Chapter 180: The Hand Beneath the Blade
The palace never truly slept.
Not even in the dead hours when most lights dimmed and the halls echoed only with the footsteps of rotating guards. The air in the royal wing carried a charged stillness, like the calm after thunder and before lightning. That was when they struck.
Kaelen walked the sh...
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Chapters
1. Chapter 1: Normal Life, Fragile Peace
2. Chapter 2: Whispers of Doom
3. Chapter 3: The Cracks Begin to Show
4. Chapter 4: The Sky Darkens
5. Chapter 5: The Invasion Reaches Them
6. Chapter 6: The Offering
7. Chapter 7: The Alien Homeworld
8. Chapter 8: A Cold Fortress
9. Chapter 9: Silent Struggles
10. Chapter 10: The Alien King’s Torment
11. Chapter 11: Conflicted Heart
12. Chapter 12: The Struggle Within
13. Chapter 13: The Heated Clash
14. Chapter 14: Wait, what?
15. Chapter 15: The Storm Breaks
16. Chapter 16: Growing Interest
17. Chapter 17: A World of Traditions
18. Chapter 18: A Growing Resentment
19. Chapter 19: Feelings That Shouldn’t Exist
20. Chapter 20: The Assassination
21. Chapter 21: Is that Vulnerability?
22. Chapter 22: Fragile Bonds
23. Chapter 23: The Advisor's Shadow
24. Chapter 24: Glimpses of Freedom
25. Chapter 25: A Heated Debate
26. Chapter 26: The First Gesture of Trust
27. Chapter 27: Whispers of Rebellion
28. Chapter 28: The Arrival of Lord Draxis
29. Chapter 29: Veiled Threats
30. Chapter 30: The Protector's Dilemma
31. Chapter 31: Draxis's Ultimatum
32. Chapter 32: Isolation Behind Walls
33. Chapter 33: Resentment and Reflection
34. Chapter 34: The Cost of Distance
35. Chapter 35: A Kingdom at the Brink
36. Chapter 36: The Gathering Storm
37. Chapter 37: Draxis’s Coup
38. Chapter 38: Desperation Sets In
39. Chapter 39: The Brutal Rescue
40. Chapter 40: The Decision That Shakes the Empire
41. Chapter 41: Unwanted Attention
42. Chapter 42: Tensions Behind Closed Doors
43. Chapter 43: The Public Test
44. Chapter 44: The Offer That Shakes Aeliana
45. Chapter 45: Lines Are Drawn
46. Chapter 46: Unrest in the Empire
47. Chapter 47: The First Move
48. Chapter 48: Aeliana’s First Political Victory
49. Chapter 49: The Shadows Strike Back
50. Chapter 50: The Line in the Sand
51. Chapter 51: The Emperor’s Weakness
52. Chapter 52: The Kiss That Shouldn’t Have Happened
53. Chapter 53: Give Me a Reason to Stay
54. Chapter 54: Losing Control
55. Chapter 55: The Breaking Point
56. Chapter 56: The Fractured Council
57. Chapter 57: The First Strike
58. Chapter 58: The Council’s Betrayal
59. Chapter 59: Captured
60. Chapter 60: The War Begins
61. Chapter 61: The Emperor’s Wrath
62. Chapter 62: The Decision That Shakes the Empire
63. Chapter 63: The Court’s Uprising
64. Chapter 64: The Proposal & The Crowning Ceremony
65. Chapter 65: A Throne Built on Blood
66. Chapter 66: The Queen’s First Decree
67. Chapter 67: A Throne Under Siege
68. Chapter 68: A Kingdom of Strangers
69. Chapter 69: The Softening of a Tyrant
70. Chapter 70: The Wedding of War and Fire
71. Chapter 71: The Wedding Night
72. Chapter 72: A New Dynasty
73. Chapter 73: The Strength of a Queen
74. Chapter 74: The Art of Conquest
75. Chapter 75: A Festival of Victory
76. Chapter 76: Blood and Temptation
77. Chapter 77: The Emperor’s Rage
78. Chapter 78: A Queen Unraveled
79. Chapter 79: The Future They Never Expected
80. Chapter 80: The Weight of an Heir
81. Chapter 81: A Queen Without a Sword
82. Chapter 82: Tharx’s Overprotection
83. Chapter 83: The Future of an Empire
84. Chapter 84: The Weight of a Queen
85. Chapter 85: The Naming of an Heir
86. Chapter 86: The Shadows That Linger
87. Chapter 87: The Poison in the Palace
88. Chapter 88: The Emperor’s Wrath
89. Chapter 89: The Final Weeks
90. Chapter 90: The Birth of an Heir
91. Chapter 91: The Name of a Future Ruler
92. Chapter 92: A Mother’s First Days
