Chapter 148: Before The Storm
Lorraine’s POV
I stepped closer to Kieran, my eyes still fixed on the crimson flag flapping mockingly above the castle spire. That blood-colored emblem felt like a knife driven into the heart of everything he once was.
And maybe... everything I was beginning to fight for too.
I turned to him, the question spilling out before I could stop it. "What are we going to do now?"
Kieran didn’t look at me right away.
He stared up at the corrupted crest of his family, something dark flickering in his eyes, hurt, betrayal, fury. But behind all of that, there was something heavier... something hollow. He looked like someone who had just lost another piece of himself.
"We wait," he said finally, voice low and tense.
"Wait?" I asked, confused.
"Till nightfall," he continued. "We’ll use the cover of darkness to survey the castle. Find out how deeply they’ve dug their claws in. How many of them are inside. Who’s watching the west walls, the dungeons, the Queen’s hidden chamber." He paused, jaw clenched so tight I could practically hear his teeth grind. "And then..."
He turned to me, eyes glowing a dull ember red beneath the sunlight. "Then we get my mother."
My breath caught in my throat.
Kieran’s face was expressionless, but I knew him.... at least, I used to. That blank look wasn’t indifference. It was armor. Pain, welded to fury, hidden beneath a king’s restraint. The castle behind him wasn’t just a mission. It was his home. His mother’s prison. His father’s grave.