I watch them from the upper balcony; Cassian and Ray, walking side by side through the eastern wing of the palace.
Sunlight streams through the tall windows, bathing them in gold. For a moment, they look like a portrait. Like something out of a storybook, father and son. Heir and legacy.
My heart swells.
It's taken so much to get to this moment. So many tears. So many truths. But here we are.
Cassian doesn't hold Ray's hand. He doesn't need to. Ray walks tall beside him, not with arrogance, but with quiet pride. There's something different about him now. Something steady. Something anchored.
They disappear around the corner, and I quietly follow, not to interrupt, just to witness this fragile, unfolding moment I once feared would never happen.
When I reach the Grand Hall, the large doors to the throne chamber are already open. The vast room feels quieter than usual, as though even the walls know something sacred is taking place.
Cassian walks Ray slowly to the dais.
And then… he lifts him and gently places him on the throne.
I freeze just inside the doorway, clutching the edge of the carved arch.
Ray sits stiff at first, then straightens his small back like he's already learning how to carry the weight of the crown.
"One day, you'll sit here," Cassian says softly, his voice echoing just enough for me to hear. "Not just as a boy, but as a man. You'll rule. You'll protect. This throne is your legacy."
Ray tilts his head up. "Will you teach me?"
Cassian smiles faintly and ruffles his hair. "Yes. Everything I know. Not just how to rule… but how to lead."
I swallow the lump in my throat.
They leave the chamber through the opposite corridor, and I take the garden path to meet them at the royal children's quarters.
By the time I arrive, Cassian is opening the wide double doors of a chamber I've only seen once, on a tour long ago. The one meant for the crown prince.
It's massive.
The ceiling is painted like a midnight sky, complete with hand-etched constellations and a glowing moon centerpiece. The bed is high and draped in deep royal blue. There are shelves lined for books, a long desk, and a carved wall meant for sword displays.
Ray steps inside and turns slowly, his eyes wide with disbelief.
"This… is mine?" he asks.
Cassian smiles. "All of it."
Ray doesn't jump or squeal. He just walks to the window quietly, his hands behind his back. Then he says something that squeezes my heart.
"I want Mama to stay with me here."
That's when I finally step forward, revealing myself.
"I'm not far," I say gently. "And you can always come to our chambers too."
Cassian glances at me over his shoulder. His eyes are soft again. Whole. Anchored.
He's found something in Ray that gives him peace.
That gives both of us peace.
I walk in and sit at the edge of Ray's new bed, letting it all sink in. For the first time in a long while, I feel like the chaos is behind us, even if only for a moment.
Ray belongs here.
Cassian belongs with him.
And maybe… just maybe, so do I.
***
The Great Court of Matica holds its breath as the verdict is delivered.
Four of us sit on the royal tribunal; Cassian, Lord Edric, Lord Lucas, and me. One queen among lords. A woman who was once a castaway... now sitting in judgment.
Queen Morgana stands before us, her once-regal frame reduced to a pale, fragile outline. She doesn't flinch. She doesn't speak. Even as the charges are read aloud.
Treason. Deception. Abuse of power. Manipulation of the royal lineage. Attempted infanticide.
She remains silent.
Her eyes are empty.
When the final sentence is pronounced: life imprisonment within the palace walls, she doesn't blink. Not a word. No plea. Just that same cold, hollow silence.
But the real trial begins after the hall clears.
Only Cassian and I remain.
The doors shut. The guards dismissed. There's no need for them anymore. This… this isn't about justice.
This is personal.
She stands before us now with no crown, no authority. Just a woman stripped, broken, and unrecognizable. And still, I can't find it in me to pity her.
"How could you?" I ask, my voice barely above a whisper.
She looks up, startled.
"I'm not even angry that you gave me away," I continue, my voice trembling under the weight of everything I've carried. "I'm not angry that you swapped me… or that you let another woman raise me. What I can't understand…what I will never understand is why you ordered my death."
Her face crumbles. She falls to her knees and weeps into her hands. But I don't move. Neither does Cassian.
"I was afraid," she sobs. "I was barely eighteen. The King wanted an heir, a son. Everyone expected a boy. And when I found out I was having twin girls… I knew he'd take a consort. That he'd stop loving me. Maybe even cast me aside."
"And so you played God?" Cassian's voice trembles with anger. "You stole a woman's child…my mother's son and gave him to a throne he never belonged to. You threw your own daughter away and lied for decades. Was the crown worth all that?"
Her sobs grow louder. "I just wanted to be loved… to be seen… to be enough."
"You could've adopted," Cassian spits. "Or tried surrogacy. You could've been honest. But you cursed two innocent lives."
He turns away from her, shaking. "I spent my whole life trying to become something I was never meant to be. I was never good enough for the King. I didn't even get to choose my path. All because I was forced into a destiny that didn't belong to me."
I step forward. My fists are clenched so tightly, my knuckles ache.
"You didn't just ruin Cassian's life," I whisper. "You ruined mine too. You lured me into this palace with sweet words and promises. You married me off to a man I barely knew…your own stolen son. And all the while, you knew. You denied me everything; my allowances, my father's medical bills, my dignity. You watched me suffer… and said nothing."
My voice cracks. "You let Liliana disgrace me. You let me believe I was trash."
Tears spill freely now. "What did I ever do to you? Why did you hate me so much?"
She collapses completely, her sobs shaking the floor beneath us. "I'm sorry," she wails. "I'm so sorry. I hated myself. I hated what I became. I took it out on you. I never should have… I never should have…"
"I will never call you mother," I say, stepping back. "You don't deserve that title. I curse the day I ever met you."
Cassian comes to my side and takes my hand. Our fingers entwine, trembling, grounding each other.
And we weep.
We weep for the children we once were.
We weep for the love we never received.
We weep for the shattered illusions and the truths that broke us.
At our feet lies Queen Morgana, the most powerful woman Matica ever knew, now just a broken, sobbing woman on the cold marble floor.
Because she has lost everything.
And we… we are finally free.