Chapter 160: The End Of It All
Leroy narrowed his eyes, the weight of Aldric’s words gnawing at him. The day he first met Lorraine... was the day Aldric had met her too. The realization coiled tight in his chest, making his interest sharpen into something like suspicion.
"She was a frail girl," Aldric said, his voice softening, almost reverent. "Petite, not grown to her age. And yet... that smile..." His words caught, his throat constricting. His eyes watered, red with the memory. "She has my sister’s smile. That’s a given, since she’s her daughter..." He let out a brittle scoff, as if mocking himself for faltering, and wiped quickly at the corner of his eye.
Sylvia’s heart twisted as she watched him. Aldric, who had always been the unyielding steward, was breaking when it came to Lorraine. All those times he had appeared, coaxing a smile from their princess... it hadn’t been mere kindness. Sylvia saw it now. He wasn’t simply protecting his lady. He was chasing his sister’s ghost in her smile.
"I talked to her," Aldric continued, "and all she did was sign back to me, with that beautiful smile on her face. I thought then she couldn’t be the one foretold in the prophecy. But her state... gods, I wanted to take her from that place, away from Hadrian’s grasp. I thought I could steal her into safety, unseen. I knew Hadrian wouldn’t find her missing so soon. I could bring her out of Vaeloria before then, but..." His voice faltered.
He drew in a shaky breath. "Like you saw last night, her eyes glowed. And when they did... my knees weakened. I knelt before her. I knew I couldn’t take her away. Not then. Not yet. I had to leave her there."
Leroy let out a short, bitter scoff. That other woman, the one that sometimes surfaced in Lorraine’s voice, her eyes, wanted her to suffer. Wanted her to break. And Aldric had obeyed it.
"I couldn’t believe," Aldric said hoarsely, "that the Oracle’s prophecy pointed to her. She was too broken, too frail to be the Swan reborn. And then she met you..." He looked at Leroy, voice firm despite the pain in it. "She changed. She didn’t want silence anymore. She wanted to stand by you, to fight beside you. To speak."
"And yet you still left her to rot in that house," Leroy cut in, his voice sharp enough to draw blood. His jaw locked as fury burned hot in his veins. So that was it. Was his entire existence in her life just another thread in some divine design? A pawn to awaken what was already written in her?
His mind reeled. Aldric had spoken of the Great Dragon. Lorraine herself had spoken of the dragon waking once more. What if that woman, the one who surfaced with glowing eyes and words that weren’t her own, claimed Lorraine entirely? What if she was meant to walk away with the dragon, prophecy or no prophecy?
The thought struck like a blade to his chest. His heart pounded, heavy and violent.
But no. No matter what fate whispered, no matter what ancient prophecy bound her, he would not lose her. Not to a ghost. Not to a dragon. Not to anyone.
Lorraine was his.
His wife, his partner, his only tether in this suffocating world.
And if destiny itself tried to take her from him, he would fight it.
Even if that meant drawing his blade against a dragon that still might live.
Aldric’s low chuckle cut through Leroy’s thoughts. "She didn’t rot there. She plotted. Drew plans upon plans, until the walls themselves carried her secrets. We watched... watched her rise like a phoenix from ash."
Leroy scoffed, bitterness edging his voice. Maybe she had risen, maybe she had clawed her way into power. But he knew better. "She was never fine, Aldric. You saw yourself, how she broke in those tunnels."
Aldric’s jaw tightened. "Hadrian deserves worse. And you... you were there at the right time, weren’t you?"
Leroy’s teeth ground together. He wanted to demand it—what was his role in all this? A pawn? A turning point? Or something more? But another shadow loomed larger.
"The Dowager," he muttered. "She will cause trouble."
Aldric didn’t even blink. "She won’t. But tell me, what did Lorraine say to her?"
The question pulled a taut silence through the room. Leroy’s chest stiffened. His eyes slid to Sylvia, then back to Aldric. "She spoke of... judgment," he said at last. "Does that mean she intends to bring down both Dravenholt and Regis?"
Aldric’s answer was steady, certain. "Whatever she speaks will come to pass." His gaze sharpened, and for a moment, Leroy felt the weight of a test. "And you... you only need to kneel."
The word sent an unbidden flicker of heat through Leroy’s mind, memory dragging him back into that tower’s darkness, to the hushed command she had whispered: kneel over me. His lips curved faintly before he forced the thought away. Now was not the time.
He steadied himself. "Who are the other five?" he asked coldly. Then, sharper: "And what you’re saying is absurd. Nothing simply ’comes to pass.’ She fought for everything. Every step cost her. She bled for it."
Aldric inclined his head. "And we bled with her. Don’t mistake it, Prince. Lorraine is sharper than anyone we’ve ever known—her plans, her foresight, her web of connections. But even brilliance has shadows. We’ve shielded her from what she could not see. Cut down threats before they reach her door. She has never stood alone."
Leroy’s hands tightened into fists. "And for what? What is the end of all this? Vengeance, yes... but what beyond that?"
The answer came without hesitation. "Unification," Aldric said. His voice deepened, final. "One king to rule them all. The Dragon’s rule restored over this land."
Leroy flicked his hand dismissively, sending them both away. The door closed behind Aldric and Sylvia, and silence rushed in.
He sat still, the weight of the silver bear heavy in his palm. She had spoken of the dragon’s return—that much clung to him, sharp and certain. That meant, his family would be judged too. Then what about him?
But he had forgotten something else she had spoken of too, once. The heir. A word left behind, nearly forgotten.
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In the hall, their footsteps faded. Sylvia led the way without a word, her path steady toward the shadowed alcove beneath the stairs. When Aldric followed her into the dark, she turned and folded herself into his arms, sudden and fierce.
"I wanted to give you a hug for a long time..." she whispered, pressing her face into the hollow of his neck.
Aldric smiled and wrapped his arms around her.