Amara's POV
The chamber door burst open as guards poured in—uniforms stiff, eyes wide, every one of them aware that this wasn't a routine summons. It was a reckoning.
Chris stood tall despite the drying blood on his forehead. No patch-up. No doctor. Just raw fury and imperial dominance. The room crackled with tension as every soldier, every security agent, and yes—even the gatekeepers—assembled in tight formation, their boots echoing against the marble floors.
He didn't sit.
He didn't blink.
He simply asked:
"Who is in charge of my chamber?"
Silence.
Even the air froze.
Chris took a step forward, voice rising like thunder.
"How dare you all... let Skylar—Skylar—even attempt to attack me? You didn't intercept. You didn't alert. You didn't breathe. So what now? I'm not even safe in my own castle?"
A trembling voice came from the right. Officer Remick, one of the chamber captains. "Your Majesty... she had clearance. Still listed as O2. No one thought—"
"THINKING ISN'T YOUR JOB!" Chris roared. "SECURITY IS! She's not just anyone. She's my wife, yes, but also the biggest political risk in this palace. And you let her walk into my chamber and make me bleed?" He tapped the bloodied part of his brow. "So if she had a blade instead of a glass? You'd be standing over my corpse right now giving this same pathetic excuse?"
I stepped forward, arms crossed tightly, glaring at the same people I used to command side-by-side with.
"He's right," I said, my voice ice cold. "This isn't just incompetence. This is failure. And I don't tolerate failure. Not around him."
Chris's voice dropped to a dangerous whisper. "From this moment on, no clearance stands above my safety. Not titles. Not roles. Not old love."
He walked past the guards, his steps deliberate.
"Strip everyone responsible. Chamber security detail—gone. Reassign them to border watch. No weapons. No armor. Let them guard walls, not emperors."
A few gasps echoed in the room. That post was the most humiliating in the Blackwood Empire.
"And Remick?" Chris turned. "You're demoted to Class 500. You can beg Rheina for a spot on her security team. Let's see if you can protect laundry rooms better than you protected your ruler."
Remick dropped to his knees, his face pale. "Your Majesty, please..."
"Don't please me," Chris said, his voice cutting deeper than any sword. "Please the empire. And right now, you've failed both."
I stood behind him, chin up, proud of him—because this wasn't about emotion. It was about control. Order. Safety.
But deep in my chest, a flicker of worry grew.
Skylar made a move.
Chris bled.
The palace trembled.
And now… the Empire would see a new kind of rule.