Elowen watched the city from the castle balcony. Her white pupils glistened in the moonlight, and only her dyed dark hair whipped in the wind. Her usual bright dresses were now replaced by the royal armor of the Empire. The light armor was more comfortable for her.
Empire Capital, as the city was called, stretched for many miles in all directions. From the castle, which was at the very heart of the city, it was impossible to see the city's end in any direction. To reach one of the exits, it would take at least half a day.
Therefore, on that very first day when Seraphina left the castle with her children, they fled in the morning to reach Lord Blunder's camp by evening.
The King's men were approaching the castle. From the balcony, she saw her father's banners, but due to the immense height, she couldn't spot him among the cavalry and infantry crowd.
She rushed down the castle corridors, soon reaching the entrance. She was out of breath; moving so quickly in armor was very difficult.
Elowen surveyed all the arrivals, noticing Tilidus, who met her gaze. King Arik dismounted from his silver horse, his dark hair streaked with gray falling onto his back.
"Where is Mum?" Elowen asked, coming closer. "Where is..." she gulped. For some reason, it became so difficult to speak. "Where is Cedric, Dad?"
Arik, with traces of battle on his armor and dried blood drops on the scabbard, though his face was as clean as milk, without a single scratch, approached his daughter. His tired eyes had not seen sleep for several days.
He embraced Elowen.
"They abandoned us, my dear," he said, holding his daughter's head tightly against his shoulder.
"No, Cedric would never abandon me. He and Mum would never do that," Elowen said, her eyes moving with horror. "They wouldn't abandon me. Cedric promised to stop the war!"
The voice and crying coming from Kukuwaya rang so loudly in her ears and heart that she could barely hear anything around her.
Arik lowered his head, his chin touching the top of his daughter's head. Her voice and looks were so much like Seraphina.
"Now they are our enemies," he said, placing his hands on her shoulders. "We are on our own, Elowen, and we must be ready to fight back. Mum and your brother are as good as dead to us; they have taken the side of the enemy. We will crush them when the Cosmic Eclipse comes. Father and daughter."
Tears streamed from her white eyes. "I don't want to kill Mum and Cedric. Please, Dad."
Arik shook his daughter by the shoulders. "Pull yourself together, Elowen. We are alone now, and I need you to be strong. Stronger than ever! You are now my heir and you will become the first queen of the Eclipsian Dynasty. You are the chosen one, not Cedric."
He gently touched his daughter's cheek as she tried to understand what she had just heard.
"Dear, my blood runs in your veins. And I have no doubts in entrusting you with this responsibility. I want you to become our queen."
Arik pushed back his cloak and knelt before Elowen. Tilidus, with a small scratch on his cheek and a smile on his face, was the next to kneel before Elowen.
Elowen, wiping away her tears, missed the moment when the entire court now stood before her on their knees.
Everyone knelt before the First Queen of the Eclipsian Dynasty.
===
Cedric sat on the throne wearing a golden mask while the assembled council discussed something he couldn't hear. The voices of the Solarians seemed to sound far away. He couldn't stop staring at his fingers. There was a strange tingling sensation in it, and sometimes he thought he saw light sparks or flashes of lightning.
His other hand rested on the hilt of the moon sword, and his red armor shimmered with a lilac hue in the dim torchlight. His heart ached with a useless pain, the kind Corvus experienced.
"Forgive me, Elowen," Cedric thought, hoping she would feel it.
"Your Majesty?" called one of the white-haired captains in the council, speaking in Solarion.
"Yes?" Cedric lowered his gaze to the captain.
"The end is nigh. We are almost ready for our army to sweep across the entire continent. We'll go in a few days and try to reach the Capital before the Cosmic Eclipse."
"Excellent," Cedric responded without much enthusiasm.
The captains and soldiers exchanged glances. "We want to know what the Eclipse allows you to do. What kind of power will you gain? What should we expect?"
Everyone waited for an answer.
"I don't know," Cedric replied calmly.
The answer clearly did not satisfy the war hounds.
A soldier quickly crossed the Hall of the Fearless and reached the throne, presenting a letter to the king.
"What is this?" Cedric asked, taking it.
"A message from King Arik."
Cedric broke the seal with the Eclipse symbol and opened the letter, bringing it close to the nearby torch.
"She will still be mine.
I will rape her in our room until your mother dies.
Better to kill her now to spare her poor treacherous soul."
Cedric held the sheet to the brazier, directly under the flames. Words of hatred devoured by the fire were reflected in his white eyes. He rose from his throne and everyone in the hall bowed.
"Continue the council without me," he said in broken Solarian.
He left the hall and climbed the steps into the depths of the Red Castle. Silent servants bowed to him all the way to the entrance of the Breeding Room. It transformed, with almost all the beds removed. One broken bed from the night with Seraphina stood in the corner. His mother herself, dressed in a gown with her hair in a braid, was sweeping the floor, removing all the dust and dirt.
"I asked not to be disturbed while I'm here! Gosh!" she scolded without even turning to the entrance. "I'm the mother of your king. Can I have a few moments alone... Ohhh! Cedric?"
