In the Shadow of the Crown

The corridor was silent, yet every step Eliza took felt deafening. The echoes of the throne room clung to her skin. Edric’s words, Raen’s rage, Tristan’s barely restrained desperation. The weight of it pressed down on her like a shroud.

Raen walked beside her, his grip still tight around her fingers. He hadn’t let go since they left. Hadn’t spoken. Hadn’t even looked at her. But his magic still curled through the air, sharp and volatile, snapping at the stone walls like an injured beast.@@novelbin@@

She knew what he was thinking.         

[He should have killed Edric.]

She had stopped him.

Eliza swallowed, glancing at him from the corner of her eye. His golden gaze was fixed ahead, his jaw tight. His sword remained unsheathed, the blood along its edge dark and drying.

“Raen...”

“Not here.”

His voice was quiet, but it held the edge of a command.

Eliza hesitated but nodded. They needed to keep moving. The castle was still alive with chaos

They moved swiftly through the twisting halls, Tristan following a few paces behind. His presence was an anchor, steady but tense. He had risked his life stepping between Raen and Edric, but whether that had been loyalty or something else, Eliza couldn’t be sure.

[Trust is a fragile thing.]

Especially in a court built on deception.

They reached a side passage, one of the many hidden exits buried within the castle’s ancient stone. Tristan stepped forward, murmuring a quiet incantation under his breath. The air shimmered, and the outline of the door wavered before clicking open.

Raen still hadn’t spoken.

Eliza turned to him, pressing a hand to his arm. His muscles were taut beneath her touch. “We’re safe for now,” she said, searching his face. “Talk to me.”

For a long moment, she thought he wouldn’t. Then, finally, his gaze met hers.

“I should have killed him.”

Eliza’s chest tightened. “No.”

His fingers twitched, his grip flexing around her own. “He will come for you again.” His voice was low, lethal. “And next time, I won’t stop.”

“You don’t see it, do you?” she whispered. “That’s what he wants.”

Raen’s eyes darkened, but before he could argue, Tristan spoke from the doorway.

“She’s right.” His voice was calm, but his expression was grim. “Edric thrives on control. On playing the long game. If you’d killed him tonight, you would have won the battle, but the war?” He shook his head. “The war would have swallowed you whole.”

Raen exhaled sharply, his magic pulsing with restrained fury.

Eliza stepped closer, tilting her chin up to meet his gaze. “You are not a pawn in his game,” she said. “And neither am I.”

A muscle in Raen’s jaw twitched.

Then, without a word, he turned and stepped through the open passageway.

Eliza followed, her heartbeat unsteady.

Because even as they left the castle behind, as the cold night air wrapped around them, she knew the truth.

This wasn’t an escape.

It was only the beginning.

And the blade hanging over them had never been sharper.