A Royal Obligation
Chapter 203: Sadiki’s Remorse

Chapter 203: Sadiki’s Remorse

The Neomenia dungeons were a place where light seemed afraid to linger. Shadows clung to the stone walls, creeping up from the damp floor, where water trickled endlessly from cracks in the rock.

Iron bars, cold and rusted, lined narrow cells, their walls etched with the marks of previous captives, forgotten names and symbols of desperate hope.

There was a smell of earth and decay in the air, a mingling of age and despair that wrapped itself around anyone who entered. For Sadiki, this darkness was a fitting mirror to his thoughts, a prison not only of stone but of guilt, shame, and endless, bitter regret.

He sat on a rough bench, his back against the clammy wall, eyes fixed on the cold Hours slipped into an indistinguishable blur in this lightless void, where all he had was time to think, to suffer under the weight of his own betrayal.

The consequences of his actions wound around him like a strangling vine, squeezing tighter with each passing moment. He had let Prince Carl manipulate him, his fears twisted until he couldn’t tell right from wrong. And now he was here, alone, left to rot with nothing but his regret for company.

Sadiki’s heart clenched painfully at the thought of Prince Eirik. He closed his eyes, forcing himself to remember Eirik’s face, the softness in his eyes on days when he’d laughed with Sadiki, the trust he’d once held.

How had he let himself sink so low as to betray someone like that? Eirik had been nothing but good to him, and now Sadiki was haunted by the knowledge that he had repaid that goodness with treachery.

The memory of his mother clawed at him. He had convinced himself that all he did was for her, to free her from the grip of prince Carl’s cruelty. And yet... he wasn’t even sure if she was still alive.

Carl’s promises had been empty, nothing but lies fed to him to pull his strings. The realization made him want to scream.

He pressed his palms against his face, inhaling raggedly, feeling as though the walls of his cell were closing in around him.

The sound of approaching footsteps made him lift his head. They were slow and heavy, yet purposeful, echoing through the narrow corridor. Sadiki tensed, his heart pounding, as the keys jangled and his cell door swung open. Drystan stepped inside, his presence filling the small, dim space. Sadiki’s breath hitched.

Drystan’s face was a storm of fury. His eyes, usually so warm, blazed with an anger Sadiki had never seen before. His mouth was a tight line, his fists clenched at his sides. Sadiki opened his mouth to speak, but Drystan beat him to it.

"Are you happy now?" Drystan’s voice was low, trembling with barely contained rage. "Is this what you wanted, Sadiki? To see us all broken?"

Sadiki swallowed, feeling his throat tighten. "Stan..."

"Don’t," Drystan cut him off, his voice sharp as a blade. "Don’t you dare call me that."

Sadiki felt a stab of pain, the nickname slipping from his lips as though it had become foreign, as though he had lost the right to it. He wanted to explain, to somehow find the words to make Drystan understand, but he was rendered mute by the intensity of the other man’s gaze.

"How could you?" Drystan continued, his voice hoarse with emotion. "How could you betray Prince Eirik like that? Someone who... who trusted you, who cared for you. We all did. And you... you threw it all away. For what, Sadiki? For what?"

Sadiki felt the weight of Drystan’s words press into him, like a physical blow. He struggled to breathe, his hands trembling. "I... I made a mistake," he whispered, his voice breaking. "I was trying to save my..."

Drystan let out a bitter laugh, shaking his head. He took a step closer, his voice dropping to a deadly calm as he cut him off.

"Did it ever occur to you that you could have come to me, to anyone, and asked for help , whatever it is, instead of..." He broke off, his face contorting with pain and fury. "You betrayed us, Sadiki. All of us."

The words cut deep, sharper than any blade. Sadiki felt his composure shattering, his resolve crumbling as he looked into Drystan’s eyes, seeing only anger and heartbreak where once there had been love. "Please, Drystan, you have to believe me. I never wanted this. I... I was desperate. I was afraid."

Drystan’s gaze hardened. "Fear is no excuse," he spat. "And you should have thought of that before you made your choice. You should have thought of all the people who trusted you, who would be destroyed by your betrayal."

Sadiki closed his eyes, pain lancing through him, to hear Drystan’s words, to know how deeply he had hurt the man he love, he felt as though he were unraveling, each word a new wound that cut him to the core.

"Do you have any idea what you’ve done?" Drystan’s voice was a hiss, filled with unrestrained fury. "Prince Eirik... he lost the child."

Sadiki’s eyes shot open, his heart freezing as the words sank in. "What?"

"They had to choose," Drystan continued, his voice like broken glass. "Between Eirik’s life or loose them both. Prince Kaelix... he had to make that choice because of you." Drystan’s voice cracked, and he looked away, his jaw clenched. "Do you understand what that means? Do you know what you’ve put them through?"

Sadiki felt the floor drop from beneath him. His breath came in shallow, ragged gasps as the enormity of his actions crashed over him, suffocating him.

He had not only betrayed Eirik, he had cost him his child, his happiness, and had forced Kaelix to make an unimaginable choice. Sadiki clutched his chest, his heart aching so fiercely he thought it might tear from his chest.

"I didn’t... I didn’t know..." His voice was barely a whisper, his hands trembling as he tried to reach out toward Drystan, his fingers grasping at nothing. "Drystan... please, I didn’t mean... I... I’m sorry."

Drystan’s face twisted with pain, but he shook his head, stepping back as though even the sight of Sadiki disgusted him. "I don’t think I can ever forgive you for this," he said, his voice so cold it sent a chill through Sadiki’s soul. "You... you were everything to me once, Sadiki. I loved you. But now... now I don’t even know who you are."

Sadiki felt his heart shatter at the finality of those words. He reached out, desperation clawing at him, but Drystan was already turning away, his shoulders rigid, his hands clenched into fists as he left the cell.

The door swung shut with a harsh clang, leaving Sadiki alone in the darkness, his sobs echoing off the walls.

He sank to his knees, his body wracked with grief as he buried his face in his hands. He had lost everything, his friends, his love, his honor, and for what? A promise that had meant nothing, a hope that had only led him to ruin.

He had let fear consume him, had allowed himself to be twisted into something unrecognizable, and now he was left with nothing but regret and a hollow, aching void where his heart used to be.

The shadows of the dungeon seemed to close in on him, pressing down until he could barely breathe.

Sadiki wept, his tears mixing with the damp, cold stone, as he realized that he was truly alone, abandoned by everyone he had once cared for.