Regina didn’t know where she had gone wrong in raising her son.

He should have been obedient. Fearful. A perfect puppet—talentless or not—one that she could guide, shape, and use to finally grasp the dreams she had once been denied. That was how it was supposed to be.

Instead, he had slipped out of her hands.

Eldric sat across from her now, shoulders straight, head raised. It was a posture she had never seen him take in her presence. In the past, he had always lowered his gaze, careful with his words, eager to please. Now he met her eyes without flinching.

Something dark simmered there.

Regina didn’t need magic to sense what had changed. Even now, by his smell, she could tell what had gone wrong. She exhaled slowly.

It felt as if fate itself had decided to stack walls in front of her, one after another, just to test her patience.

Turning away from Eldric, she looked toward the open balcony doors. Beyond them, layers of glowing wards shimmered faintly in the air—barriers she had ordered raised two days ago. Running and strengthening the wards around the walls was the Archine Tower whose mana batteries were running all day and night to keep them up.

They were the only reason she could still breathe calmly.

After giving the wards a look, Regina turned back to her son. “Do you even know what’s happening in the kingdom?” she asked in a measured voice.

“I don’t want your questions,” Eldric said bluntly. “I never liked them.”

Her eyes sharpened. “Answer.”

For a brief moment, he flinched. His fingers curled slightly against the armrest, and Regina felt a flicker of something close to satisfaction.

Then it vanished.

The defiance returned to his eyes, burning brighter than before.

“A civil war,” Eldric said. “I know exactly what it is. I fought in it—while you stayed here, living in the castle like the queen you are—”

“Shut the fuck up.”

He fell silent at once.

“You didn’t fight in it,” Regina said coldly. “You were sent there to give speeches. To smile, wave, and make it look like the king cared. You were sent there to follow my orders and do exactly what I told you so we could win the war.” Her eyes narrowed. “But you acted on your own.”

She leaned forward. “Do you think I don’t know what you did with Selwin? He’s probably still rotting in Eden City.”

“That’s where he belongs—” Eldric started.

“Shut up,” Regina snapped. “Do not speak unless I tell you to.”

He froze, jaw tight.

“You lost me an important subordinate,” she continued, “because your mind has rotted from those hex drops. And more than that—you almost lost us the war.” She straightened. “You abandoned Eden City completely. Do you even understand how important that city is to the kingdom?”

“There was no way for me to defend it,” Eldric said quietly.

“I never told you to defend it,” Regina replied at once. “I knew Arzan would tear through it. I knew that.” Her hand clenched. “But your stupid mind never once thought to lay traps. You could have turned the entire city into a grave while retreating. You could have blown him apart if you had even a little sense, instead of handing him the city intact.”

Eldric went completely quiet.

Regina could see it—him thinking, replaying the moment he had ran—but it no longer mattered. The mistake had already been made. A fatal one.

Now Arzan and his army were right outside their door. And as if that weren’t enough, Selenia had vanished after delivering the hex drops.

Regina stared at her son, anger burning behind her eyes.

Then, suddenly, Eldric spoke.

“I don’t care,” he said. “I did everything I could. How was I even supposed to set traps? And if you always meant for Eden City to fall, you should have said so from the beginning instead of hiding everything from me like you always do.”

Regina stood and stepped toward him, her expression sharpening. “Say one more word,” she said, killing intent bleeding in her eyes, “and I’ll cut your tongue out.”

Eldric didn’t back away. “No,” he said. “You won’t do that. I’m the king, Mother. And you’re not the queen anymore. You’re just another royal. You can’t order me—”

The slap landed before he could finish.

His head snapped to the side. Before he could even react, Regina grabbed his collar and struck him again. And again. Each blow echoed in the room. Eldric didn’t fight back. He only stared at her, shock written across his face.

She shoved him backward hard enough to make the chair stumble.

“You’ve gotten the wrong idea since that coronation,” Regina said. “You are no king. You do what I tell you to do. You are alive only because I still need you. Otherwise, I would have never accepted a son as incompetent as you.”

She expected him to lower his head at the words. To leave. Like he always did.

But he didn’t.

Eldric slowly lifted his gaze, defiance still burning in his eyes. For a brief moment, Regina wondered how many hex drops he had taken to reach this point, but it didn’t matter. She needed to break him. To control him again. To drag everything out of him before it was too late.

Before she could speak, Eldric exhaled softly and touched his stinging cheek.

“You know,” he said quietly, “there’s a voice in me that still wants to follow every order you give. Just like I always have.”

He looked straight at her and tilted his head maniacally.

“But I know now that even if I do… you’ll never see me as anything at all.”

He stood and took a step forward, his voice steady as he continued. “That’s why I feel like listening to the other voice in my head.”

Regina’s eyes narrowed.

“And you know what it’s telling me,” Eldric went on. “To kill you, Mother. To kill you, and make sure no one ever speaks to me like this again.”

Her eyes widened, shock flashing across her face. “How dare you even think of saying such a thing to me?”

“I dare because I’m the king now,” Eldric said. “And you can’t touch me. You and I both know what you’ve done. The things you’ve hidden. The things the church would burn you alive for.”

She stepped toward him, and noticed that her voice was taking a sharper turn. “You are stepping too far. You should remember who you’re talking to.”

Eldric met her gaze without flinching. “Someone who isn’t going to live much longer,” he said, then raised his voice. “Knights. Come in.”

The doors burst open at once. Heavy boots struck the floor as several Knights entered, swords already drawn. They spread out, slow and careful, forming a circle around Regina.

She looked at them, then back at Eldric, disbelief hardening into cold fury. “Do you even understand what you’re trying to do?”

“I do,” Eldric said. “I’m trying to kill you.”

