Chapter C: Unsafe

Alicent entered Isabella’s room in a hurry, her face flushed and her breath quick. Isabella, who had been playing with Ikkar, looked up, startled by her sudden entrance.
“Alicent, what’s going on? Why are you running?” Isabella asked, concern lacing her voice.

Alicent, still catching her breath, moved quickly to Isabella’s side. “I have news,” she said, her voice tinged with urgency.

Isabella’s heart began to race. “What is it?” she asked, her mind already bracing for the worst.

Instead of answering immediately, Alicent took Isabella’s hand and gently led her to the bed, sitting down beside her. She took a deep breath, as if steeling herself for what she was about to say. “Isabella… Dara is pregnant.”

Isabella felt as though the ground had been pulled out from under her. Her heart sank, and her world seemed to crumble in an instant. Without a word, she rose from the bed, her hand flying to her mouth as she fought to hold back the tears that threatened to spill over. She turned her back to Ikkar, desperate to shield her son from the sight of her breaking down.

Alicent, her heart aching for Isabella, stood and placed a comforting hand on her shoulder. “I’m so sorry,” she whispered, her voice heavy with sympathy.

But there were no words that could mend the fresh wound now gaping in Isabella’s heart. All she could do was stand there, her tears silently falling.

Isabella, struggling to steady her breath, finally turned to Alicent, her voice barely above a whisper. "Does the king know about this already?"

Alicent shook her head. "No," she replied, her voice low as if sharing a secret. "I was spying on Dara’s room when I overheard. The midwife just told both her and Lady Belet. Dara wanted to tell the king herself, but Lady Belet stopped her. I think that’s why the king is keeping her confined in the harem’s quarters—for now, at least."

Isabella’s gaze drifted to Ikkar, who was still playing quietly, unaware of the storm brewing around him. Her heart ached with a deep, suffocating pain. She murmured, more to herself than to Alicent, "How could he do this to me?"

Alicent placed a hand on Isabella’s arm, but there was little she could say to comfort her.

Isabella’s tears spilled over again, her emotions overwhelming her. “I need some air,” she choked out, barely able to keep herself together as she hurried out of the room, desperate to escape the suffocating confines of her chambers.

As she fled down the hallway, her vision blurred by tears, she suddenly collided with someone. Stumbling back, she looked up and found herself face-to-face with Dara, who was accompanied by Lady Belet and several maids. Dara’s lips curled into a cynical smile, her eyes gleaming with a cruel satisfaction.

“Well, by the look on your face, I see you’ve already heard the news,” Dara said, her tone dripping with mock sympathy.

Lady Belet quickly intervened, her voice firm. “Lady Dara, we must go.”

But Dara wasn’t finished. She leaned in slightly, her voice soft but sharp, meant only for Isabella. “Don’t be upset, Isabella. It’s nothing personal. Everyone knows that the Dragon King deserves an heir of pure dragon blood. And as a descendant of the ancient Dragonlords of Tzal, it was always my fate to give him that heir.”

Isabella’s breath caught in her throat, the words cutting deeper than any blade. Lady Belet, sensing the tension, placed a hand on Dara’s arm and urged her to leave. “Dara, that’s enough. We’re leaving.”

With a final, smug glance, Dara allowed herself to be led away, her maids trailing behind her. Isabella stood frozen in the hallway, her body trembling with a mix of rage and despair. The confrontation had left her shaking, the weight of Dara’s words pressing down on her chest, suffocating her with the cold, harsh reality that had now become her life.

Lady Belet stood before the king, her expression grave as she delivered the news. "Your Majesty, Lady Dara is pregnant."

Dara, standing beside her, smiled excitedly, her eyes gleaming with anticipation. But the king’s face remained unreadable. He simply said, “I see,” in a flat tone, showing no trace of joy or surprise. He then turned to Lady Belet, his voice steady. “Thank you for telling me. Please escort Lady Dara back to the harem.”

Dara’s smile faltered, her excitement giving way to confusion. “Aren’t you happy?” she asked, a hint of desperation creeping into her voice.

