AllFreeNovel
Share Us
Chapter 1
Theron
Istoodatopthepalace balcony, my heart pounding against my ribs like a battle drum in the quiet night. The air was heavy with the scent of blooming moonflowers, and the city stretched beneath me in a tapestry of shadow and silver moonlight. An eerie calm lay over it, a stark juxtaposition to the storm inside me. There she was, mySihaya, standing in front of an army, one that she could turn against me in an instant.
The palace glowed harsh and ethereal against the velvety backdrop of the night. Its golden glow cast long, ghostly shadows onto the silent streets below, reaching out to touch her, as if the light itself couldn’t stand to be parted from her. This was our world, our empire, one my family had meticulously built over centuries, now on the verge of transformation brought by a woman born of fire and thunder.
And all I wanted was to help her raze it to the ground.
I’d watched as she ripped open the massive gates that guarded the city with an indomitable magic that sent a tremor through the stone beneath me. Even from my perch high above, I’d felt her raw, unrefined power pulsating through the air.
At the heart of that sandstorm stood Kael, the celestial tiara upon her brow casting her in an otherworldly light. She was a lighthouse in the sea of darkness, a fiery comet against the endless sky as if Ydonja herself had returned. Her hair danced around her like a silver tempest, the strands gleaming in the pale moonlight.
I had always known her spirit was untamed, a fire that would not be extinguished. I believed I could control her, restrain her—as I’d let myself be. But standing there, watching her from my fortress of stone and power, I realized my foolishness. The shiver of anticipation that ran down my spine wasn’t from the frosty night air. It was the realization that I had tried to chain a tempest. Kael was a force in herself, not to be controlled, but to be reckoned with.
The wind shifted, carrying with it the sweet, heady scent of the desert flowers, and something else. Something wild and intoxicating.
My eyes never left her. She stood in command, silencing the rebels with her mere presence. The once-poised threat lowered their weapons under her gaze. She wasn’t a slave. She was a queen, a warrior, a storm given form.
And she had declared herself mine. A small, satisfied smirk played on my lips. The world wasn’t ready for her.
But I was.
The rebels crowded around the gate, their faces alight with confusion and hope as Kael told them of our ‘alliance.’ For a moment, I allowed myself to be swept up in that contagious energy, imagining a new world where Kael and I could live freely together without an empire between us. Our own forge attached to a cozy home, filled with toys I’d crafted for our children…
You’re a fool. A damn fool for even considering this.
Part of me was infuriated at her audacity, her blatant disregard for all the warnings I’d given her. Yet another part of me, a piece I had long left buried deep within, thrummed with excitement. She acknowledged the odds, recognized the strength of the empire, and still fought.This was madness.The urge to steal her away and run as far and as fast as I could before my mother discovered her plans was almost overwhelming. But I couldn’t do that. Kael would never want a man who fled from a righteous fight.
I stared at the vanira sigil on the gate, my mother’s House. Nyana Carxidor, now empress. The woman who gave me life, yet held it with a grip as cold and unyielding as earthborn iron. The mother who had no qualms about sacrificing her son for the sake of her reign. I’d suffered under her hands for years, and if I didn’t do something now, she’d do worse. I wouldn’t be her only victim. The entire empire would descend even further into depravity. Kael glanced up at me, a questioning smile on her lips as she tilted her head in question, asking me wordlessly to join her. She looked young and unsure, not the confident warrior she showed to the rebels. I imagined her as she’d been as a child coming to Adraedor, my fingers tightening on the balustrades as I thought of everything that had befallen her...
It was time to bring it down. I would tear down the empire they had meticulously built, brick by bloody brick.
It wouldn’t be easy. I was well aware of the cost, the carnage that lay ahead. But as I looked at Kael, her smile as she turned and rallied her people, I was certain it was worth it. I would become the man she believed I could be, even if it meant turning my back on everything I knew.
“Theron!” Raenisa’s voice cut through the air like a dagger, her breathless panic clear in every syllable. She and Herrath burst onto the balcony, their expressions a mix of hurt and anger. “Kael betrayed us.”
“She tore down the gate and let the rebels in,” he said, his brows drawn into a straight line. “Miri is terrified.”
“Our soldiers are forming ranks, though the insurgents aren’t attacking. They don’t know what to do.”
I glanced at the chaos unfolding below; men and women in desert clothing streaming into the palace grounds, but my resolve remained unshaken. I turned back to them, studying their faces. Somehow, I thought Herrath would be easier to win over. Raenisa was more likely to stab me and point out how foolish I was being.
“Kael didn’t betray us,” I said, my voice firm. “Tell the soldiers to stand down.”
Raenisa stared at me, her eyes wide in disbelief. “You can’t be serious, Theron.”
I took a deep breath, meeting the gaze of my second-in-command. Raenisa had always had my back, our friendship was one of the few things I’d been able to count on in my life, but this could be a bridge too far. How could I frame this in a way they’d support? They might not understand my need to free the Remnants, but avarice? Ambition? That they understood. “I’m going to overthrow my mother and take the throne for myself. The rebels are my allies.”
“WHAT?”
Before they could continue, the patter of running footsteps echoed through the hallways. Zerek appeared in the doorway, his scarlet hair glinting under the moonlight, his mouth pressed in a grim line.
“What the fuck is going on?” He said by way of greeting, his hand tight around the wrist of his captive—Roza. She wore her usual defiant expression and men’s clothing, the corners of her mouth turned up into a challenging smirk. “The gates are down and the rebels are coming.”
The Sirin Remnant chuckled, shaking her head as if Zerek had said something amusing. “I told you Haemir would come for Kael.”
“She’s the one who let them in,” Herrath stated, and Roza’s eyes widened before she tore free from Zerek’s grip and ran to the balcony. She whooped when she saw the open gates, a smile spreading across her face and making the iridescent scales on her cheeks shimmer. “Cetena’s tail, she did it.”
