Chapter 195: The Unveiling
Zane~
The silence in the room was deceptive.
It wasn’t the kind of silence that brings peace—it was the kind that crackled, alive with tension and fire and something deeper. Ancient. My heart was pounding so loudly, I was sure Natalie could hear it from across the room. She stood tall, proud and ferocious, like a storm made flesh, her voice still echoing in the air like the aftermath of thunder.
"I want Darius branded," she had said. Calm, unshaking. But her words were laced with something dark, something I understood too well—vengeance wrapped in blood.
I hadn’t been able to take my eyes off her. My shy Natalie—the same girl who once stammered when asking for a glass of water, who curled up like a frightened doe when we first met—was gone. She stood before my father like a queen demanding justice, and damn it, I had never been prouder.
My father stood still, absorbing every word she said. I could see the weight of it hit him, could see the careful tightening of his jaw, the slight narrowing of his eyes. But he didn’t flinch. Instead, he bowed his head once, low and respectful.
"You will have justice," he said, his voice firm but reverent. "Darius will be branded. Traitor across his face. Murderer across his chest. And the world will know what he did."
Natalie blinked, just once. The fire in her eyes dimmed slightly, like she hadn’t expected him to agree so quickly, so easily. My father didn’t stop there.
"You gave me a gift, Natalie," he continued, lifting his gaze. "When you asked Mist to erase the memories of everyone at that ball... you spared me a humiliation I didn’t deserve to recover from. You’ve given me a chance to stand again. And I swear on my crown, I won’t waste it. You’ve reminded me of who I used to be. For that, I thank you."
The air caught in my throat. Natalie’s eyes widened, caught off guard. Even I stood a little straighter, stunned. This was a side of my father I hadn’t seen in a long, long time—not since my mother died.
"You... You don’t need to thank me," Natalie said, voice cracking slightly, her fierce mask slipping for just a heartbeat.