Chapter Ninety

VIENNA

The damp, cold stone of the underground chamber presses against my skin as I sit in silence. My father’s men are around me, their heavy footsteps echoing through the dimly lit hallways, but I can’t bring myself to care about their presence right now. I have enough to focus on.
The castle beneath the Midnight Court feels nothing like the place I once called home. It’s darker here, colder, as if the stone itself has absorbed every betrayal, every lie. I’m surrounded by shadows, and I’m becoming one of them, fading into the same darkness that has swallowed my father’s legacy.

But my father... he is here. And he’s waiting for me to make my choice.

I can feel the weight of his expectations pressing on my shoulders, the suffocating tension that coils around my heart. He needs me. He needs me to make a decision. The decision.

The plan is simple, at least on the surface. All I have to do is capture Remi. And once she’s in our hands, my father promises he will make me the rightful heir to the throne. He’ll make me Queen.

But it’s never been that simple, has it? Not for me. Not with my father.

I glance at the shadows, where his silhouette looms, his eyes sharp, his intentions clearer than I ever wanted them to be.

“You will keep your word, won’t you?” I ask quietly, my voice trembling, but only slightly. I don't want him to see the cracks forming inside me, the guilt gnawing at my insides. I feel like I’m being torn in two.

He doesn’t even glance my way. His eyes remain cold, focused on the maps spread out before him. “Of course,” he says, his voice smooth like velvet, but it’s far too sweet. “If we capture the girl, we will control all four of them—the twins, Xaden, and Keiran. And with them, we will take the throne.”

I swallow, the words settling into my stomach like stones. Remi is my friend. She always has been. She’s the only one who’s ever seen me for me, who hasn’t expected me to conform to what everyone else wanted. She’s strong, but gentle. Beautiful, but broken. And I... I don’t want her dead. I never wanted her to be caught in the crossfire of this twisted game.

But I know my father, and I know what he will do if I refuse him.

“If you capture her,” I say, trying to hold my voice steady, “then you will keep your promise? You’ll give me the throne?”

“Yes,” he says, his eyes narrowing at the map. “The throne will be yours, Vienna. Everything will be yours.”

I pause, considering his words. But I can’t stop the nagging doubt in my mind. How many promises has he made that he never kept?

“You never let Mom become Queen,” I say, the words slipping from my lips before I can stop them. “You said she was the rightful queen, and you never gave her the throne.”

He turns his gaze toward me then, his eyes dark with something I don’t quite understand. A mixture of anger and something... else. It’s almost as if he’s reliving those years, those losses, when he thought he had everything in his grasp, only to let it slip away.

But then he straightens, his voice calm but laced with an edge I recognize all too well.

“Things are different now, Vienna,” he says, his tone lowering as he steps closer to me. “You think you have something here? You think that girl”—he gestures toward the direction of the Midnight Court above us—“has anything to offer you? What do you have here, Vienna?

Nothing. You don’t belong here. You’re a child in this world. You’re a slave to their whims.”

I flinch at the harshness of his words. It’s the truth. And he knows it. He knows exactly how to play me.

But he doesn’t stop. “But come back with me. You’ll have everything. You’ll be my queen.” His eyes glimmer with a twisted sense of control. “And you will finally be valued, Vienna. You won’t have to hide anymore. You won’t have to fight for a seat at the table. I will put you at the head of it.”

I feel a flutter of something deep within me. It’s not hope. It’s not joy. It’s fear. Fear of what I might be giving up if I continue to stay here. Fear of what I’ll become if I stay loyal to my brothers and to Remi.

But then, I hear the whisper, the unspoken truth. My father’s words. I will be the queen. I will have the throne.

I have to remind myself that I’m doing this for me. For myself. Not for my brothers. Not for Remi.

I look at him, feeling something dark stir in my chest. “I will do what you ask,” I say, though my voice feels foreign. It doesn’t sound like me. It doesn’t sound like someone who is in control of their own life.

“You will keep your word?” I press again, my voice faltering only slightly.

“Yes,” he repeats, his voice softer now. His smile is a grim thing. “When we capture the girl, we will control everything. And you will be the queen. Your brothers? They’re too weak. Too distracted by their pet.” He scoffs, a bitter laugh escaping his lips. “I need someone who will not be distracted. Someone who is strong. Someone who can control what needs to be controlled.”

He steps closer, and I feel the coldness of his presence, the power he radiates. “And I know,” he says, his voice taking on an almost intimate tone, “that you won’t be distracted by a weak girl. You will marry for our court, not for love.”

My heart skips a beat, and I instinctively take a step back, unsure of where this is going. “And I’m still allowed to have women in my quarters?” I ask, the question tumbling out before I can stop it.

My father’s face flickers for a brief moment, a flicker of distaste, but then he smirks. “Yes, as many as you like. As many as you see fit for a queen.”

I can’t quite process what that means. Part of me recoils at the thought of using women in the way he suggests, but another part of me—a darker part—relishes the idea of power. Of control.

I take a deep breath, trying to steady myself. “Fine,” I say, my voice still trembling but firm. “I’ll do it. I’ll kidnap Remi.”

My father nods, his face set in a grim, satisfied smile. “Good. We’ll leave soon. We’ll leave with her, and we’ll leave with everything.”
I stand, nodding as if I believe his lies, as if I can convince myself this is what I want. But deep down, I’m already terrified. Terrified of what it means to betray my friends, my brothers, my loyalty to everything I thought I stood for.

But this is who I have to be now.

I turn and make my way to the surface, to find Remi. And as I do, I think about what it means to finally return home. To the place where I belong.

And I wonder—when this is over, will I have any part of myself left?

I’m already so far gone. I might not come back.
The Midnight King
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