Chained to old wounds

CH61

Morgan

I could see in his eyes that he was incredibly pleased. He smiled at me gently. The music reached a crescendo, then faded into a gentle sigh. With a final twirl, Tsuneo brought me to a stop, his hand lingering on my waist. We stood there for a moment, lost in the quiet aftermath of the dance, our breaths mingling in the air. His gaze held mine, a silent question hanging between us.

Just as I leaned in and he leaned towards me, the doors slammed open and a ripple of shocked gasps shattered the spell. My head snapped toward the door, trying to figure out what was going on. Across the vast hall, I saw Ari, her face a mask of triumph, leading a small boy by the hand. Her eyes, cold and calculating, met mine for a fleeting moment before she turned towards the King, Almost dragged behind her. He wasn’t dressed half as she was, he glanced around nervously, clearly uncomfortable with being here.

The side of it irritated me.

“Your Majesty,” she declared, her voice ringing across the stunned silence, I present to you my son, Kai. The rightful heir to the throne, born of your son, Crown Prince Tsuneo.”

A bead of silence passed.

What did she just say?

All at once, the banquet hall erupted in chaos, Whispers turned into shouts of disbelief and outrage. Elders rose from their seats, their faces contorted in fury. The King himself stared at the boy, his expression full of disbelief. Tsuneo, his hand falling away from my waist, turned to face Art, a dark storm gathering in his eyes. His whole body seemed to tremble with his anger. A low, vicious growl rumbled through him.

The joy of

of the first dance had vanished in an instant, replaced by a cold dread that coiled in the pit of my stomach. I doubt it highly that the child was Tsuneo’s, but it was clear what Ari’s game was, and the child was going to suffer the most for it, I’d seen something like this play out all too many times. After all, the number of women who had come to the family house claiming that some member of our family had an illegitimate child with some random woman had been a lot.

This child bore all the markers of a plot, I just wasn’t sure of the entire shape. As the tension in the room crackled like a live wire, I took stock of Aris clothing and the boy’s.

The boy didn’t squirm, which meant he knew her, but he didn’t look comfortable. He didn’t cling to her as if she was going to offer him safety and said he looked around. He was looking for an out. Something told me that this child, like many children, knew a lot more about this situation and would be a lot more honest than any of the adults.

People scrambled forward and made room for the remaining Elders. The once vibrant room fell into an oppressive silence, broken only by people’s shoes across the floors. The Elders looked furious, but there was a glint of something in their eyes.

Maybe it was my connection to the palace that was giving me this odd feeling that there was something about this whole setup that I should know, but It was there all the same.

“This is unacceptable,” one of them declared, his voice trembling with anger. “A Dragon Prince cannot marry and forsake a child he’s fathered!”

He has to at least take Lady Ari as a concubine!

I tilted my head, finding it interesting that none of them questioned the validity of her claim.

It was a ploy, but what was the end goal? They couldn’t really want Ari on the throne more than they wanted me there. If that were the case, they would have pushed her onto the throne ages ago

Ari stepped forward, her voice dripping with faux humility. “Given the circumstances, Your Majesty,” she said, her eyes flashing with hidden triumph. * I don’t believe that’s enough. As the mother of his child, a full–blooded dragon who is the rightful heir to the throne, I believe I should be the one to stand beside Tsuneo as his wile.

A murmur of agreement rippled through the crowd. The Elders exchanged hopeful glances, Tsuneo stood frozen beside me, drawing me closer as if he would pick me up and ran away at the first chance

I placed an aim on his shoulder, hoping to soothe him, but my attention was on the child. How was it that none of them seemed to care that she was wing an innovel child for her own ends? probably because they weren’t using him for theirs. The boy looked no older than five, rigidly. His eyes annnd The moon, tting in the unfamiliar faces. He was terrified to move and terrified to stay. He was too uncomfortable to say so and too

darted

CH61

He reminded me of myself as a child, alone in a room full of strangers with Adele when she’d try to make an appearance somewhere, knowing that no one liked her, a foreigner married to my father, and me, the half–bred daughter.

A wave of empathy washed over me. I understood the child’s fear, the feeling of being dragged along for someone else’s gain, especially into a hostile

situation

He deserved better than that, just as I had.

Tsuneo

Ari’s announcement had landed like a bomb, shattering the peace and joy of the evening, 1 was furious that she would even try pull this sort of stunt, but before I could speak, something tugged at the back of my mind.

Morgan.

What did she think?

I glanced at Morgan, her face etched with a mixture of concern and determination. She pulled away from me, her gaze on the child. I held her close and pulled her back. She looked up at me clearly confused. I searched her face, trying to understand what her intentions were, but I couldn’t fathom.

“Tsuneo?”

“I don’t…” The words felt jumbled. I want to speak to you….

She glanced between me and the child. Then, her gaze softened. She lifted up to kiss my cheek.

“You

worry too much.”

She tried to pull away, but I didn’t let her go, realizing shei intended to go to the child.

My gaze flickered between her and the child. “Are you sure this is wise?” I asked, my voice low. “What if this is a trap?”

A hint of amusement flashed across her face. “Ari is a lot of things, Tsuneo, but I don’t thin entire court,

think she’s stupid enough to attempt treason in front of the

Her logic was sound, but my instincts screamed otherwise. I shook my head, but she eased my hand from around her waist.

“Please… just…” Be careful

She nodded, a reassuring smile playing on her lips. “Always, she replied, before turning back to the child.

She walked toward them, and I watched her cross the to look up Margan, and I felt terrible.

room to where Ari was, Ari wasn’t even paying attention to her approach. The child slowly turned

His fier was full of terror,

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