Chapter 27: Chapter 28: The Bell

Elara’s POV

A few hours later, I accepted it.

Figuring out where they had taken Kaelen would be impossible. I’d had an idea, but the realization was a cold stone in my gut: I couldn’t do anything except wait. To search the palace would only draw more of Malakor’s attention. To demand answers would be to show my hand, my vulnerability. My helplessness. I had to sit in my gilded cage and let the punishment unfold.

Malakor had won. Again.

My hands were clenched into fists. My breath came fast and shallow. Every part of my body felt tight, coiled, ready to explode.

Just like he’d won against my father. Just like he’d controlled my parents for years, twisting them, manipulating them, breaking them down until they were nothing but puppets wearing crowns.

And now he was doing the same to me.

But I’d fought back. At the last council meeting, I’d questioned him. Challenged him. Demanded to see the trade records he couldn’t produce. I’d shown him I wasn’t going to be as easy to control as my father had been.

And this was his response.

Punish the people I cared about. Break them down. Show me that any resistance would cost someone else their pain.

Kaelen was going to be whipped because of me. Fifty lashes. Because I’d dared to leave the palace. Because I’d dared to see my kingdom for myself.

I wanted to scream. Wanted to throw something. Wanted to march down to wherever they had Kaelen and stop this madness.

But I couldn’t. Because that’s exactly what Malakor wanted. He wanted me emotional. Irrational. Acting like a child so he could point to me and say, “See? She can’t control herself. She can’t rule.”

I took a deep breath. Then another. Trying to calm down. Trying to think.

Lena.

Gods, Lena. She was still in the dungeon. Still locked up for helping me.

I couldn’t leave her there. I wouldn’t.

I strode to my door and yanked it open. Two guards stood outside. New ones. Not men I recognized.

“I need to see my maid,” I said. “Lena. She’s in the dungeon. Bring her to me. Now.”

The guards exchanged glances. “Your Majesty, we weren’t given orders to—”

“I’m giving you orders now,” I said. “I’m the queen. Go to the dungeon. Tell them to release Lena and bring her here. Immediately.”

“Your Majesty,” one guard said carefully. “The dungeon master will need authorization. Written orders from–”

“From me,” I interrupted. “The queen. That’s all the authorization he needs.”

“With respect, Your Majesty,” the other guard said, “Lord Malakor gave specific instructions that no prisoners were to be released without his approval.”

Of course he did.

“Lord Malakor doesn’t give orders to the queen,” I said. My voice was ice. “I do. And I’m ordering you to bring me Lena, they took my personal guard in place for her freedom so right now If you refuse, I’ll have you both removed from the palace guard. Do you understand.”

They looked at each other again. Uncertain. Afraid.

“Now,” I said.

Finally, one of them bowed. “Yes, Your Majesty. We’ll… we’ll see what we can do.”

They left. I stood in my doorway, waiting. My heart pounding.

Would they actually do it? Or would they run straight to Malakor and tell him I was trying to free Lena?

I didn’t care anymore. I was done being afraid of him.

Twenty minutes passed. Then thirty.

I was about to go down to the dungeons myself when I heard footsteps in the hallway.

The guards were coming back. And between them, barely able to walk, was Lena.

My breath caught.

She looked terrible. Her dress was torn and dirty. Her face was bruised, one eye swollen almost shut. Her hair hung loose and tangled around her shoulders.

She was limping, leaning heavily on one of the guards.

“Lena,” I whispered.

She looked up at me. And even through the bruises, I could see relief in her eyes.

“Your Majesty,” she said. Her voice was hoarse. Broken.

“Get her inside,” I said to the guards. “Carefully.”

They helped her into my chambers and lowered her onto a chair. She winced as she sat down, clutching her side.

“Thank you,” I said to the guards. “You can go.”

They bowed and left, closing the door behind them.

I knelt beside Lena, taking her hands in mine. They were cold. Shaking.

“What did they do to you?” I asked.