For a moment, Regina stood still. Too still. Then she exhaled, slow and controlled, forcing her racing emotions back into place. She had never imagined her own son would truly try to end her, but denial was useless now. It was happening and he stood in front of her looking at her cruelly.

“You will regret this,” she said quietly, warning her raging son who looked too excited to finish her off.

One of the knights stepped forward then, blade aimed straight for her chest.

Regina didn’t move.

Instead, something shifted around her. The air felt heavier, thicker, as the calm she wore on the surface cracked just enough to let something far darker stir beneath it. Mortal she might be, but service to a greater power had changed her long ago.

And now, that hidden power was beginning to wake.

Dark red tendrils burst out from beneath Regina’s robes in a violent rush, tearing through cloth as if it were paper. One of them snapped forward and wrapped around the charging Knight’s throat. Before he could even scream, his feet left the ground. Regina flicked her wrist, and the man was hurled across the room, crashing over the sofa and slamming into the far wall hard enough to crack the stone.

Eldric’s eyes went wide. He stumbled back a step, breath hitching.

The Knights hesitated only for a heartbeat before charging together. Regina did not retreat. More tendrils spilled out around her, spreading like living shadows. One Knight swung his sword at a tendril, steel screeching as it struck, but the blade barely scratched it. In the next instant, the tendril lunged forward, punching straight through the knight’s chest. It burst out his back, slick with blood, his heart skewered along the way. He twitched once before going still.

Fear rippled through the room.

“Don’t just stand there!” Eldric shouted, voice cracking. “Kill her! She’s a monster!”

The remaining Knights tried to rush her from different directions, weaving between the tendrils. Regina shifted her stance, and the tendrils moved with her, circling her body like a living shield. Any Knight who came too close was cut down. Bladed edges formed along the tendrils, slicing through armor as if it were thin cloth. Steel clattered to the floor, followed by bodies.

One Knight turned and tried to run. His boot slipped on the blood-slick floor. He fell hard, arms flailing. A tendril snapped out, wrapped around his torso, and smashed him against the wall. Another sharp strike followed, and his throat was opened in a spray of red.

Silence fell, broken only by the sound of blood dripping onto stone.

Regina stood alone among the bodies, chest rising slowly. Then she turned.

Eldric was already running.

A tendril shot after him, wrapping around his waist and yanking him back. He hit the floor with a sickening crack. Blood spilled from his scalp as he screamed, hands scrabbling against the stone.

Regina walked toward him in calm steps, tendrils coiling and uncoiling around her like patient serpents.

She crouched in front of him, her shadow falling over his face.

“Do you know what the punishment for treason is under our kingdom’s laws?” she asked quietly.

Eldric said nothing. His throat worked, but no sound came out.

“Death,” Regina continued. She watched his pupils shake at the word, then slowly shook her head. “Don’t worry, son. I won’t kill you.”

His breath came out in a broken gasp.

“You’re still useful to me,” she went on. “At least until the war ends. But I will teach you how to respect your own mother. Since I see how I have failed to do so.”

Her gaze dropped to his waist. One of the dark tendrils slid down, slipped under his belt, and pulled out the small vial pouch. With a flick of her wrist, she slammed it against the stone floor. The hex drops shattered, dark liquid spreading across the tiles.

Regina leaned closer, her eyes locking onto his.

“You know, I was aware you were stealing from me,” she said. “I didn’t stop you. I wanted you to understand what the Great Lord’s blessings feel like. But your mind was too weak.”

Eldric tried to speak, but a tendril snapped around his jaw, forcing his mouth shut. A muffled whimper escaped him.

“Only those who master their minds can survive the changes brought by the Great Lord’s blood,” Regina continued, almost gently. “You’re a Mage. You had potential. Unlike me, trapped in a mortal body. And yet you let every dark thought rot you from the inside.”

“Don’t speak,” she said when more muffled sounds escaped Eldric. “You’ve said enough.”

The tendril loosened just enough for him to breathe.

“You won’t be going to the walls anymore,” Regina added. “When this war ends, I’ll tell you how I reached this position. Maybe then you’ll understand me. Maybe you’ll even appreciate me.” She tilted her head and added. “If you survive.”

Eldric’s eyes widened, pure terror flooding them. Regina’s smile grew sharper at the sight.

Then, before she could say anything else, a deep, thunderous sound shook the windows.

She turned away from him and released her grip, leaving Eldric crumpled on the floor. Regina walked toward the open balcony doors, her steps calm despite the blood and broken furniture behind her.

Outside, the sky was alive with violence.

Wards flared across the city like sheets of glass as attacks slammed into them again and again. Mana beams tore through the air, spells burst against invisible barriers, and explosions bloomed like dying stars. Each impact sent shockwaves rolling through the palace, rattling the windows and making the stone beneath her feet tremble. Somewhere deep within the castle, bells began to ring as structures groaned under the strain.

Regina rested her hands on the railing and looked out.

She didn’t need to see him to know. Beyond the wards, beyond the smoke and flashing light, Arzan was there. Waiting.

The thought alone made the dark tendrils beneath her skin writhe. They lashed out into the air for a brief moment, carving grooves into the stone railing before she forced them still. Once, he had been nothing more than an inconvenience. A loose thread she meant to cut and forget. Now, that same thread was tightening around the city she had finally claimed.

Her lips curled.

It didn’t matter. If armies failed and wards broke, she would not. The Great Lord’s blessing had reshaped her into something far beyond a fragile mortal queen. She would end this herself.

Regina drew the tendrils back into her body and straightened. Then she turned and glanced down at Eldric’s unmoving form on the floor.

“What a pity,” she said softly. “You won’t be awake to see me kill Arzan, my son.”

***

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