Damm Him

The dimly lit chambers of the Empress were filled with a tension so thick it could be sliced with a knife.

Heavy, richly embroidered curtains blocked out the evening light, casting the room in an eerie gloom.

The smell of incense hung in the air, but it did little to mask the undercurrent of fear that permeated the space.

The Empress sat on a plush velvet chair, her knuckles white as she gripped the armrests, her eyes narrowed in fury.

Across from her, her son Lucian paced restlessly, his footsteps echoing in the otherwise silent room. The air between them was thick with unspoken dread, a sense of impending doom that neither could shake.

The Empress's hand trembled as she clenched it into a fist. "How could we have been so blind, Lucian?" she hissed, her voice quivering with barely contained rage. "How could we have allowed that wretched boy, Izan, to deceive us for so long?"

Lucian paused in his pacing, turning to face his mother. His usually confident demeanor was marred by a frown of deep worry. "I never imagined he would be so cunning, Mother. Pretending to be crippled all these years... It was the perfect cover. We underestimated him, and now we're paying the price."

The Empress's gaze turned cold, her thoughts whirling. "We were fools. All this time, I thought I had everything under control. Izan was supposed to be nothing more than a weak pawn, easily discarded when the time came. But now..." She trailed off, her mind racing with the implications of her miscalculation.

Lucian remained silent, his mind racing. The news of the Grand Duke Marcelo's household's fall had shaken him to his core.

He had known the Grand Duke was powerful, but he hadn't expected his downfall to come so swiftly, or so completely.

Worse still, the thought that Duke Marcelo might reveal their involvement in his schemes filled Lucian with dread.

"Mother," Lucian began cautiously, his voice trembling slightly, "what if… what if Duke Marcelo betrays us? What if he tells Izan everything?"

The Empress's eyes flickered with a momentary flash of fear, but she quickly masked it with a steely resolve.

"Marcelo is loyal. He would never betray us, she said, though the firmness in her voice was betrayed by the slight quiver of her llips

"He knows that his survival depends on our protection. Even in the face of death, he wouldn't risk our wrath."

But the Empress wasn't so sure.

The loss of Marcelo had sent shockwaves through her carefully laid plans.

He had been a loyal ally, someone she could trust to carry out her orders without question.

Now, he was gone, and with him, a crucial piece of her strategy against Crown Prince Izan had crumbled.

"Marcelo's death…" The Empress's voice faltered, and she gripped the edge of the table as if trying to hold on to the last threads of her control. "It changes everything. Without him, our position is weaker, more vulnerable."

Lucian watched his mother with growing unease. He had never seen her like this before, so unsettled, so unsure.

The Empress had always been a pillar of strength, a woman who wielded power with an iron fist. But now, she seemed almost… shaken.

The Empress, oblivion to her son's inner thoughts. Was deep in her own thought, her mind racing to come up with another plan, but her thoughts were interrupted by a sharp knock on the door. A servant entered, his face ashen, his eyes wide with fear.

"Your Majesty," he stammered, bowing low. "I bring urgent news."

The Empress waved a hand impatiently. "Out with it, then."

The servant swallowed hard, his throat bobbing nervously. "The attempt to rescue Lady Isla, the last surviving child of the late Grand Duke Marcelo… it has failed."

The Empress's expression darkened, and her hand came down hard on the small table in front of her, the impact causing a delicate teacup to rattle and fall over, spilling its contents. "What did you say?" she demanded, her voice dangerously low.

The servant flinched, lowering her gaze to the floor. "Lady Isla couldn't... Make it out. Our men were unable to extract her in time. We... we lost her."

The Empress let out a scream of frustration, her voice reverberating through the room. "IZAN!" she shouted, the name laced with venom. "That wretched boy! He has taken everything from me!"

"Damn him! Damn that cursed Crown Prince!"

Lucian rushed to his mother's side, placing a calming hand on her shoulder. "Mother, please... you must calm down. We'll find another way. We always do." He pleaded

But the Empress shoved him away, her eyes wild with fury.

"Do you not see, Lucian?" she spat. "This isn't just about Marcelo or Isla. This is about power. Izan is systematically stripping us of our strength, our influence. And we..." her voice broke, "we are losing everything!"

Lucian felt a wave of fear wash over him. He had always known his mother was ambitious, ruthless even, but now she seemed almost desperate. And that desperation was terrifying.

"We can still regroup, Mother," he said, though his voice lacked its usual confidence. "There must be others we can turn to. Allies who will help us bring down Izan."

The Empress looked at her son, her eyes filled with a mixture of anger and despair. "Allies? Who, Lucian? Who else can we trust? We're running out of options, and Izan is tightening the noose around our necks."

As if sensing the gravity of the situation, a strange silence fell over the room. The shadows seemed to grow longer, the flickering candlelight casting eerie shapes on the walls.

Lucian, still holding his mother's shoulder, suddenly stiffened, his eyes narrowing as he glanced around the room.

"Did you hear that, Mother?" he whispered, his voice barely audible.

The Empress looked at him with a frown, her irritation evident. "Hear what? Have you lost your senses, Lucian?"

Lucian's heart raced as he strained to listen, his eyes darting to every corner of the room. He could have sworn he heard something, a faint rustle, the sound of movement, as if someone had been there, listening. But now, the room was deathly silent.

"Nothing, Mother," he said after a moment, shaking his head. "I must have imagined it."

The Empress regarded him with a hard look, her patience wearing thin. "We don't have time for your foolishness, Lucian. Focus! We need to think of our next move."

Lucian nodded, but his mind was elsewhere, still lingering on that strange sound. Had someone been there? Was someone spying on them?

Somewhere in the darkness, unseen and unheard, a man was listening to every word that slipped out of their mouth.