93. Chapter 93: The Emperor as a Father
94. Chapter 94: The Heir’s First Days
95. Chapter 95: Introducing the Heir to the Court
96. Chapter 96: The Weight of the Crown
97. Chapter 97: The Future of the Empire
98. Chapter 98: A Threat in the Shadows
99. Chapter 99: A Celebration of Legacy
100. Chapter 100: Whispers of Dissent
101. Chapter 101: A Court of Lies
102. Chapter 102: The Vanishing Servants
103. Chapter 103: The Letter That Changes Everything
104. Chapter 104: Aeliana’s Private Investigation
105. Chapter 105: The Traitor Among Them
106. Chapter 106: A Failed Attempt
107. Chapter 107: The Name Behind the Plot
108. Chapter 108: The Assassin Enters the Palace
109. Chapter 109: The Assassination Attempt
110. Chapter 110: The Hunt for the Mastermind
111. Chapter 111: The Enemy Among Them
112. Chapter 112: A Throne Secured
113. Chapter 113: A Family Reunited
114. Chapter 114: The Future of the Empire
115. 115: The Weight of an Heir
116. 116: The Throne Awaits
117. 117: A Daughter’s Question
118. Chapter 118: The Emperor’s Resistance
119. 119: Courtly Opposition
120. 120: Malik’s Warning
121. Chapter 121: Aeliana’s Support
122. Chapter 122: The Emperor’s Ultimatum
123. 123: The People React
124. Chapter 124: A Final Conversation
125. Chapter 125: The Decision is Made
126. Chapter 126: The Emperor’s Silence
127. Chapter 127: Leaving the Only Home She Has Ever Known
128. Chapter 128: The Journey Begins
129. Chapter 129: The Descent to a Dead World
130. Chapter 130: The City of Ghosts
131. Chapter 131: Echoes of Aeliana
132. Chapter 132: A Stranger in Her Own Blood
133. Chapter 133: The Uncle’s Warning
134. Chapter 134: A Target Painted in Gold
135. Chapter 135: The Man with No Banner
136. Chapter 136: Her Mother’s House
137. Chapter 137: The Fire in the Fields
138. Chapter 138: The Line Between Worlds
139. Chapter 139: The Truth About Aeliana
140. Chapter 140: A Spark in the Dust
141. Chapter 141: The Price of Power
142. Chapter 142: Ashes and Rebellion
143. Chapter 143: Return to the Shadows
144. Chapter 144: The Empire Sends a Message
145. Chapter 145: Blood on the Throne
146. Chapter 146: The Final Ambush
147. Chapter 147: The Confession
148. Chapter 148: A Promise in Ashes
149. Chapter 149: Return of the Heir
150. Chapter 150: Homefires and Heirlooms
151. Chapter 151: For the Sake of Two Worlds
152. Chapter 152: A Crown Forged in Fire
153. Chapter 153: The Blade in the Petals
154. Chapter 154: Masks of Blood
155. Chapter 155: The Circle of Power
156. Chapter 156: Testimony of Dust and Flame
157. Chapter 157: The Queen’s Mandate
158. Chapter 158: A Chamber Divided
159. Chapter 159: Thorns Among Roses
160. Chapter 160: Poisoned Promises
161. Chapter 161: Fire at the Gate
162. Chapter 162: A Guest Cloaked in Gold
163. Chapter 163: Dances and Daggers
164. Chapter 164: The Game of Masks
165. Chapter 165: The Offer of Fire and Silk
166. Chapter 166: The Queen’s Answer
167. Chapter 167: The Heir’s Court
168. Chapter 168: The Shattered Blade
169. Chapter 169: The Crown is Light and Iron
170. Chapter 170: Seeds in the Dark
171. Chapter 171: A Token on the Throne
172. Chapter 172: The Flame Returns
173. Chapter 173: The Fringe Fractures
174. Chapter 174: A Queen Among Dust (part 1)
175. Chapter 174: A Queen Among Dust (part 2)
176. Chapter 174: A Queen Among Dust (part 3)
177. Chapter 175: A Letter Without a Name
178. Chapter 176: Shadows in the Court
179. Chapter 177: Among Thieves and Ghosts
180. Chapter 178: The Commander of Silence
181. Chapter 179: A Dinner of Iron and Ember
182. Chapter 180: The Hand Beneath the Blade
183. Chapter 181: Crown and Command
184. Chapter 183: The Song of the Fringe
185. Chapter 184: A Fire Too Bright
186. Chapter 186: When the Stars Forget Us
187. Chapter 187: The Queen’s Ultimatum
188. Chapter 188: The Iron and the Ashes
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