“It’s not as bad as it looks,” she said. But her voice cracked. “Just some bruises. Nothing broken.”

“Lena,” I said. “Tell me the truth. What happened?”

She took a shaky breath. “After you left, I did what you asked. I told everyone you were sick. Resting. Not to be disturbed. It worked for the first day. Maybe the second. But then…”

“Then what?” I asked.

“Then Malakor came to your chambers,” she said. “Demanding to see you. Said he had urgent council business. I told him you were too ill to receive visitors. He didn’t believe me.”

Her good eye filled with tears. “He pushed past me. Went into your bedroom. Found it empty.”

“Oh, Lena,” I whispered.

“He was so angry,” she continued. “He asked where you’d gone. I said I didn’t know. He didn’t believe that either. So he… he had an idea.”

She swallowed hard. “He made me dress in your clothes. Put on your crown. Walk through the palace hallways. Said if anyone asked, I was to say I was the queen taking a walk.”

My stomach dropped. “He made you pretend to be me?”

“Yes,” she said. “I think he was testing something. Seeing if people would notice. If the guards would realize I wasn’t you.”

“And did they?” I asked.

“Not at first,” she said. “I kept my head down. Walked quickly. Most people just bowed and let me pass. But then one of the servants got too close. Saw my face. Realized I wasn’t you.”

She wiped her eyes. “That’s when Malakor stepped in. Said I was an imposter. That I was trying to deceive the crown. Had me arrested right there in the hallway.”

“That bastard,” I breathed. “He set you up.”

“After that, he questioned me,” Lena said. “Called it a ’routine inquiry.’ Asked where you’d really gone. Who helped you. What the plan was. I tried not to tell him anything, but he’s… he’s very good at asking questions. Making you think you’re safe to answer. And then using those answers against you.”

“What did you tell him?” I asked.

“I said you wanted time away from the palace,” she said. “That you asked me to cover for you. That I didn’t know where you’d gone or when you’d be back. He kept pushing, kept asking if I knew you’d left the palace grounds. I said I didn’t know anything about that.”

“But he didn’t believe you,” I said.

“No,” she said. “He said I was lying. That by helping you leave, I’d endangered the crown. That I was guilty of treason.”

“Treason,” I repeated. The word felt heavy. Dangerous.

“He said the punishment for treason was death,” Lena whispered. “But he was feeling merciful. So instead of execution, I’d just lose my tongue. So I could never spread lies about the queen again.”

Horror washed over me. “Lena—”

“But then you came back,” she said quickly. “And he had a new plan. Use me to punish Kaelen. Give him the choice. His pain or mine. He knew what Kaelen would choose.”

I stood up, pacing. My mind racing.

This was how Malakor worked. This was his strategy. Not to attack me directly, but to hurt the people around me. Make me watch them suffer. Make me feel responsible.

Break me down until I was too afraid to resist anymore.

Just like he’d done to my father. The memory of my father’s hollowed-out eyes in his final years flashed before me. I had been too young to understand the mechanics of it then, the slow drip of doubt, the isolation, the strategic removal of allies. Now I saw the blueprint. He was applying the same pressure, but I was not the same material. I would not hollow. I would harden.

“I’m so sorry,” I said. “This is my fault. All of it.”

“No,” Lena said firmly. “This is Malakor’s fault. He’s the one spreading fear. Using the rules against anyone who doesn’t do exactly what he wants.”

She tried to stand up, winced, and sat back down. “Your Majesty, you have to be careful. He’s watching you now. Looking for any excuse to punish someone else. To show you what happens when you defy him.”

“I know,” I said. “But I can’t just let him—”

The sound of bells cut me off.

Deep. Loud. Ringing through the entire palace.

Three bells. Then a pause. Then three more.

The punishment bell.

My blood turned to ice.

“No,” I whispered.

Lena’s face went pale. “Is that…”

“Kaelen,” I said. “They’re starting. They’re going to…”

I couldn’t finish the sentence.

Fifty lashes. In the courtyard. For everyone to see.

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