I read the gossip sheets sprawled across the table. Every headline screamed the same thing:
a ball in the Demon Kingdom,
Aaliyah Black dancing with that bastard.

I snapped.

I swept every plate from the table and hurled them against the wall. Food splattered across stone, across servants, across the floor. They flinched and shrank back, terrified, as they should be.

Medea sat across from me, still eating. Calm. Unbothered. As if my rage was background noise.

I crushed the paper in my fist.
“Medea,” I snarled. “Have you read this?”

She chewed slowly, then glanced at me with empty eyes.
“When I lived in the castle,” she said flatly, “I felt their presence often enough.”

My teeth ground together.

I turned sharply.
“Madosch. Come here.”

He jolted at my voice and shuffled toward me, hunched and shaking. His face was already ruined—swollen blue eye, skin blotched from the honey I had fed him despite his allergy.

“Y–yes, Your Majesty?”

I drove my fist into his stomach. He folded instantly. I grabbed his hair and yanked his head up, forcing the crumpled newspaper into his mouth. He gagged and choked. I shoved him away and he collapsed to the floor.

“Get him out of my sight.”

The guards dragged him away without a word.

I wiped my hand through my hair. Medea lifted an eyebrow.

“Why do you do that to him so often?”

I scoffed, disgusted, wiping the saliva from my fingers.
“I didn’t name him Madosch without reason. I tenderize him like stew.”

I laughed. The remaining servants laughed too—forced, hollow sounds.

Medea rose with a tired sigh.
“I’m leaving.”

“No.”

She turned back, confused.

“Don’t think I don’t know you’re sleeping with your precious knight.”

Her eyes widened.

“This is not a love marriage,” she snapped. “It’s an alliance. And who enters my body is none of your concern.”

I licked my lips and tossed my napkin to the floor.
“Giving women a voice was a mistake, clearly.”

I stepped closer, letting the menace bleed into my voice.
“The entire court knows. Pray you’re not carrying a bastard under your heart. If you are, I’ll cut you open with it.”

I pulled a dagger from my belt and pressed the tip into her stomach. She stepped closer instead of back. The blade broke skin. A thin line of blood stained her dress.

She leaned in and whispered,
“And you should not grow arrogant. I could end you here and now.”

Our gazes locked.

She stepped away and dipped into a mocking curtsy.
“Until later, fiancé.”

She left.

I turned the dagger in my hand, lost in the rhythm of its weight, until a knock came at the door.

“Your Majesty. Your father.”

I rolled my eyes.
“Let him in.”

He entered, heavier than before, hair gone mostly gray.

“Everyone out,” he barked.

The room emptied.

He exhaled sharply.
“Boy, you’re neglecting your kingdom. You’re wasting time over what, exactly?”

I laughed.
“You seem well.”

His face reddened. He grabbed my collar.

“We spilled oceans of blood so you could sit on that throne, not sulk over a woman—Aaliyah—”

My eyes darkened. I shoved him away.

“Give the kingdom what it needs, but never speak her name again. She was my wife. My possession.”

He slammed a hand to his forehead.
“She awakened her power! Do you understand the gravity? The Demon Kingdom is far stronger than us. We stand on the brink of war. She will reclaim her throne and make us suffer.”

I laughed bitterly.
“She should thank me. I gave her a purpose. And I hold a trump card. The day will favor me.”

He inhaled deeply.
“I want you to be a good king. The coup only succeeded because the people were dissatisfied. They still are. Soon they’ll see us as divine punishment for their misery.”

I rubbed my forehead.
“Do what you must.”

He stroked his beard, thinking.
“What about the soldier shortage? The annual knight induction was abolished due to the pact between the three nations.”

I dropped into my chair, bored.
“Reinstate it.”

He frowned.
“You’ll please the people with one hand and take from them with the other?”

I paused.
“Then abduct young men at night. Label them bandits. Open a training facility. Cut all contact with the outside world.”

A slow smile spread across his face.
“That’s my boy.”

I drained the last of my wine.

He studied me.
“And the wedding?”

I drank again.
“Four weeks.”

“Are you certain you want to invite her?”

I hesitated. Thoughts tangled—what I would do if I saw her. Kidnap her. Speak to her. Break her.

“Yes,” I said finally. “I’m certain.”

Her hair, black as spilled ink.
Her eyes—wide, watchful.

I wondered how much she had changed.