CROWN OF FORBIDDEN HEARTS
Chapter 45: THE QUEEN IN DANGER

Chapter 45: 45: THE QUEEN IN DANGER

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Inside the queen’s chamber, Zara sat motionless, her body stiff as stone, her eyes locked onto the double doors across the room. She had not slept. She had not even laid down. How could she?

The events of the previous night gnawed at her like a slow-burning poison, sinking deep into her marrow, carving themselves into her soul. Betrayal. The word alone sent a fresh surge of fury rippling through her veins, a wildfire she could not extinguish.

She had seen Scarlet with him. She had seen it with her own damn eyes.

There was no mistaking it, the way Scarlet had approached Alaric in the dead of night, the way she had leaned in and whispered something to him, the way his lips had curled into an approving smirk before he walked away. Zara had wanted to believe she was imagining it, that there was an explanation but there was none.

Had she been a fool this entire time?

The doors creaked open, and Scarlet entered.

Zara’s pulse spiked.

Scarlet was composed as always, her face carefully blank, her green eyes calm, too calm. There was something in her gaze, something unreadable, something that made Zara’s skin prickle.

Scarlet barely had time to take another step forward before Zara moved.

The sharp crack of the slap echoed through the chamber.

Scarlet’s head snapped to the side, a red imprint blooming on her pale cheek. The room stilled, time seeming to stretch unbearably long, suffocating them both in its silence.

Scarlet did not gasp. She did not stagger. She did not even blink. She merely stood there, her body unmoving, as if the blow had done nothing.

Zara’s chest heaved. Her fingers trembled at her sides. "You betrayed me." Her voice was raw, thick with emotion, trembling with rage and despair. Her breath shuddered as she took another step closer, her fury dark and endless. "I saw you. You went to him."

Scarlet finally lifted her gaze, meeting Zara’s with unsettling steadiness. Then, her lips parted—and she spoke the words that sent ice through Zara’s veins.

"I did."

Zara recoiled, her vision blurring with disbelief. The admission punched the air from her lungs, rendering her momentarily speechless.

So she wasn’t even going to deny it?

Scarlet exhaled softly, shaking her head. "I had to. It was the only way to get you out of here without suspicion."

Zara’s brows furrowed. "What?"

Scarlet took a step closer, her voice lowering. "I went to Alaric and convinced him to grant you permission to leave the palace for two days. I told him you wished to travel to the mountain to pray. He agreed because he trusts me."

Zara’s heart slammed against her ribs. Confusion flickered across her face, her anger slowly unraveling into something else, uncertainty, disbelief.

"You... did that for me?"

Scarlet nodded once, her gaze unwavering. "I came to prepare you for the journey."

The weight of Zara’s accusations crushed her. She had been wrong.

The realization hit like a blade through the chest, cutting deep. She had been so quick to judge, so quick to lash out.

Guilt swelled in her throat, thick and suffocating. Her vision blurred with unshed tears, her emotions a tangled, overwhelming mess. And then, without warning, she moved, throwing herself at Scarlet, wrapping her arms around her in a tight, desperate embrace, in tears.

Scarlet stiffened. Her entire body tensed in shock. She was not used to this, to warmth, to tenderness. But after a moment, slowly, cautiously, she lifted her arms and embraced Zara back.

For a long time, they simply stood there. Two women bound by fate, by pain, by a fragile, newfound trust.

"Thank you," Zara whispered, her voice breaking as her tears soaked into Scarlet’s robe. "Thank you."

Scarlet did not respond. But for the first time in years, she allowed herself to feel.

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By midday, Zara and Scarlet set out, their departure hidden under the guise of a religious pilgrimage.

A line of royal guards rode alongside them,

The mountain was never the destination.

Erythian was.

Hours passed, And then—

Chaos.

A sudden explosion of movement.

Arrows.

They sliced through the air like vipers, striking the ground in sharp, deadly precision.

Horses neighed in panic, rearing onto their hind legs as dark figures emerged from the dense treeline.

Bandits.

The guards roared into action, drawing their swords, forming a protective barrier around the queen. The sound of clashing steel filled the air, battle cries echoing through the forest.

Scarlet grabbed Zara’s wrist. "Now!"

Without hesitation, they ran.

The trees swallowed them whole, their hurried footsteps muffled by the soft forest floor. Zara’s heart pounded against her ribs, her breath burning in her lungs. She could not stop. She could not look back.

Scarlet had planned this attack to keep the guards busy while she escaped with the queen.

Hours passed before they reached it.

A small, desolate mud house stood in the clearing, shrouded in eerie stillness.

Zara climbed down from the horse, her legs trembling as she approached the door. She hesitated, her fingers hovering over the rusted handle.

Scarlet said nothing. Watching. Waiting.

With a shaky inhale, Zara pushed the door open.

The stench hit her first.

A foul, rotting odor curled in the air, thick and suffocating. Her stomach lurched, bile rising in her throat. But she pressed forward.

