POV: Evangeline
For a long moment, no one breathes. The hall is silent except for the faint, unsteady sound of William’s inhaling, as if even his lungs are unsure they belong here. Every pair of eyes is wide—Sebastian’s in shock, Maximilian’s in disbelief, Alexandro’s in immediate suspicion. And mine… mine fill with memories I have tried for years to bury.
Georgina grips my arm suddenly. “Get the children behind us,” she whispers urgently.
“Elena, Viviana—back,” she orders, guiding them behind her skirts.
I grab Marc and Adrian, pulling them toward me. “Stay close. Do not move.”
“Mama— who is that boy?” Marc whispers, trembling.
“Stay behind me,” I repeat, unable to give him anything more.
Sebastian steps forward slightly, sword still raised but hands visibly shaking. “William,” he says, voice low, cautious. “Where have you been all these years?”
The boy stiffens. His jaw clenches. His eyes—dark, sharp, burning with something wounded and dangerous—snap to Sebastian.
“You know where I’ve been,” William spits.
“No,” Sebastian says softly. “I don’t. After Cordelia—after that day—you ran. I searched for you.”
“You searched for your own guilt,” William snaps, voice cracking with pain. “Not for me.”
I flinch. Adrian buries his face in my skirt. Marc stares, wide-eyed, unable to look away.
Sebastian lowers his sword slightly. “I didn’t want you harmed. I wanted to explain—”
“Explain?” William’s laugh is brittle. “Explain how you killed my mother?”
Sebastian’s face falls. “She was going to kill my sons. She—she wasn’t herself anymore. I tried to save her, William. I swear I did.”
William’s entire body shakes. “You’re lying.”
“I’m not,” Sebastian pleads. He takes a step toward the boy. “Listen to me. You were only a child. I wanted another chance to—”
Henry lifts a hand lazily, interrupting. “I suggest you stay where you are, Your Majesty.”
Sebastian doesn’t look away from William. “He deserves the truth.”
Henry smirks. “He already knows the truth. Children,” he says, tilting his head, “know the enemy when they see one.”
Maximilian quickly moves beside Sebastian. “Stay back. All of this is too fragile. One wrong step—”
“I can’t,” Sebastian says through clenched teeth. “I left him alone once. I won’t abandon him again.”
William’s expression twists. “You didn’t leave me alone. You took everything.”
Sebastian takes another step, ignoring Maximilian’s hand on his shoulder. “William, please. Let me talk to you.”
“Stay away!” William’s voice cracks like lightning. His hands curl into fists. “You don’t get to pretend you care now!”
Sebastian stops—just for a second—but guilt propels him forward again.
“I failed you,” he says quietly. “I know that. But you’re here now, and I can fix—”
“FIX?” William screams, voice exploding with years of pain. “You can’t fix anything!”
The air trembles.
Henry’s smile shifts—sharp, expectant.
“Ah,” he murmurs. “There it is.”
A pulse of black energy bursts from Henry’s fingertips, sudden and violent, flaring like dark fire. Gasps echo across the hall. Flames of shadow twist around his arm, building pressure, gathering force.
He aims directly at Sebastian.
Georgina screams. Marc and Adrian cry out. I yank them further behind me.
“Sebastian!” I shout.
Sebastian freezes, shocked, arms lifting too slowly. Maximilian tries to grab him—too far. Too late.
The black magic strikes.
But not Sebastian.
Because Alexandro—my brother—moves faster than lightning.
He leaps in front of Sebastian, shoving him backward with one powerful hand.
“No!” I scream.
The blast slams into Alexandro’s chest with a sickening crack. His body jolts violently, arching backward before collapsing to the floor. The room erupts with cries—children screaming, Georgina gasping, Maximilian roaring.
“Alexandro!” I stumble forward, falling to my knees beside him. His body is frighteningly still.
“Alex…” My voice shatters. I grab his shoulders. “Alexandro, look at me. Please. Open your eyes.”
He doesn’t move.
Marc and Adrian sob behind me. “Uncle Alex!” they cry in unison.
Sebastian drops to his knees on the other side of Alexandro, face pale, breath ragged. “Alexandro—Alex—I didn’t see it coming—I—Gods—”
Maximilian lifts his sword at Henry, fury erupting. “WHAT HAVE YOU DONE?”
Henry only tilts his head, unfazed. “A demonstration.”
Georgina clenches her daughters to her chest, voice trembling. “Someone help him! Someone do something!”
My hands shake violently. I touch Alexandro’s cheek. “Alex… please wake up. Please. Please…”
He is warm—but unmoving. My heart cracks open, raw and unbearable.
Sebastian’s voice trembles with guilt. “He… he saved me.”
William watches with a strange expression—anger, confusion, fear mixing into something unreadable. His fists tremble at his sides.
“Why did he do that?” William whispers, eyes flicking between Sebastian and the fallen man. “Why would he save someone like you?”
Sebastian can barely speak. “Because he is better than I deserve.”
Henry tightens his grip on William’s shoulder. “Enough sentiment.”
Sebastian rises halfway, reaching. “William—please—”
Henry laughs softly. “You had your moment, Majesty. Now it’s time we leave.”
“No!” I cry. “Don’t you dare—don’t take him—”
Henry simply raises a hand. A ripple of dark energy distorts the air around him and William like bending heat.
“Stop!” Maximilian shouts, stepping forward.
Sebastian lunges too late.
The shadows swallow Henry and the boy.
And they vanish.
A single echo remains—William’s stunned, heartbroken voice whispering in the fading air:
“…why did he save you?”
Then silence.