Scene: Funeral Grounds – Classic 😎's POV
I stood near the edge of the platform—just far enough to avoid the spotlight, but close enough to hear every syllable Amara dropped like a blade from the throne.
She looked royal.
She looked dangerous.
And she sounded like a ruler who didn't need permission anymore.
When that voice rang out from the crowd—"Where is the King?"—I had to fight the urge to smirk. I knew it was coming. Hell, I almost planted the question myself through one of my men. But someone beat me to it.
And Amara?
She handled it.
Too well.
Too sharp.
Too much power in that answer.
> "The King is where he needs to be…"
That line? That was either genius or treason in perfume.
I clapped slowly, respectfully, the way a good royal son should. But inside, my mind was racing faster than ever.
Darius was dead.
Publicly executed without trial.
And now buried with more honor than most generals. That meant one thing: damage control.
Chris knew he went too far. And Amara was here—polishing the blood off his crown in public while her own influence grew with every word.
> She's rising too fast.
The applause rolled around us. I didn't join it again. Just stood there with my hands folded in front of me like a faithful prince.
But my eyes scanned the crowd.
Watching who clapped longer.
Who bowed.
Who looked… uncertain.
Information was power.
And right now, Amara had the crowd, the emotion, the sympathy—even after Darius' death.
But she didn't know what I knew.
She didn't know that I had quietly absorbed half of Darius's silent crew—the ones loyal to her only because Darius vouched for her.
She didn't know I'd spoken to senior council members earlier this morning.
And she definitely didn't know that I already had my own public address prepared—for a moment when the empire would beg for a new voice, softer than Chris, more stable than Amara.
Right now, I was clapping.
Tomorrow?
I might be declaring.
But today… I mourned Darius.
Not just as a hero.
But as the last person willing to bleed out loud in this empire.
And now that he was gone?
It was my turn to speak.