te. A simple meal-a bowl of stew and bread-rested in his hand, the aroma of it drifting faintly in the col

threadbare and worn. Her hands were folded in her lap, eyes fixed ahead but unseeing. She'd long since stopped

ese years, she could

was cold, his face unreadable as always. For five years, this had been their routine. Five years of s

dn't need to ask where the food came from; she knew it was Zazeal who made sure it reached her.

t a plea, not anymore. It was a statement, a question she had waited to ask for years. She ha

as if he considered leaving without a word. Ins

tone flat, emotionless. "You need to hear of what I'v

his voice cut deeper than the years of imprisonment. She had known him when he was young-when he had looked at

pite the venom in it. "Nothing but destroy. What has your kingdom

dares to challenge. In five years, I have built an empire stronger than any that has come before it. The streets that once echoed with the cries of

ers failed to do in decades. I have brought unity to this fractured land. I have forged alliances with ki

ruth in his words, but it made her sick. He w

now, a challenge in her words. "You may have built an empire,

flinch. "You misunderstand me, Alendra. I do

once knew is gone. The people are no longer subject to the whims of a noble class. They w

And you? You are alive, not because of mercy, but because I need you to see this. To wi

hint of the boy she had once known, the son she had raised. But he was gone. All that remained was this

nity. But I didn't. Not because I feared you, but because you must understand. I am not the boy you knew. I

that there was goodness in him-that he could be redeemed. But now, she understood. Zaz

y, her voice almost a whisper.

m beyond fear. I have done what others thought impossible. I've taken the throne that was denied

will live, but only to hear the stories of my greatness. Of the empire I've forged. You will be he

lways known that Zazeal was dangerous, but now, more than ever, she understood t

fening, filled with the unspoke

ll return tomorrow," he said, his voice distant, almost as if he were spe

ndra was left alone once more, the echoes

ing unrecognizable. Her kingdom, her son, her hope-all had fallen to his amb

ithin her. She might be captive, but she was not broken. A