Chapter 9 - The Ultimate Confrontation
Holloway scrambled to his feet, clutching a hidden dagger from his belt with a desperate, feral snarl. He lunged past the fallen guards, aiming straight for Tessa’s unprotected back.
“If I fall, you die with me!” Holloway screamed.
Clang!
In a blur of motion, Kiran intercepted him. He caught Holloway’s wrist with bone-crushing force, wrenching the dagger from his grip and sending it spinning across the marble floor. With a swift, merciless sweep of his leg, Kiran knocked Holloway to the ground and placed his heavy iron boot squarely on the traitor’s chest.
“It’s over, Holloway,” Kiran said, his voice cold as a winter glacier.
The loyalist guards dropped their weapons simultaneously, their allegiance instantly shattering now that the true king stood victorious. High council members, emerging cautiously from the side chambers, fell to one knee in unison, bowing their heads before their rightful sovereign.
“All hail King Kiran!” a senior elder proclaimed, his voice trembling with emotion.
Kiran looked down at the cowering chancellor, then turned his gaze toward the grand assembly. But he didn't look at the crown resting on the velvet cushion nearby. Instead, he reached out his hand toward Tessa.
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Tessa hesitated for a fraction of a second, then placed her hand in his.
Kiran pulled her up the steps, right to the base of the grand dais, facing the entire kingdom.