And then, she saw it.

A body.

Decayed. Lifeless. Barely more than bones.

Her breath caught in her throat. No.

She staggered forward, her knees nearly giving out beneath her. No, no, no.

she was in complete doubt, did not believe that was Erythian.

And then she saw it.

Wrapped around the skeletal fingers, her relic necklace.

The one she had given Erythian.

A strangled sob tore from her throat. He was gone.

Pain unlike anything she had ever known crashed over her, raw and unbearable.

She screamed.

She wept.

She mourned.

And as the sun set, they took the body outside and laid him to rest.

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the next morning, They returned to Calithea, The journey had been grueling, their bodies battered by exhaustion and grief, but the true battle awaited them behind those towering gates.

The weight of what she had discovered, of what she had lost, threatened to consume her whole. Erythian was gone. The necklace she had given him had rested in the hands of a corpse. The grief sat heavy in her bones, an ache she could not shake. But there was no time to mourn.

The moment they passed through the palace gates,

Scarlet was seized.

A flurry of movement.

Zara barely had time to react before armored hands wrenched Scarlet away from her side. A strangled cry tore from Zara’s lips as Scarlet was yanked backward, her boots scraping against the stone courtyard. The guards moved with ruthless efficiency, forcing her onto her knees before the towering palace doors.

"Scarlet!" Zara lunged forward, but another pair of hands gripped her arms, holding her back.

Scarlet did not struggle. She did not fight, did not so much as flinch. She merely lifted her chin, her green eyes locked ahead, her breath steady despite the blade now unsheathed at her throat.

Then—

Alaric stepped forward.

The air shifted, thickening with the weight of his presence.

Zara’s stomach twisted. His expression was unreadable, but there was a sharpness in his gaze that sent a chill creeping up her spine.

"You dare to do this?" His voice was low.

Zara swallowed hard, her pulse hammering against her ribs.

She had never heard his voice like this before.

Alaric’s gaze flicked to Scarlet.

"You put my queen in danger."

Scarlet did not move. Did not blink.

Zara could see the way her chest rose and fell, the tension that coiled in her muscles, but she did not cower.

And that was a mistake.

Alaric exhaled sharply, his jaw clenching. His fingers twitched at his sides, as though barely restraining himself from doing something far worse. The rage rolling off of him was suffocating, thick as smoke, wrapping around the courtyard like a noose.

A deadly silence stretched between them.

Then, his lips parted, his voice like ice.

"Behead her."

Zara’s blood ran cold.

Her vision tunneled, No.

No, this wasn’t happening.

The guards unsheathed their swords in one swift, practiced motion.

Zara’s breath caught in her throat.

"No," she gasped.

The guard raised his sword.

"Stop!" Zara screamed.

She couldn’t let this happen.

She wouldn’t.

Summoning every ounce of strength, she wrenched herself free from the guards’ grasp. The moment she stumbled forward, she threw herself between Scarlet and the sword.

The blade halted inches from her neck.

The guard hesitated, his eyes flickering with uncertainty.

"Move," Alaric’s voice was calm, but there was a lethal edge to it.

Zara shook her head violently, her breathing ragged. "No. If you kill her, you kill me too."

A muscle ticked in Alaric’s jaw.

"You don’t get to make demands like this my queen." His voice darkened, "I am doing this for you, she put you in danger outside this palace, outside my reach" his patience wearing thin. "Step aside."

Zara’s heart pounded. She forced herself to meet his gaze, to push past the paralyzing fear curling around her throat.

"I won’t."

Alaric inhaled slowly, his eyes narrowing.

For a long, agonizing moment, no one moved. The tension in the air was suffocating, thick enough to strangle.

Then—

Alaric’s lips curled into something cruel.

He took a single step forward.

Zara didn’t flinch.

Another step.

The space between them vanished.

Alaric leaned in, his breath warm against her skin, his voice a deadly whisper.

"You think she’s worth defying me for?"

Zara clenched her jaw, refusing to back down. "Yes."

Silence.

Then—

Alaric extends the sword to scarlets abdomen and slowly pierces the sword into her, scarlet squeals in agony and Zara begs for scarlet, Alaric looked at Zara and exhaled sharply, pulling the sword away. "You live this time," he murmured, voice cold. "But let this be a warning, Scarlet. Cross me again, and you will not be so lucky."

Relief crashed over the queen so suddenly that her knees nearly buckled.

Alaric turned to the guards. "Take her away."

Zara acted before they could.

She moved to Scarlet’s side, wrapping an arm around her waist, supporting her weight. "She’s coming with me," she said, her voice unwavering.

Alaric watched her for a moment, his expression unreadable.

Then, with a dismissive wave of his hand, he let her go.

And then, Alaric turned to her, his gaze burning into hers.

"You and I," he said, his voice soft, deadly, "are going to have a very long conversation."