Crown of withered thorns

Chapter 2: A King amongst crows

The heavy silence in the hall didn’t last long. It was broken by the sound of Thalric’s dignity hitting the floor. He scrambled backward on his hands and knees, staring at the shattered remains of the branding iron.

"Witchcraft!" Thalric screamed, his voice hitting a pathetic, shrill register. "He’s using forbidden arts! Guards! Execute him! Kill the heretic where he stands!"

The household guards hesitated for a heartbeat. They had seen me chained and broken moments ago; now, I was standing over the shattered Stone of Penitence with frost on my skin and a predator’s eyes.

"What are you waiting for?" Thalric roared, his face twisted in a mask of cowardice. "I am your Prince! Cut him down!"

Six guards lunged. The lead guardsman, a brute named Captain Horgus, swung a heavy steel mace aimed directly at my skull. In my previous life as the Warden, I had faced gods. This was like watching a snail try to strike a lightning bolt.

I didn't retreat. I moved forward.

Ghost-Step: First Form.

To the crowd, I simply vanished. To me, the world slowed to a crawl. I shifted my weight an inch to the left, the mace whistling past my ear so closely I could feel the displacement of air. Before Horgus could recover, I reached out. I didn't punch him. I didn't kick him. I simply placed a single finger on the underside of his wrist, redirecting the momentum of his massive swing.

"Your grip is trash, Horgus," I remarked.

The man’s own strength betrayed him. His arm jerked upward, the mace flying out of his hand and crashing into the stone ceiling, raining dust and debris down on the nobles. I stepped into his personal space, my shoulder hitting his chest with the force of a battering ram. The armored captain flew twenty feet backward, crashing into the banquet table in a spray of wine and splintered wood.

"Anyone else?" I asked, looking at the remaining five guards.

They froze. They looked at their captain, groaning in the wreckage of the feast, then back at me. I wasn't even breathing hard.

"He’s a monster!" a noblewoman shrieked. "Look at his eyes!"

"I'm not a monster, Lady Elara," I said, calling her out by name. She flinched as if I’d slapped her. "I’m just the only one in this room who isn't a coward."

Thalric had managed to stand up, hiding behind a line of shields. "Don't listen to him! He’s a demon wearing Cyprian’s skin! Kill him! I’ll double the gold for whoever brings me his head!"

"You're offering gold for my life now, Thalric?" I started walking toward him. Every step I took caused the guards to shuffle backward. They were supposed to be the elite, but they were shaking. "How much was the gold you paid to have the King’s tea 'seasoned' three months ago?"

Thalric’s face went from pale to ghostly white. "What… what are you talking about?"

"The poison, Thalric," I said, my voice cutting through the hall like a razor. "The slow-acting Night-Hemlock. The one that made our father’s heart stop while he slept. You thought the healers were too stupid to notice, or maybe you just paid them enough to stay quiet."

"You’re lying!" Thalric hissed, but the sweat rolling down his forehead told a different story. The Elders began to murmur, their gazes shifting from me to the trembling Prince.

I used the Ghost-Step again. In the blink of an eye, I was past the shield wall. I was standing directly behind Thalric, my hand resting lightly on his shoulder. He jumped as if I’d touched him with a hot iron.

"Don't move," I whispered into his ear. The guards turned, their blades trembling, but they didn't dare strike while I was this close to their master. "If you order them to attack, I will rip your throat out before the first sword reaches me. And then, I'll tell the High Council exactly where you hid the remaining vials of poison."

Thalric’s breath hitched. He was vibrating with pure, unadulterated terror. "You... you can't know that. You were in the dungeons."

"I know everything, little brother," I said, my voice a low, terrifying purr. "I know about the murder. I know about the deal you made with the border lords. And I know that if I stay here, I might just decide to take your head as payment for this brand."

I leaned in closer, the scent of the burnt metal on my chest filling the space between us. "But I have better things to do than rule a rotting kingdom filled with crows like you."

I patted his shoulder—a mockingly affectionate gesture—and stepped away.

"Stand down!" Thalric choked out, his voice cracking. "Let him go! Let him go now!"

"Thalric?" one of the Elders questioned. "He just accused you of..."

"I said let him go!" Thalric screamed, his eyes wide and panicked. "He’s... he’s insane! He’s not worth the blood! Just get him out of my sight!"

I turned my back on the Prince, the guards, and the entire royal court. It was the ultimate insult—to walk away from a room full of armed enemies without even looking back.

"Cyprian!" the King’s voice boomed from the high dais. He sounded old, tired, and deeply suspicious. "If you walk out those doors, you are no longer a Prince of this house. You are a nameless wanderer. A ghost."

I stopped at the threshold of the great hall. I didn't turn around. I just looked at the dark horizon through the open doors.

"I was never a Prince to you," I said. "And as for being a ghost... you should be careful. Ghosts have a habit of haunting those who betrayed them."

I walked out.

The heavy oak doors groaned as I pushed them open, stepping out into the cold night air. The palace guards in the courtyard watched me pass, their spears lowered in confusion. They had heard the shouting, but they weren't prepared for the sight of the 'Disgrace' walking out with his head held high and his chains broken.

I didn't look back at the Stone of Penitence. I didn't look back at the burning sins of my family. I had the soul of a Warden, the marrow of a god, and a world that had no idea I was coming.

Behind me, the hall remained in a state of stunned, suffocating silence. Thalric was still standing there, paralyzed, a King among crows who had just realized that the scavenger he tried to kill was actually a phoenix.

I disappeared into the shadows of the outer city, the first steps of my new life echoing against the cobbles. The hunt had begun, but for the first time in a thousand years, I wasn't the prey.