The king’s gaze turned cold. “I’ve slept with you for over a decade, Dara. If I wanted you pregnant before, I would have made it happen long ago.”

Dara’s face flushed with a mix of outrage and hurt. She looked as if she might cry, but instead, she swallowed hard, forcing herself to remain composed. “I already feel so much love for our child, for our heir.”

The king’s eyes darkened with anger. “Heir?” he spat. “Dara, you were my cousin’s wife. That child is no heir—it’s a bastard!”

Dara’s composure cracked, and she snapped back, “My marriage to the senator was never consummated! I am nobody’s wife—I am your concubine!”

Before the king could respond, Lady Belet intervened, her voice stern. “Watch your tone when speaking to His Majesty, Lady Dara.”

Dara’s eyes filled with a desperate determination. “This child is a blessing.”

Lady Belet, not wanting the situation to escalate further, gently but firmly took Dara by the arm. “We must go,” she said, pulling her toward the door.

Dara resisted for a moment, casting one last desperate glance at the king, hoping for some sign of affection or recognition. But his expression remained stony, his gaze distant.

As the door closed behind Dara and Lady Belet, the king let out a heavy sigh, his mind a tumult of conflicted emotions.

Minutes after Lady Belet and Dara had left, the doors to the king’s office burst open with a loud crash. Isabella’s voice, filled with fury, echoed through the room as she screamed at the guards, demanding they let her pass. She stormed into the office, struggling against the armed men trying to hold her back.

The king raised his hand, signaling the guards to leave. “Isabella, what is this?” he began, but she cut him off with a scream that rattled the walls.

“I want that bitch out of here!”

The king took a step toward her, trying to maintain his composure. “Isabella, you need to calm down—”

“Calm down?” Isabella’s face was swollen, her eyes red from tears and blazing with pure rage. “She threatened my son!”

The king’s brow furrowed in confusion. “What are you talking about?”

“Dara!” Isabella’s voice broke as she spoke, her anger mingling with despair. “She’s already calling her child your heir, which means she’s planning on taking the crown from my son!”

The king’s jaw tightened. “Isabella, Dara has no power to do any of this. She’s just trying to provoke you.”

“I don’t care!” Isabella’s voice was filled with desperation. “I want her gone—I want her dead!”

The king’s face darkened. “I want Dara dead as much as you do!”

“Then why is she still here? Why is she still walking around the palace, threatening me and my son?” Isabella’s voice cracked as she nearly choked on her own tears.

The king corrected her sharply, “Our son, Isabella! Ikkar is our son and my heir.”

Tears streamed down Isabella’s face as she looked at him, her voice trembling. “Are you going to allow her to stay?”

The king sighed heavily, the weight of the situation pressing down on him. “Dara raising my child away from court could be dangerous… and bastard or not, I can’t bring myself to abandon a child I conceived.”

Isabella’s sobs grew louder. The king moved toward her, but she pushed him away with trembling hands. “I’ll be forced to spend the rest of my life sleeping with one eye open, vigilant, paranoid… because the biggest threat to my son’s life and legacy is right under my window!”

The king’s frustration boiled over, his voice rising. “Dara is no threat! She’s just a woman I slept with! That’s the reality, Isabella. My father had over fifty concubines, and all of them who bore him children could have been considered threats, but I, the eldest son, still sit on the throne.”

Isabella looked deep into his eyes, her voice cold and unwavering. “You weren’t just the eldest son, you were the only legitimate son. Your mother was made queen, so of course, among your brothers, you had the strongest claim. But it’s not the same for me. Dara and I are equals, and as far as I know, Dara is descended from a much more powerful family. She’ll use that against Ikkar.”

The king’s expression hardened as he replied calmly and seriously, “Ikkar is my heir, and nothing will change that.”

Isabella stared at him for a moment longer, her heart breaking all over again. Without another word, she turned around and walked out of the room, leaving the king alone with the weight of their shattered trust.