The capital had fallen.

Looking around the Palace, Elyas had not been surprised that it took so little to take it. Most of the guards have abandoned their places to protect the King. Still, that only made them easier targets. No one stopped Darin's army from entering the capital.

No one stopped them as they entered the throne room. Looking around, Elyas was surprised to find only two more guards who had surrendered. The rest laid dead on the floor.

King Sylas stood on his throne, a crown on his grey hair. In his late fifties, Sylas looked at least seventy. The burden of the Crown and the war had said many words on the King's appearance.

" Good afternoon, Father," Darin said as he walked towards the throne.

" You are no son of mine! Just a traitor."

Elyas looked around the throne room. The curtains were closed, the only light coming from the burning candles. As he threw a look across the room, he noticed three people he had not seen. Near a window stood a woman with a child in her arms and a small boy next to her. The Queen.

" Must you be so dramatic?" Darin asked, walking closer to his father. He stopped when he noticed the Queen. " Well, dear stepmother. Won't you join us?"

With her head high and her back straight, Queen Sayra came closer to them. Even with a child in her arms, she looked regal and elegant. Her dark brown hair was left freely, as it was custom in Felloria, and a golden crown with rubies rested on her head. Her skin was light brown, although she looked a bit pale. As if she hadn't stood in the sun for some time.

" Are those my siblings?" Darin moved closer to the Queen, and while some might see it as something a brother would do, Elyas knew it was a threat. The king's gaze followed his bastard son, but he showed no interest in his wife or heirs.

" Yes," the Queen said, reticent. She looked as if she was afraid Darin would want to hold the babe in her arms. Elyas couldn't blame her. Darin was a cruel man, but Elyas wasn't sure if he would harm his siblings.

" May I hold her?"

" Tamira just fell asleep. It would not be easy to put her back to sleep if she woke."

" I see."

It was a bad excuse, everyone could tell.

As Darin turned towards his father, Elyas was struck to see exactly how young the Queen was. She seemed in her twenties, not a child, but not very old. Even Darin had to be at least five years older than her.

" So, Father-"

Whatever Darin had wanted to say to the King, it was already too late. Blood fell from Sylas' nose, and in the blink of an eye, the King fell to the ground. Elyas made no step towards them, realising quickly what exactly had happened. Poison. It was the only explanation. The King had rather killed himself than be at his bastard's mercy.

" No," Darin said as he went to his father, trying to wake him up and shaking him. " No, you can't die. Not now."

But the King did not wake. He was gone. No one could wake the dead.

The King was gone. Elyas wouldn't have believed it if he had not seen it himself. The king, the man responsible for all this war, was dead. It seemed... too simple. Men had died because of Sylas, and women had been left widows. And now, he was dead. Just like that. People suffered because of him. People were still suffering. And he died so easily. A bit of poison had been all it took.

The King had chosen to kill himself rather than be executed.

Elyas had thought he would have to find a way to excuse himself from the King's execution. That he would have had to think of an excuse. Heading home was all he wanted. Still, he needed no excuse now. He would not be expected to stay for the funeral.

" I had an execution planned! You first had to make me heir!"

Elyas looked at the other lords. They all could tell how bad the situation was. The King had not named Darin as his heir. That had been the plan. Now, Darin was nothing more than a bastard who had taken the throne.

For some reason, Elyas' gaze also turns towards the Queen. There was no surprise in her delicate features, no sign she had now known of her husband's plan. Maybe she had been the one to give him the poison. The House of Olloria was known for liking poison.

For a moment, Elyas wondered if the Queen shared her husband's idea. Had she too ingested poison? Had her children? No. He was sure of the answer as he looked at her face.

In his anger, Darin turned towards the Queen. He looked as if he wanted to kill her and his half-siblings.

Darin moved towards the Queen, who stepped back, holding her children near her. She was not afraid, or at least Elyas could not see fear in her eyes. She wore an emotionless mask.

Elyas knew he couldn't stand there and watch. Darin was going to kill them. It was not right. The Queen and her children were not guilty of Sylas' crimes. Darin had no right to take the lives of innocents. Something stopped him, though.

The door opened, making Elyas grip his sword. Four men entered the throne room, all dressed in the purple of House Olloria. They were the Emperor's men. Somehow, they survived the battle.

" Cousin," the Queen greeted one of them as he moved closer to her. The fellorians did not seem to think Darin was important enough to be greeted first.

Elyas recognised him. Faris Kelloria, the Emperor's trusted commander. They had fought together two years ago, trying to stop the barbarians from coming to Ashinora.

" Sayra! Your brother sends his greetings. It's been too long since he got a letter from his sister."

The Queen nodded, and the man turned his gaze on Darin and the dead king.

" I am Faris Kelloria, and I was sent here to discuss the matter of the Emperor's sister and her children."

Elyas wondered if the Emperor's cousin knew he had just stopped Darin from killing the Queen. Perhaps.

" Cousin, I would like to speak with you briefly."

The Queen nodded once, and the cousins moved farther from the nobles and the future king. They talked in low tones, but Elyas could only see Queen Sayra's emotionless face.

They talked for a couple of minutes. Then the babe in her arms started crying, as if the Princess knew her father was dead. Only then Elyas saw something flickering in the Queen's eyes as she looked at her daughter.

" These men will escort you to your chambers, cousin. I shall inform you of the decision as soon as possible."

She nodded before she left the room with two fellorian guards behind her.

Faris turned his gaze upon them, throwing one look at the dead king. " Shall we talk here with the ghosts or somewhere else?"

" Are you afraid of ghosts?" Darin's question was full of mockery, something Elyas himself wouldn't have recommended. There was truly no need to insult the cousin of a man whose army was mightier than whatever they could even muster.

" Ghost, my lord, are like gods. Unpredictable. And that makes them dangerous."

Darin scoffed at Faris' words. The fellorians were known to be superstitious. Their gods' words were law. While he had never been so religious as the fellorians were rumoured to be, Elyas didn't see the point in insulting other people's beliefs.

" Nonetheless, we are not here to talk of ghosts and gods, are we?" Lord Veroln said, his voice cold. " We are here to discuss the fate of Sylas' widow and his children."

Elyas is sure Veroln would have used more colourful words to describe the Queen and her children. Still, Veroln was no Darin. He was calculated, and he knew how to make his words take different meanings. He was a dangerous man.

" It was already decided," Darin said. " I will take the widow as my wife and her children will be raised in exile."

" That will not do," Faris told him. Darin looked ready to ask why, but the Emperor's cousin did not give him a chance. " In the eyes of my people and those of the gods, Lady Sayra is your stepmother. Even marrying the cousin of a deceased husband would not be acceptable in my people's eyes. And so, your marriage to Lady Sayra would be seen as incestuous and null."

Darin's eyes flickered with anger. He did not like being told what he couldn't do. At that moment, he looked too much like his father. The same brown hair and pale skin. The same dark eyes filled with cruelty and anger.

A part of Elyas hoped Darin would prove a different man from his father, but he was beyond such dreams. No. He had fooled himself enough, thinking that choosing Darin's side was a good choice. In truth, they had put another Sylas on the throne. Elyas wondered how long it would take for the nobles to turn against Darin.

" I have no wish for long discussions that won't end for weeks. And neither does the Emperor. Let us say things as they are. You will wish to exile the children, but keep Lady Sayra as a hostage to make sure her brother won't try to put one of his relatives on the throne. So, I come with the perfect solution."

Elyas looked around the room once more. He felt something bad was about to happen, something that would change everything forever. And he stood there, powerless, as Faris shared his plan.