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Chapter 44
CHAPTER FORTY FOURDeclan left the palace like a ghost with a borrowed body. His ribs hurt each time he breathed. His lip was still split. His cheek still burned from the slaps. He could not even cover it properly because he did not have a clean shirt, and he did not have a jacket. He only had his hands and the shame that followed him like a shadow.Ms. Sonia had said he was not alone. But the street did not feel like that.The street felt like the world had agreed to forget him.He walked out of the palace gate and kept going, because staying inside meant being watched, and being watched meant being used. His feet dragged, and the soles of his shoes felt thin like paper. He kept thinking about the ring. About how empty his finger felt. Like a piece of him had been torn off, not the jewelry, but the last proof that he mattered to someone.He stopped at the first shop, a small supermarket with a bright sign and a tired cashier. He walked in and forced his voice to sound normal.“Please
Chapter 43
CHAPTER FORTY THREEDeclan did not know how long he stood in that corridor, staring at the empty space on his finger where the ring used to sit. The air felt cold against his swollen cheek, and his throat tasted like iron. He kept replaying Stefan’s whisper in his head, the way it sounded less like advice and more like ownership.Then he felt it.A presence.He turned slightly, and Ms. Sonia was there.Not walking. Not approaching with calm steps. Standing close enough that he could smell her perfume under the palace air. Her eyes were sharp again, but the tightness in her face gave her away. She had seen it. She had heard enough.Declan tried to straighten, but pain pulled him back down. His knees wanted to fold. His pride wanted to fight her help, but his body was too broken for pride.Ms. Sonia grabbed his arm. “Move,” she said quietly.Declan blinked at her. “Where,” he asked.“To the only place that matters right now,” Ms. Sonia said. “Before Jacob decides to make another example
Chapter 42
CHAPTER FORTY TWOThe grand hall was bright and cold, like it was built to crush people. Declan stood between two guards with his arms pinned, his ribs screaming each time he breathed. He could still hear that metallic click behind him, and he knew it was not a mistake. It was a warning.Jacob stepped closer, calm and proud, holding the royal stick like it belonged to him. “Remove the ring,” Jacob said. “Do it now.”Declan looked down at the emerald and rubbed it with his thumb. “No,” Declan said quietly. “Not that.”A murmur moved through the hall. Uncle Markus smiled like he had been waiting for the word. “He still thinks he is somebody,” Uncle Markus said.Jacob’s eyes sharpened. “You are nobody,” Jacob said to Declan. “You are a guest here. A thief in royal clothes.”“I did not steal anything,” Declan said.The royal grandmaster stared at him without warmth. “Obey,” the royal grandmaster said. “That is all you are required to do.”Declan lifted his head. “I already gave the card a
Chapter 41
CHAPTER FORTY ONEDeclan did not remember how he got to the clinic.He only remembered the old security guard’s hands holding him steady, firm but gentle, like he had done this before. Declan’s nose would not stop bleeding, and every breath felt like it scraped his ribs. His shirt was soaked in sweat and blood, and the ring on his finger felt like the only solid thing left in his life.“Stay awake,” the old man kept saying. “Just stay awake.”Declan tried.But the moment the nurse pressed cotton under his nose and asked his name, Declan’s throat locked up. Not because he forgot his name. Because the name no longer sounded like protection.The nurse glanced at his swollen face. “Who did this to you,” she asked.Declan stared at the white tiles. He wanted to say Stefan. He wanted to scream it.But he saw it clearly now. Stefan was not alone anymore. Stefan never acted alone when he could borrow power.“I fell,” Declan lied.The nurse did not believe him, but she did not argue. She clean
Chapter 40
CHAPTER FORTYDeclan waited behind the anatomy lab after the last students left. The campus lights were bright and cold, throwing shadows across the walkway. The note in his pocket felt heavy. Tonight. Behind the anatomy lab. Come alone. He should not have come, but he was here anyway, standing in the dark, listening.He touched the emerald ring on his finger and tried to steady his breathing. His ribs ached, his jaw hurt, and his pride felt bruised deeper than his skin.Footsteps came from the far end of the corridor. More than one set. Three figures walked into the light, and the first one smiled.It was Stefan.Stefan looked clean and confident, dressed like he owned the night. Two men followed behind him, thick and silent. Stefan stopped a few feet away and laughed.“Oh, Declan,” Stefan said. “You came.”“Why are you here,” Declan asked.Stefan spread his hands. “Because you thought we would rot in prison,” Stefan said. “You thought you could ruin me with one party stunt and some
Chapter 39
CHAPTER THIRTY Nine The palace did not sleep, but the stables did. The air was cold and damp, and the smell of hay sat heavy in Declan’s nose. His body ached in a way he had never felt before. Every breath pulled pain from his ribs. Even his eyelids felt heavy, like they had been bruised too.He must have dozed off at some point, because the next thing he heard was a rough voice and the sharp scrape of a shovel on wood.“Stand up,” a man said.Declan opened his eyes slowly. A worker stood over him with a shovel in his hand, his face hard and tired. The worker did not look like someone who cared about royal drama. He looked like someone who had been surviving here for years.Declan tried to sit up, his bones screaming. “What time is it,” Declan asked.“Time to work,” the worker replied.Declan swallowed and pushed himself up. His shirt was stuck to his skin from dried blood and sweat. His mouth tasted bitter. He touched his ring without thinking, as if he needed to confirm it was stil
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