Kiono POV
The transition from the absolute tranquility of the hidden snowy mountain peaks back into the oppressive, suffocating atmosphere of the imperial palace felt like a physical blow. The moment I stepped back through the rear guard checkpoints, the crisp, clean air of the north was replaced by the stale scent of incense and old blood.
My first stop was the central training grounds. I needed to gauge the damage from the morning's courtyard disaster.
The area was eerily quiet, save for the low, hum of medical magic. I stopped at the edge of the stone tracks, my arms crossed over my chest as I looked down at the pathetic scene before me. Palace healers were hunched over the broken, trembling forms of the royal guards the ones who had survived Castel's initial outburst but were still leaking blood from their ears and eyes.
"You all are absolute failures," I said, my voice cutting through the damp air like a serrated blade.
Not a single soldier dared to look up. No one responded. They kept their heads pressed firmly against the bloody stone floor, their bodies shaking under the weight of my judgment and their own incompetence. They couldn't protect the courtyard, they couldn't control the court, and they certainly couldn't contain a real threat. Disgusted, I turned on my heel and walked out, leaving them to their misery.
I marched down the grand, echoing hallways toward the royal quarters. My boots thudded against the polished marble, each step bringing me closer to the eye of the storm.
Reaching the massive, gold-embossed double doors of Castel's private chambers, I pushed them open without knocking.
The room was a sprawling with dark-tinted luxury. The space was draped entirely in heavy, deep crimson velvet curtains that blocked out the natural light, casting the chamber in dark bloody twilight. Ornate, gilded molding ran along the high ceilings, reflecting dancing shadows of a massive marble fireplace that roared with an unnatural heat. A grand, cavernous canopy bed wrapped in matching crimson silk dominated one side of the room, while expensive, intricate rugs covered the dark hardwood floors.
Kris was sitting stiffly on an embroidered velvet chair near the hearth, her eyes red and puffy. Castel was leaning carelessly against the far wall, his arms folded, his shadow stretching long and menacing across the room.
Kris immediately tilted her head, a fragile, manipulative smile pulling at her lips as her eyes landed on me. "Hello darling," her voice trembling slightly despite her best efforts to sound casual. "I was just telling my brother about us."
My jaw tightened so hard it ached. "Don't call me that. And there is no us."
Castel cleared his throat, a low, dangerous sound that vibrated through the floorboards. He didn't look at Kris. He kept his piercing gaze locked entirely on me. "I am not your brother," he said coldly, his voice dripping with arrogance. "I am your cousin. And no evidence in this world will tell me otherwise."
He straightened up, stepping away from the wall and walking slowly toward me, his boots clicking rhythmically against the hardwood. He stopped just a few feet away. "She tells me you cheated on her, Kiono. Is it true? Did you cheat on her with that nameless girl you brought into my palace?"
I stared at him, completely incredulous. "Cheat? Is this a joke?"
"Does it look like I am smiling?" Castel snapped, his eyes flashing with a dangerous, golden light. "I thought you were a gentleman, Captain. After screwing her, you suddenly cancel the wedding and cheat on her with kitchen staff?"
Across the room, Kris sank deeper into her chair, letting out a soft, theatrical weep, her shoulders shaking as she covered her face with a handkerchief. She thought she had me trapped. She knew I had been staying silent to protect my sister. She knew the truth would destroy Eina's standing, so she thought she could use my loyalty as a shield to force me back into marriage.
"Castel, think about what she is saying," I said, keeping my voice dead even, trying to appeal to whatever logic he had left. "Do you really think I would do something like that?"
"Right now, it's making perfect sense," Castel retorted, glaring at me. "Since you never actually gave me a reason why you broke off the engagement. So, if you have a different explanation, please... do tell."
I glanced at Kris. She was watching me through the space between her fingers, a smug, desperate look in her eyes. She thought I would buckle. She thought my duty to my family's honor would keep my mouth shut. But everything had changed. I had Astelion now. I was done playing these courtly games.
"Castel, I want to," I murmured, a heavy sigh escaping me. "But I can't."
"See! I told you it was true!" Kris shrieked, instantly jumping out of her chair and pointing a trembling, accusatory finger right at my chest. "He admits it! Cas, you have to make him marry me! Don't let him even think about challenging you on this!"
I closed my eyes for a single fraction of a second, letting the image of Astelion's face. I am done protecting the people who want to destroy us.
I opened my eyes, looking Castel straight in the depths of his pupils. "She fucked Eina."
