CROWN OF FORBIDDEN HEARTS
Chapter 44: WHISPERS OF SOMETHING NEW

Chapter 44: 44: WHISPERS OF SOMETHING NEW

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The sound of hurried footsteps echoed through the vast palace halls, a frantic rhythm against the cold marble floors. The air was thick with tension, as if the walls themselves had absorbed the unrest brewing within the kingdom. The golden handles of the throne room doors gleamed under the dim torchlight, standing slightly ajar as if hesitant to reveal the chaos unfolding beyond them.

And then, like a storm tearing through the night, Lady Vaelor stumbled inside.

A deep, red blood stain bloomed across the front of her gown, Her trembling hands clutched at the gaping wound on her throat, desperate to stem the flow. Her breath came in ragged, wheezing gasps, her body convulsing as she dropped to her knees before the throne.

"My king," she choked out, her voice raw, splintered with agony. Tears mixed with sweat, streaking her pale cheeks as she reached forward, her fingers trembling violently. "The queen... she—she attacked me!"

Alaric did not move.

He remained sprawled across his throne, his posture one of utter laziness, as though the sight of her suffering was nothing more than a mild inconvenience. One leg dangled carelessly over the armrest, his fingers curled loosely around a golden goblet filled with dark, spiced wine. The air was thick with its intoxicating scent, warm, rich, almost sweet.

But his expression was unreadable. Cold.

Then, he laughed.

It started as a quiet chuckle, a low vibration deep in his throat. But it grew, unfurling like something wicked, something unhinged. His shoulders shook with it, his lips parting in wild amusement as his laughter swelled, filling the vast chamber with a haunting melody.

Lady Vaelor’s blood turned to ice.

Her breath hitched as she shrank back, her entire body trembling. The fear clawing up her spine was suffocating, paralyzing.

Alaric wiped a single tear from the corner of his eye, his lips curling into a slow, deliberate smile.

"She put a dagger to your throat?" His voice was smooth, almost teasing, as he twirled the goblet in his hand, watching the liquid swirl lazily inside. "You poor, poor thing." He sighed as though the entire matter was nothing more than a dull annoyance. Then, his golden eyes gleamed. "Lady Vaelor... you should be honored."

Lady Vaelor’s lips parted, her breath stuttering. "H-Honored?"

Alaric leaned forward, resting an elbow on his knee. His voice dropped into a whisper, every syllable thick with something dark—something deeply twisted.

"The queen acknowledged you," he murmured, dragging out each word as if savoring the taste of them. "Do you have any idea how much I crave that?"

His eyes darkened, hunger flickering in their depths like a flame starved of air.

"To feel her wrath... to have her eyes burn with fire when she looks at me..." He exhaled slowly, his fingers tightening around the goblet, his grip so strong that the metal groaned in protest. "Gods, if only she would press a dagger to my throat."

Lady Vaelor flinched.

Alaric’s breath hitched ever so slightly as he continued to laugh hysterically, his voice thick, intoxicating. "I would let her carve her hatred into my skin... as long as she was touching me."

Lady Vaelor’s stomach twisted violently.

She did not know what was more terrifying, the madness in his voice or the raw, unfiltered desire laced within it. It dripped from his lips like poison, thick and consuming.

Her throat worked as she swallowed hard, struggling to find words—to find anything that could make sense of the insanity unfolding before her. "But my king—"

"Go," he interrupted softly, flicking his fingers in a lazy, dismissive gesture. His tone was gentle, almost kind, but the command was absolute.

Lady Vaelor remained frozen, her pulse thundering in her ears.

Alaric’s smile widened, his head tilting as he studied her. "Oh, don’t look so frightened." His voice dipped lower, nearly a purr. "You should rejoice. You have felt her anger. Next time... perhaps she will carve something deeper into your flesh." He exhaled, a shudder running through him. "Then... then you will know true pleasure."

And with that, he stood, stretching his arms above his head as if he had just finished a long, leisurely nap. His presence was suffocating, looming, powerful, utterly terrifying.

