A week had passed since the fateful ceremony—a week during which the palace was draped in silence and despair. For Luther, each day had brought only dead ends, countless sleepless nights, and an ever-worsening suspicion that the truth lay hidden behind the gilded mask of a new king. For Selena, every passing hour had been an agonizing blend of tearful sorrow and quiet determination. In the echoing solitude of her private chambers, the weight of her loss and betrayal pressed heavy upon her heart.
Arya, ever by her side, offered gentle reassurances even as the queen's tears carved silent paths along her cheeks. "My queen," Arya whispered, her voice soft yet insistent, "remember you are not alone—and that life still grows within you. Even in grief, there is hope." Such words, tender as they were, could not fully mask the emptiness that had filled Selena's days.
Meanwhile, as the heat of public mourning began to dissipate, Mathew had been gathering his strength like a coiled serpent ready to strike. In the shadowed corridors behind the facade of state propriety, he secreted away his dark intent. First, he summoned his most trusted minister—a man whose loyalty, if not his honor, was unquestioned—and issued an order cloaked in quiet menace: arrange for the assassination of Selena. The minister was to stand ready, every detail prepared in silence, until Mathew himself gave the final command.
In a moment carefully contrived to catch her vulnerable, Mathew soon made his way to Selena's private chamber. His approach was measured, his dark eyes intent. "My queen," he began with a tone of false concern, "how do you fare in these troubled days?" His words dripped with a blend of feigned sympathy and quiet ambition.
Selena, still raw from sorrow yet emboldened by her inner strength and the presence of Arya, regarded him coolly. "I have endured much loss, Mathew," she replied, her voice steady despite the storm brewing inside her. "The truth is all I seek."
A smile, tinged with dangerous allure, played upon Mathew's lips. "Then let us not hide behind half-truths any longer. I offer you more than just solace; I offer you the mantle of a queen by my side. I have long loved you—from afar even before you were wed to my brother. You deserve a future of greatness, and I am prepared to give it to you."
The words fell like poison upon Selena's ears. "Love?" she snapped, rage flaring in her eyes. "You dare claim to have loved me while you never confronted me directly? You claim to have found courage only when a situational king—my husband—was unable to defend his own honor? You are a coward, Mathew! A man who hides behind treachery and whispers!"
Mathew's gaze hardened, his voice rising in a mix of indignation and cold calculation. "Do not mistake my actions for cowardice. I am no mere pawn reacting to circumstance—I have forged my own destiny. I became king not by accident, but through overcoming every obstacle in my path. I have created a path to you, Selena, one paved not with false promises but with the resolve of a man who will not be denied greatness."
The confrontation escalated with every breath until, overwhelmed by devastation and fury, Selena's sorrow shattered into uncontrollable anguish. Tears mingled with fiery determination as she could no longer restrain the magic coursing within her. In a sudden, blinding flash, she unleashed a searing fireball—a torrent of magical flame that illuminated the dark chamber with its fierce light. The burst of fire crackled between them, a physical manifestation of her pain and defiance.
Mathew's composure wavered for only an instant before he recovered a cold smile. "You have one day," he declared evenly, his voice echoing in the charged silence. "Decide whether you will be my queen or face death. The clock is ticking."
Almost immediately after his departure, the oppressive silence of the chamber was broken once more. Approximately ten minutes later, the heavy wooden door creaked open, and Luther slipped inside quietly. His eyes, filled with urgency and quiet resolve, met Selena's tear-filled gaze.
"Your majesty," Luther murmured softly, as though stepping into a fragile moment of truth. "I have watched from the shadows, and now I must help uncover the truth behind this darkness—whatever the cost may be."
In that charged moment, as the embers of Selena's defiance still danced in the fading light, the stakes of power and betrayal were laid bare—and the path to uncovering the ultimate truth was only just beginning.