Elis
The air in my chamber was thick, stale with the scent of burning herbs. I could barely move, barely breathe without pain clawing at my chest. My body lay trapped, but my ears still worked; every word spoken near me cut deeper than any blade.
Douglas's voice broke the silence, low and sharp. "Eunice, under no circumstance must you let Zeena near him. Not this chamber, not anywhere close. That woman is compromised. I can smell betrayal all over her."
Eunice's reply trembled with worry. "You think I don't see it? But Douglas… the king grows weaker each day. The whispers in the palace grow louder. Some already say the curse cannot be broken. I…I fear the worst."
I wanted to reach out, to still her shaking voice. But I was stone. Only my mind raged.
Douglas's tone hardened. "Let them whisper. As long as I breathe, no one lays claim to Elis's throne. I will find a way. If I must scourge the ends of the earth for someone strong enough to revoke this spell, I will."
I felt my blood run cold. No, Douglas, no. My scream tore silently inside me. Don't seek them out. Don't you see? Whoever comes could be Zal in another skin, another lie. I must wait for Lily to come for me.
Eunice inhaled sharply, shocked. "You would go that far? You… you're thinking the same as I am."
He didn't answer, but I could feel the weight of his resolve in the silence.
My heart pounded against the chains of my body. Helpless. Powerless. Watching the only people I trusted edge closer to the trap I already knew waited.
***
The noise reached me before the words did; an uproar spilling through the stone walls of my quarters. It was not the usual murmurs of servants or guards. This was anger. Wolves growling without shifting, men pounding their voices into the air like fists.
I forced myself to listen, even as weakness dragged at my body.
"We demand to see the Alpha King!" José's voice; sharp and unrelenting, cut through the din. My blood chilled. He was bold enough to shout outside my chamber.
Others joined him, voices laced with impatience and scorn.
"The kingdom cannot be ruled by a cursed, bedridden wolf!"
"We need a wolf with strength, not a ghost of one!"
"Has the curse already killed him?"
Every word was a dagger, twisted in my gut.
Douglas's voice rose above them all, hard as steel.
"Stand back! The Alpha King is alive. He breathes. He fights. He receives treatment. No wolf among you will usurp him while I draw breath."
He barked an order, and I could almost feel my guards form the wall of muscle and steel across the doorway.
But the Alphas pressed on. Their voices turned mocking.
"Alive? Then show him!"
"If he's so strong, why is he hiding like a sick pup?"
My heart pounded with fury. I wanted to rise, to stride out there and rip their throats open with my teeth. But my body was a husk, still trembling from the poison that bound me.
Then the main door creaked open. I heard Douglas's hurried steps, Eunice whispering at his side.
They entered my room. "My King…" Douglas's voice was tight, almost ashamed. "They won't stand down unless they see you. If they don't, the kingdom will splinter before dawn."
I turned my head. Their faces entered my blurred vision. I saw the desperation in Eunice's eyes, the grim resolve in Douglas's.
And I realized something; if I let them carry me, if I let them present me like a broken man, the Alphas would smell weakness and the kingdom would fall.
So I forced my body to obey me. My hands found the cold weight of the chain I had clutched since the night of betrayal. My legs trembled like newborn limbs, but I rose. Pain slashed through me, yet I stood.
Douglas froze, his eyes wide. "By the gods…" he whispered.
Eunice covered her mouth with her hand, tears brimming.
I ignored their shock and moved forward. Step by step, I dragged myself across the chamber, the chain biting into my palm, anchoring me.
When the balcony doors swung open, the air outside struck my face. A hundred eyes turned toward me. The voices died. Silence spread like fire across dry grass.
I stood there—weak, unsteady, but alive.
"I know you…" I rasped, staring down at them. My voice was hoarse, but it carried weight. "...I know none of you hold my best interests in your hearts. You gather like vultures, waiting for me to fall. You plot my death and whisper for my throne."
No one spoke. Even José, bold José, had his mouth hanging open, his face frozen in disbelief.
I raised the chain, clutched tighter until my knuckles burned. "Mark this. The day I recover—and I will recover—I will not spare you. Not one of you."
A murmur rippled through the crowd, but no wolf dared answer me.
Slowly, deliberately, I turned. My legs screamed, my chest heaved, but I refused to collapse in their sight. Eunice slipped beside me like a shadow, her arm hovering close without daring to touch. Together, we reentered my chamber.
The moment the doors closed, the weight of it all crushed me. My knees buckled, and I slumped onto the bed. Darkness swallowed me whole.