"Shut your trap, you filthy traitor," a Throne Guard snapped, kicking Rylan hard across the face, "How dare you speak to our lord that way?"
"Insult?" Rylan spat blood, his swollen mouth twisted into a mocking smile, "I am just stating facts. Am I wrong, my great lord?"
Lorian hissed through his teeth, gritting against the sharp pain in his foot where the rapier was still wedged. He sank down to one knee, ignoring the agony, and grabbed Rylan roughly by the jaw, forcing the traitor to look him in the eye.
"Why, Rylan? Just why?" Lorian's voice was, raw and heavy, shaking with emotion, "In this world, after Elara, Kaelen, Jax, and Zara, I counted you among my closest friends. Heaven above and hell below know I never treated you like a subordinate! Why did you throw my trust away? What could anyone possibly offer you that Veridia couldn't? I couldn't! Why? Just tell me WHY?"
Rylan let out a wet, raspy scoff, "Because I am not stupid enough to go down with a sinking ship! What you are doing is like trying to patch a dam made of loose sand. You might hold back the flood for an hour, but you can't stop it forever. A massive deluge is coming, my Lord, and it is going to sweep the entire continent clean. Nobody survives it. I am not crazy enough to bet against the inevitable. If I stayed loyal to you, my fate would be just as dead as everyone else's. Besides, how am I a traitor if my loyalty belonged to someone else long before I ever started working for you? You were just a fool for assuming otherwise."
"Then who are you really serving?" Lorian demanded.
"Like I said, I am no traitor, and I am certainly not going to hand over my true master's name," Rylan muttered, his eyes were now glinting with a fanatical zeal, "But let me tell you something out of my remaining scrap of respect for you- even if you somehow survive this pirate attack, you are doomed to fall anyway. Don't grieve over it. Your destruction is part of a better future. The wheel of this world has been stuck for far too long, and it needs to turn. Your crushed bones will just be the grease that makes it move. And by the way..." Rylan paused, shifting his eyes toward Lorian's face, "My Lord knows who you really are. He knows what lurks in your shadow. Next time, try to be a bit more careful if you want to keep your secrets."
"What should we do with him, My Lord?" a Throne Guard interrupted, stepping forward with his spear raised.
"Wait, My Lord..." Rylan's tough, cocky tone vanished in an instant, replaced by sudden panic as his eyes darted toward the doorway, "My father... he is..."
"Your father doesn't need a character certificate from a traitorous son," Lorian scoffed, shoving Rylan's face away, "I shared my suspicions with him long before tonight. I hoped he could talk some sense into you, but..."
"You knew?" Rylan stared at him, his bloodshot eyes were now wide with disbelief, "You actually went to my father behind my back? I swear, I can't figure out if you are a complete idiot or a cunning demon. Or, are you both?"
"I had a sharp hunch," Lorian said coldly, shifting his weight off his injured foot, "The weird timing of your supposed heroic rescues, your defensive panic when things got tight, and your overly neat explanations... it all pointed to one thing. You had switched sides."
"So that's why you were acting so paranoid around me tonight?" Rylan hissed, "Then why didn't you just arrest me? Why drag my old man into it? I was right- you are an idiot. You put way too much faith in my father's loyalty to the crown. If he had warned me you were onto us, things would look very different right now."
"Don't you have a single ounce of shame left?" a broken, trembling voice echoed from the doorway.
Everyone froze and spun around. Gravil Farthom stood in the entrance, flanked by a young Throne Guard. The old prime minister looked suddenly ancient, as if decades of crushing weight had crashed onto his shoulders all at once.
"Who brought Master Gravil here?" Lorian roared, glaring at the escort.
"Forgive me, My Lord," the young guard said quickly, dropping to one knee, "I thought bringing him was the only way to stop the bloodshed Master Rylan started. If I overstepped, I'll take whatever punishment you deem fit."
"It's fine..." Gravil whispered, his voice frail and cracked. He held up a trembling hand to stop the guard. "It's fine, My Lord. This is the least I deserve for fathering a monster. Lord Elmsworth- rest his soul- sponsored my son at the academy so he could serve this nation with honor. Instead, he comes back as a traitor. This is my failure. You warned me, My Lord, but I couldn't bring myself to believe my own flesh and blood could be a traitor. I ignored your warning. So whatever happens tonight, the blame rests entirely on my shoulders."
"What do you want to do with him, Master Gravil?" Lorian asked quietly, "We can throw him in the dungeons, and the people of Veridia will know what he is. Or we can end it here, and write his name down as a martyr who died defending the walls. The choice is yours."
"You cruel, cold-hearted bastard!" Rylan screamed, straining against the guards holding him down, "Your soul is so rotten you're making a father choose how to butcher his own son?"
Gravil broke down, a fresh wave of tears spilling over his wrinkled cheeks, "Don't you dare pretend you care about your family now! If you did, you wouldn't have dragged our name through the mud and sided with monsters..."
Before Gravil could finish, a deafening crash shook the heavy Gold doors of the chamber.
"Open up, dear brother!" Lyssian's voice rang out clearly from the other side, dripping with smug confidence, "The outer gold wall is completely breached. Right now, only this little door is standing between you and us. Just open it and surrender. I haven't harmed your precious people sleeping outside, and I won't touch anyone inside either. I'll even let you walk out of this palace with a crate of gold so you can live out your days in peace somewhere else. So just open the door. Let's make this easy!"
Rylan let out a harsh, hysterical laugh, "Looks like my luck hasn't run out yet! I am about to be rescued- and not just rescued, but rewarded by your thick-headed, emotional cousin for helping him out."
"Master Gravil, please," Lorian urged, "We have to make a call right now..."
Gravil closed his eyes, his entire body was trembling violently, "I want to be the one to take his life, because I brought him into this world. But these old bones... they don't have the strength for it today. And I won't let him die a false martyr. It would spit on the graves of real men who gave everything for Veridia if my traitorous son was counted among them. Let his execution be known to everyone. Let the people see that when it comes to a true son of Veridia, the nation comes before blood. Do it for me... I beg you, My Lord."
"As you wish, Master Gravil," Lorian nodded heavily, "We don't have time to tie him up or lock him away safely. Break his arms so he can't cause trouble. Forgive me, Master Gravil."
The old minister didn't say another word. He just closed his eyes and gave a slow, agonizing nod as tears streamed down his face.
Two dull, sickening crunches echoed through the quiet room, followed immediately by Rylan's muffled, choking gasp of pain. The guards tossed his limp, writhing form aside like garbage and immediately turned back toward the barricaded entrance, raising their weapons.
The massive doors of pure gold shuddered under another brutal strike, ready to break apart at any second.