t break us.”
She swallowed the scream clawing up her throat.
“I have to protect you,” she whispered.
“You’re not protecting me,” he snapped, voice hoarse with heartbreak. “You’re protecting their fear.”
She flinched.
“You’re choosing fear over love.”
Her breath trembled. “I’m choosing your life.”
He shook his head. “No. You’re choosing the crown.”
She took a step forward, helpless. “Ryder, ”
The curse lashed at him instantly.
He fell to one knee.
A strangled cry tore out of him.
Sienna stopped moving, tears burning behind her eyes.
“Don’t come any closer,” he gasped. “Don’t speak. Don’t… don’t look at me like that.”
“I can’t pretend I don’t care,” she forced out.
“You can,” he whispered. “You’re about to.”
Her heart cracked open.
Theron raised his staff one final time.
“Sienna of the Moon Court,” he said loudly, projecting his voice. “Your realm demands the truth. Declare whether Ryder Thorn is a danger to your rule and your life.”
The immense weight of the moment settled over her.
The eyes of her kingdom.
The judgment of her council.
The curse tearing the man she loved apart.
She lifted her chin.
Her voice trembled, but she didn’t let it break.
Her heart screamed as she formed the words.
“I…” she whispered.
Ryder waited.
Bleeding.
Shaking.
Breaking.
Her next breath was a knife.
“I, Queen Sienna of the Moon Court…”
The courtyard leaned in as one.
“…declare that, ”
Her voice caught.
Ryder’s eyes widened… hopeful… terrified… raw.
“…that Ryder Thorn…”
Her hands trembled at her sides.
“…is no longer…”
Her throat closed violently.
She forced the words out anyway.
“…mine to protect.”
Ryder froze.
The curse pulsed.
The wind stilled.
The crowd erupted.
Ryder’s soul cracked open.
And the world began to unravel around them.