Chapter Eighteen
Chapter Eighteen
The elders practically ran out of the council chamber.
Not walked.
Ran.
Robes sweeping, heads ducked, avoiding the unhinged’s eyes like he carried death in his pupils.
Adrian slipped out a moment later, muttering something about “checking security.”
A lie, obviously.
He just didn’t want to sit at the same table with the unhinged
Soon, it was only me, the king, and the unhinged left in the silent hall.
The unhinged looked around, smiling faintly.
“Well,” he said brightly, “that was fun.”
The king pinched the bridge of his nose.
“I cannot believe I am doing this,” he muttered.
Then louder: “Annabelle, stay behind me. As for you” he pointed at the unhinged “no sudden movements.”
The unhinged gasped dramatically.
“Your Majesty, I am offended. I am extremely sane today."
No one believed that.
Not even him.
But still, Maximus gestured for the guards.
“Escort him,” he said. “We’re… taking breakfast.”
The guards stared like he had asked them to pet a snake.
But orders were orders and they had no choice but to follow them.
We began walking through the palace corridor.
At first, it was quiet.
Then the unhinged began humming. Loudly.
And dancing.
And touching tapestries like they were long-lost friends.
“Ah! My favorite murder tapestry,” he said cheerfully. “Brings back memories.”
Maximus was about to say something then nearly tripped.
I tried not to laugh.
\---
The Dining Hall
The moment we stepped inside, the servants froze.
Forks dropped.
Bread fell.
One maid girl even whispered a prayer.
The unhinged inhaled deeply, letting the smell of a fresh morning royal breakfast sink in.
“Ohhh cinnamon rolls,” he sighed. “I used to eat these while watching executions. Nostalgia.”
Every servant backed away.
Maximus rubbed his temples again.
“Sit,” he told him.
“I shall,” the unhinged replied, plopping into the seat directly across from me, elbows on the table like a child at a picnic.
A guard whispered urgently to the king:
“Your Majesty… he’s dangerous.”
“I am aware,” Maximus said tightly.
The unhinged winked at me.
Not at the king.
Not at the guards.
Just me.
“The elders ran like frightened chickens,” he said. “Good instincts. Chickens usually know when a predator enters.”
My fingers stilled around the edge of my cup.
He might really be crazy, but he was not completely crazy, his words carried hidden meanings. Staying in a cell for that long was sure to make a man go nuts.
“Chicken tastes really good too, " he said , licking his fingers in a way that it irritated the king.
Maximus cleared his throat.
“What do you want for breakfast?”
“Information,” the unhinged said instantly. Then he grinned. “And eggs, maybe so chicken”
We all watched him.
He leaned closer across the table toward me.
“But mostly information. I know what you want, little reborn Luna.”
“How ironic, I thought to myself, I want information on myself too, I needed to figure all this out.
Maximus slammed his palm on the table.
“Do not speak to her like that.
“Oh hush,” the unhinged said, waving a hand. “You don’t scare me, King-By-Accident.”
The king stiffened.
He turned back to .e “You want to know why?” the unhinged continued, eyes glittering. “Why everything is happening sooner this time.”
My heart pounded.
This time.
“What do you mean sooner?” I whispered.
He smirked.
“That’s a conversation for after you visit me alone. Which you will.” His grin widened. “Tonight.”
My stomach dropped.
Maximus slammed the table again.
“That will NOT happen!”
The unhinged ignored him completely.
“There’s a reason you came back,” he said to me, voice softening strangely. “There’s a reason the timeline cracked sooner. A reason your fate shifted like wet ink.”
I swallowed.
“What reason?” I wanted to know that more than anything, I needed directions, I can't keep going with the flow
He twisted his head left and right like a toddler.
“You changed something already. And now someone else is waking up.”
My blood went cold.
What did he mean someone else, any reborn, another villain, but I could ask
The dining hall door burst open.
A guard stumbled in, panting.
“Your Majesty, The head of prison guards requests you urgently in the courtyard. Something has happened.”
Maximus stood instantly.
“What happened?”
The guard swallowed.
“A prisoner escaped. A highly dangerous one.”
The king Slowly turned toward the unhinged.
Who smiled like a cat.
“Oh,” he said sweetly. “Yes. That would be… me.”
“But you're here,” I said. “You didn’t escape”
The unhinged laughed
The king turned his gaze lazily back to one of the prison guard, The crazy old man is right here, he didn't escape.
The guard was shocked to see the unhinged at our table and extremely shocked too, he wasn't supposed to still be able to perform alchemy.
“Oh, Luna,” he whispered, do you want to know a secret.
I leaned in to listen to what the unhinged had to say, but it's never came cause the guards interrupted.
Your Majesty, I'm sorry I didn't know the unhinged left his cell, but a different prisoner escaped! A dangerous one!”
Maximus turned sharply, I could feel the silence panic in the atmosphere from not just the king but the guards too
But the unhinged he looked as excited as a toddler.
He just tilted his head.
“Oh? Which one?” he asked cheerfully, as if the guard had announced a parade.
The guard swallowed.
“Cell… thirty-two.”
Maximus stiffened.
Cell 32 belonged to Grathor the Spinebreaker, a rogue war criminal with enough blood on his hands to drown a village.
He wasn't called the spinebreaker for nothing, he was far worse than the unhinged.
Maximus snapped into command instantly.
“Seal the east wing! Don’t let him reach the lower courtyard and under no circumstances do you let his out of the palace.
Guards ran off in different directions.
Maximus grabbed my arm.
“We’re leaving now my luna.
But a ripple of cold wind brushed past my cheek, like someone whispering through the air.
I turned the unhinged was no longer on his seat, he disappeared just as he came.
A scream tore through the courtyard.
We all ran