The guards laughed, relieved tension breaking, but I felt sick. I'd just shot a man. Watched him fall bleeding. Yes, he was a traitor, yes he was dangerous, but I'd still deliberately harmed another person. That weight settled on me, heavy and uncomfortable.
"Princess?" Captain Thorne arrived with more guards, taking in the scene. "I heard there was trouble."
"Marcus tried to escape. He's been subdued and arrested. Any other problems with the operation?"
"Minor resistance at three locations, but all targets have been secured. Thirty arrests completed successfully. We're transporting them to the dungeons now for interrogation." He studied me carefully. "Are you injured?"
"No. Just processing what I did." I handed the crossbow to one of the guards. "I shot a man, Captain. First time I've deliberately hurt someone who wasn't attacking me directly. It feels different than I expected."
"It always does. But you did what was necessary to protect the kingdom. That's what leaders do." He offered his arm. "Come on. The King wants to debrief, and Prince Kael is probably furious that you ran off into danger."
He was right about Kael. I'd barely entered the command center before my husband crossed the room and pulled me into an embrace that was equal parts relief and anger.
"Don't ever do that again. Don't run toward danger without me. Don't shoot people with crossbows you've never used before. Don't—" He pulled back to look at me, his gray eyes intense. "Don't scare me like that."
"Sorry. But I got the runner. The arrests are complete. We did it." I felt exhaustion crashing over me now that the adrenaline was fading. "We actually did it."
"All targets in custody," King Aldric confirmed. "That's the good news. The bad news is we now have thirty terrified conspirators in our dungeons, and we have less than eleven days to interrogate them, identify their contacts outside the castle, and prepare defenses before Daemon attacks. The work is just beginning."
He was right. Arresting the conspirators was only the first step. Now came the hard part—getting them to talk, using their information to dismantle the rest of Daemon's network, and preparing for the inevitable confrontation at the Council of Lords.
"Then we'd better get started," I said. "Captain Thorne, I want interrogations to begin immediately. Start with the ones who resisted arrest—they're more committed to the cause, which means they might know more. Use whatever methods are necessary but don't cross into torture. We need information, not revenge."
"Understood. Though Princess, some of them won't talk no matter what methods we use. They're more afraid of Daemon than of us."
"Then we make them more afraid of us than of him. Show them that cooperation brings mercy and protection, while silence brings consequences." I looked around the room. "We broke their network today. Now we use that fear and confusion to break them completely."
Over the next hour, we organized the interrogation schedule. Prisoners sorted by likelihood of talking, questions prepared, incentives and consequences outlined. It was clinical and cold, and I hated how easily these tactics came to me now.
What was I becoming? The powerless princess from Eldoria would never have orchestrated arrests and planned interrogations. She barely had opinions, let alone the authority to implement them.
But that girl was gone, replaced by someone harder, more ruthless, more willing to do ugly things for the greater good.
I wasn't sure if that was growth or corruption. Maybe it was both.
"Elara?" Kael's voice pulled me from my thoughts. "You're doing it again. Overthinking."
"I shot someone today. Ordered arrests that will ruin lives. Planned interrogations that will terrify people. I think I'm entitled to some overthinking."
"You did what was necessary. What I couldn't do because Father insisted I stay protected. You stood in the gap and handled it." He took my hands. "I know it's hard. I know it weighs on you. But this is what leadership means. Making difficult choices and living with the consequences."
"I don't feel like a leader. I feel like a girl pretending to be one and hoping no one notices."
"That's what all leaders feel like. The difference is you do it anyway." He kissed my forehead. "Come on. Let's get some food and rest before the interrogations begin. You've earned it."
But before we could leave, a guard burst into the command center, his face pale with terror. "Your Majesty! Princess! There's been an incident in the dungeons!"
My stomach dropped. "What kind of incident?"
"One of the prisoners is dead. He managed to get a concealed poison capsule before being arrested. He's taken his own life rather than risk interrogation."
"Which prisoner?" King Aldric demanded.
"The minor noble. Marcus Ashwood. The one Princess Elara captured."
I felt cold. The man I'd shot, the man whose threats I'd dismissed, had killed himself rather than talk. Which meant he knew something important enough that death was preferable to revealing it.
"Search all the other prisoners immediately," I ordered. "Strip them down if necessary. If one had a poison capsule, others might too. I want every prisoner alive and available for questioning."
Guards rushed to obey, and within the hour, they found three more poison capsules hidden on prisoners in increasingly creative ways. We'd stopped those deaths, but Marcus's suicide sent a clear message.
Daemon's people were willing to die rather than betray him.
"This is going to be harder than we thought," Captain Thorne said grimly.
"Then we adapt. Use the prisoners who are less committed, the ones who were coerced or who joined for money rather than ideology. They'll be more willing to save themselves." I looked at the King. "And we need to move faster. If Daemon knows we've arrested his network, he might accelerate his plans. Attack before the Council of Lords. We can't assume we have eleven days anymore."
"Agreed. I'll double the guard, restrict access to the castle, and begin positioning forces for potential siege. If Daemon comes before the Council, we need to be ready." The King looked at me directly. "Princess, I'm placing you in charge of coordinating defenses. You've proven yourself capable of tactical planning and rapid decision-making. Work with my military advisors to prepare for every possible attack scenario."
I opened my mouth to protest—I was a princess barely trained in combat, not a military commander—but then I realized he was right. I'd been making tactical decisions for weeks now, coordinating operations, thinking several steps ahead. I might not have formal training, but I had instincts and intelligence and the ability to see patterns others missed.
"Yes, Your Majesty. I'll begin immediately."
"Good. Captain Thorne will assist you, as will Prince Theron. Use whatever resources you need." The King paused. "And Princess? Thank you. For everything you've done. For saving my son, for exposing the conspiracy, for taking on responsibilities no one should have to bear at eighteen years old. Shadowmere is lucky to have you."
It was the most direct praise he'd ever given me, and I felt my throat tighten with unexpected emotion. "Thank you, Your Majesty. I won't let you down."
"I know you won't. Now go. All of you. Get food, get rest, and prepare for whatever comes next. Because I have a feeling the worst is still ahead."
He was right.
We'd won a battle by arresting the conspirators and breaking their network. But the war was just beginning.
And somewhere in the northern mountains, Daemon was learning about our success and planning his response.
Whatever he did next would make everything we'd faced so far look like a pleasant rehearsal.
But we'd be ready. We had to be.
Because failure meant more than our deaths. It meant the fall of the kingdom, the triumph of a mad tyrant, and the destruction of everything we'd been fighting for.
So we'd prepare, we'd plan, and when Daemon came, we'd be waiting.
Together.