Emperor Of The Abyss

Chapter 9

"Dear gods." 

Morgana breathed. She raised one hand to her throat in a gesture of dismay. 

"What happened here?"

Kane was still crouched beside Elara's body. His hands were covered in blood up to his wrists. It had started to dry, turning sticky and dark. He looked up at Morgana, and for a moment relief flooded his face.

"Aunt Morgana." 

He said, his voice shaking.

 "Thank gods you're here. She came to my room. She had a knife. I didn't know what she wanted but she…" 

He gestured helplessly at Elara's body. 

"She tried to stab me. I just pushed her away. I swear I only pushed her and she…"

The words were tumbling out too fast. Kane knew he sounded desperate but he couldn't stop. Couldn't slow down.

"She fell and the knife, it must have turned in her hand because when she hit the wall the blade…"

 His voice cracked.

 "I didn't mean for this to happen. You have to believe me. I would never…"

Every eye in the hallway was on him. The servants. The guards. All of them staring.

Silence fell. Heavy and thick. No one moved nor spoke.

Then Morgana started to laugh.

It began as a small sound. Almost a chuckle. Soft and quiet.

Then it grew.

Her shoulders shook. Her hand dropped from her throat. The laugh got louder, filling the corridor with its strange, sharp sound.

The servants looked at each other, confused. The guards shifted uncomfortably.

Morgana's laugh kept building. Rising. Until it echoed off the stone walls, bouncing back at them from all directions.

Finally it stopped. Suddenly. Like someone had cut a rope.

Morgana looked down at Kane with eyes that had gone cold. Her lips were still curved in a smile but there was nothing warm about it. Nothing kind.

"And you want us to believe you?" 

She said, her voice was soft. Gentle, almost. Which somehow made it worse.

Kane stared up at her. His mouth opened. Closed. 

"I... I don't understand."

"What don't you understand?" 

Morgana's voice snapped like a whip. All the softness is gone.

 "You little demon being."

The words hit Kane like a slap. He flinched back.

Demon being.

She'd never called him that before. Not to his face. Not directly.

Kane looked around at the gathered crowd. At the servants who'd known him his whole life. At the guards who'd stood watch over him since he was a child.

Every single face was twisted with disgust. With hatred. With fear.

They were looking at him the way people looked at something dangerous. Something that needed to be put down.

"I hope you can read the tension in the air." 

Morgana said. She was still smiling that cold smile.

 "I hope you understand what everyone here is thinking."

Kane scrambled to his feet. His legs almost gave out but he caught himself against the wall. Left another bloody handprint on the stone.

"Wait." 

He said. His heart was pounding so hard he could hear it in his ears. 

"Wait, do you guys actually think I killed her on purpose?"

No one answered.

The silence was answer enough.

"But I didn't!" 

Kane's voice rose.

 "She came at me with a knife! Look…"

 He pointed at Elara's hand where it still clutched the blade. 

"The knife is in her hand! How would that happen if I attacked her?"

"Perhaps you planted it there." 

Morgana said calmly. 

"After you murdered her."

"What? No! I…" 

Kane looked from face to face, searching for anyone who might believe him. Anyone who might be on his side. 

"You can ask the princess. Valerie was there. She was in my room when it happened. She'll tell you…"

"Princess Valerie." 

Morgana interrupted.

"Was found fleeing the scene. Covered in shame. Do you know what that looked like? The princess of Eldrath, running through the halls in nothing but a bedsheet, escaping from your chambers?"

 Her eyebrow arched. 

"What exactly were you doing with her, nephew?"

The way she said 'nephew' made it sound like an insult.

Heat flooded Kane's face. 

"That's not… we weren't… that has nothing to do with…"

"It has everything to do with it." 

Morgana said. Her voice was getting louder now. Stronger. She was playing to the crowd, Kane realized. Performing.

 "It shows your character. Your lack of morals. Your demon nature."

She turned in a slow circle, addressing the gathered servants and guards.

"This boy,this creature,spent the night fornicating with a princess who trusted him. Who loved him. And when a poor servant girl stumbled upon his debauchery, what did he do?" 

Morgana's voice rang out clear and strong.

 "He killed her. To keep her silent. To protect his reputation."

"No!"

 Kane shouted. 

"That's not what happened!"

But Morgana wasn't finished. She was building momentum now, her voice rising with each word.

"This is not the first time demon blood has stained these halls. Twenty-two years ago, his mother,that demon whore,murdered my brother in his own bed. Slit his throat while he slept. And now, on the very eve of his coronation, the son follows in the mother's footsteps."

The crowd was murmuring now. Nodding. Some of the servants were crying.

"The apple doesn't fall far from the tree."

 Someone whispered.

"Demon spawn."

"Should have killed him when he was born."

Kane felt the world tilting beneath him. This couldn't be happening. This wasn't real.

Morgana straightened her shoulders. Drew herself up to her full height. When she spoke again, her voice had taken on a formal tone. The kind used for official pronouncements.

"By the order of the law guiding this nation." 

She began, pausing to let the weight of the words settle. 

“The law passed down through generations since the founding of Valthorne, the law written in blood and sealed with the lives of our forefathers..."

She took a breath. Let the silence stretch.

"By the authority vested in me as regent and protector of this kingdom, as keeper of the royal seal, as voice of the crown in the absence

of a rightful ruler..."

Another pause. Kane's heart was hammering against his ribs.

"I hereby place you under arrest."

The words fell like stones into water. Final. Irreversible.

Morgana took a step closer to Kane. Her eyes were bright. Almost gleaming…