Chapter 8 - Confrontation at the High Throne
The grand throne hall was dead silent as the double doors swung open with a resounding boom.
Chancellor Morvath, surrounded by four of his remaining personal guards, spun around in fury. King Alistair sat slumped upon the high throne, his head in his hands, defeated before the battle even began.
"I thought I gave orders to—" Morvath stopped mid-sentence.
His eyes traveled down from Cassian’s face, past the royal coat, down to the impossible sight of the prince standing upright on his own two feet, clad in the glowing silver armor of his ancestors.
The color completely drained from the Chancellor’s face, leaving him looking like a corpse pulled from a river.
"No," Morvath whispered, stumbling backward until his legs hit the steps of the dais. "That’s... that’s impossible. We checked the spinal damage. The tonics should have kept you paralyzed for life!"
"You miscalculated, Morvath," Cassian said, his voice echoing clearly off the marble walls as he strode forward into the center of the hall. Every step was deliberate, strong, and unyielding. "You thought that by breaking my body and drugging my mind, you could steal a kingdom. You forgot one simple truth: you can cage a prince, but you cannot rewrite his blood."
"Guards!" Morvath shrieked, his voice cracking with rising panic as he pointed a trembling finger at Cassian. "Kill him! Cut down the traitor! He’s an impostor—a lunatic using illusion magic!"
The four personal guards looked at Cassian standing tall before them, then glanced back at Commander Kaelen and the dozen loyalist soldiers blocking the exit with leveled pikes. None of Morvath’s guards moved an inch. Their hands shook on their sword hilts, paralyzed by the overwhelming aura of royal authority radiating from the true heir.
"Your reign of lies is over, Chancellor," Cassian said, stopping ten paces from the dais. He tossed the heavy leather chronicle onto the marble floor at Morvath’s feet. "The true history of Aurelorn is right there. Every bribe, every forged decree, every murder."
Morvath stared down at the book, his chest heaving. Suddenly, a desperate, feral grin twisted his features. He lunged downward, snatching a hidden dagger from the folds of his robes that he had kept concealed in his sleeve, and lunged straight toward Cassian with blinding speed.
"If I fall, the kingdom falls with me!" Morvath roared.
"Cassian!" Lyra screamed, taking a step forward.
Cassian didn't flinch. As Morvath closed the distance, the prince raised his right hand.
FLASH.
A blinding wave of azure kinetic energy erupted from Cassian’s palm, slamming into Morvath mid-charge. The shockwave lifted the Chancellor off his feet, sending him flying backward through the air to crash violently against the base of the high throne, where he slumped unconscious into a crumpled heap of velvet and gold.
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Silence settled over the hall once more, deeper and more absolute than before.
Cassian lowered his hand, his breathing steady, his legs feeling stronger than ever.