The room went dead silent.
Castel's eyes glowed a blinding, electric light for a split second, the air pressure in the room dropped. Then, a low chuckle rattled in his throat, building into a loud, mocking laugh. "Stop telling jokes, Kiono. It won't get you out of this."
"I am not protecting them anymore," I said, my voice rising, vibrating with the raw power. "Especially not when it affects my future with the woman I love. I didn't cheat on her, Castel. I broke off the engagement because I walked and found Kris face-deep in Eina pussy covered in her fluids."
Castel's laughter died instantly. It was as if the fire in the hearth had been snuffed out.
His gaze shot across the room, landing on Kris like a physical executioner's axe. Kris was suddenly shaking her knees gave out, her back hitting the arm of the velvet chair. The smugness vanished from her face, leaving her completely pale.
"Cas..." Kris stammered, her voice cracking into a high-pitched gasp. "Cas, I can explain—"
"I don't want to hear shit!"
The entire room violently bucked. The heavy glass mirrors lining the walls began to shake under the sheer weight of his psychic power.
Castel turned on her, his face contorted into something monstrous. "I don't really care who you fuck, Kris! But her? Eina? She was the one person in this entire kingdom I explicitly told you to leave alone! And you still did it? Why?!"
"Cas, I'm sorry! Please!" Kris cried, throwing herself out of the chair and sliding onto her knees across the rug, her manicured hands reaching out toward him in desperate supplication.
"You had the absolute nerve to lie to my face," Castel whispered, his voice dropping to a terrifying, guttural tone that was far worse than his shouting. He didn't even look back at me as he raised a single, flat palm toward her. "Kiono, get out. I need some alone time with my dear cousin."
A heavy knot formed in my stomach. I knew what he was capable of when his pride was wounded. "Castel, wait. Let's think about this rationally"
"Don't worry, I am not going to kill her," Castel interrupted, his voice eerily calm as his eyes locked onto the weeping girl at his feet. "So get out."
"Don't leave me! Please, Kiono, please!" Kris screamed, her eyes wide with a frantic, terror as she looked at me, begging for the protection of the man she had just tried to ruin.
I stood there for a beat, looking down at her. I closed my eyes. She is no longer my problem. The truth was out. There was no turning back, and she had brought this entirely upon herself.
I turned around, walked out into the corridor, and began to pull the heavy double doors closed.
But before the latch could click, I caught a glimpse through the narrowing gap.
Castel hadn't touched her with his hands. He had lifted her entirely into the air using a fraction of his telekinetic force, her body suspended feet's off the ground, her limbs flailing wildly. With a casual, sickening twitch of his wrist, a brutal snap echoed through the room.
Her neck twisted turning around completely.
The light instantly vanished from her eyes, and her limp, lifeless body dropped onto the crimson rug with a heavy, muted thud.
My adrenaline spiked. I open the door back open, as I rushed back into the room. "Castel, what the fuck?! You said you wouldn't kill her!"
Castel stood over the corpse, taking a deep, shuddering breath as if the act had given him a rush of pure oxygen. He didn't look remorseful. He looked liberated. He slowly turned his head to look at me, a wild, completely unhinged look dancing in his eyes.
"I lied," he whispered.
He took a step forward, "Next is your sister."
The blood in my veins turned to pure ice. My telekinetic shields flared to life around my skin instinctively. "Castel, breathe," I ordered, my voice dropping into a hard, commanding tone.
"Your sister and your father agreed for Eina to be my next queen," Castel said, his voice manic, a disturbing smile stretching across his lips as he gestured wildly with his hands. "But she is out here fucking my so-called sister? I am pretty sure, Kiono, that was not the first time. Not if they were that comfortable. I don't want her anymore. I don't want anyone in this palace who would lie to me, or betray me, or keep secrets from me! In the end... they would just kill me in my sleep."
The sheer, unstable paranoia radiating off him was catastrophic. He was completely unravelling, the pressure of the upcoming Choosing Festival and his parents death anniversary was pushing him over the edge.
I stepped forward, forcing my breathing to remain steady despite the urge to pull my weapon. I closed the distance between us, entering his immediate space, and firmly placed my hand on his shoulder.
"You don't have to marry Eina," I said softly, my voice grounding, projecting a calm I didn't entirely feel. "But I cannot allow you to kill her, Castel. Please... just breathe."
Looking closely into his face, I could see the terrifying, raw cosmic power swirling inside his eyes, ready to explode like a dying star.
He wanted blood.