Without another word, he turned and walked away, his laughter trailing behind him like a shadow.

Lady Vaelor remained on the cold floor, her chest rising and falling with rapid, panicked breaths.

Her mind spun with a single, horrifying thought.

The king was mad.

Utterly mad.

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Zara woke with a sharp, aching pain in her chest.

At first, it was dull—like an invisible weight pressing against her ribs. But then it deepened. Twisting. Clawing. Wrapping around her heart like cruel fingers squeezing the life out of her.

The spell.

She squeezed her eyes shut, her breath shaky and uneven. She knew why it hurt. She knew why it burned like fire licking at her skin, she had been thinking about something, someone.

Erythian.

His name alone shattered something inside her.

A choked sob escaped her lips before she could stop it.

She had known where his body lay for months. Knew, but could do nothing. She had not even been allowed to touch him. To bury him with dignity.

Her fingers curled into the silk sheets as she turned onto her side, curling into herself.

How long had it been?

How many nights had she dreamed of him, only to wake up to the cold, brutal truth?

He was gone.

Dead.

And she was still here. Trapped.

Her hands pressed against her chest, right over her heart, where the spell wrapped its unseen chains around her soul. The more she thought of him, the stronger the pain became. A punishment. A cruel reminder that she belonged to another man.

And so, she cried.

She cried for Erythian. She cried for herself. She cried for the love she had lost and the magic that kept her bound to a man she despised.

A soft knock at the door.

Zara did not move.

The door creaked open, and the glow of candlelight spilled into the dark room.

Slow, hesitant footsteps.

"My queen?"

Zara flinched. Scarlet.

The woman stopped near the bed, silent for a moment before sitting down at the edge.

"You’re crying," Scarlet murmured.

Zara turned her face away. "Leave me be."

Scarlet did not move. "Is it because of him?"

Zara’s hands clenched the sheets. She did not answer.

A heavy silence stretched between them. Then, Scarlet’s voice softened, almost fragile.

"let me help you my queen" Scarlet said to her in utter and genuine concern but Zara had been betrayed one too many times and so she couldn’t get herself to trust that scarlet was telling the truth.

Zara laughed hysterically "you? you want to help me?" she continues to laugh "then what? right after, you report to your commander and then he decides to have my head on a platter?" she added.

zara had no trust whatsoever for scarlet and she was sure to make it known to her.

"please leave my chamb-" Zara comanded before she was cut off by Scarlet.

"I once loved a man." Scarlet said in a low voice.

Zara blinked.

"His name was John." Scarlet inhaled shakily. "He was strong... kind. He loved me more than anything." Her voice trembled. "he wanted to marry me" scarlet said with a small smirk as tears welled up in her eyes, "one year, there was an uprising and he was part of the soldiers who went to war, He went to war, he promised me he would return and that we would get married and have children but...he never made it back." tears began to roll down scarlet`s eyes.

A pause.

"he never really did make it back."

Zara turned her head slightly.

"I never even found his body," Scarlet admitted. "And it haunts me every night."

Her breath hitched. "That is why I want to help you."

Zara swallowed, she was speechless, every part of her broke and cried for scarlet because she couldn’t imagine how much pain scarlet has carried in her heart all these years...she didn’t completely trust scarlet, but this vulnerable story helped Zara warm up to her a little.

"so you want to help me?" Zara asked as scarlet nodded in agreement.

"that is great but I do not know how I would slip out of Alaric’s tight grip, he has eyes everywhere in this palace".

Scarlet nodded in agreement with Zara. "we can always find a way around Alaric’s watch, But we must be careful. I have a plan."

"what is your plan?" Zara asked.

"I will fill you in later, for now, I have some things I must do and set in place" Scarlet remarked as she left the queen’s chambers.

Zara was not satisfied and so she stood up and followed scarlet secretly, she had been fooled once with lady vaelor and didn’t want to take any chances with scarlet.

And what she saw made her blood run cold.

Scarlet was walking toward Alaric...

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