Chapter 22: Are you out of your mind?

"Are you out of your mind?"

Rafael’s voice echoed off the dark stone walls of Leonidas’s private study. The room was vast, dominated by a massive oak desk cluttered with maps, a roaring hearth somewhere in a corner, and the head of a monstrous bear mounted above the fireplace. But the tension in the air was far more suffocating than any taxidermy.

Leonidas stood by the window, his back to the room.

Rafael paced behind him, his hair catching the firelight, his chains of sapphire and gold clinking with every agitated step.

Gone was the charming, flirtatious mask he had worn in the courtyard. Now, his emerald eyes were furious.

"I thought you said you wanted to annul the marriage," Rafael pressed, his voice lowering into a hiss. "You told me, told me, that you were done with her. That you were going to get rid of the Empress and finally have your freedom. Do the other Beast Kings know about this?"

Leonidas didn’t turn around. His jaw tightened, the muscles in his neck straining. "No."

"No?" Rafael stopped pacing, his hands flying up in exasperation. "No, they don’t know? Or no, you haven’t told them? Because Zarek is already suspicious, Leonidas! And Drystan, that hot-headed dragon has been sending letters to the capital every week, demanding updates on the ’imperial arrangement.’ If he finds out you’ve changed your mind, he’ll burn our kingdom to ash!"

Leonidas finally turned. His purple eyes were turbulent, filled with something Rafael had never seen in them before: uncertainty.

Leonidas had lied about the beast kings changing their minds. In truth, they had come to this agreement about three weeks ago, he had just been too lazy and... also hesitant.

"She’s different," He said quietly.

Rafael blinked. "What?"

"She’s different," Leonidas repeated, his deep baritone rough. "The Empress. She’s not the same woman I married. She’s not pathetic. She’s not desperate. She’s not—" He stopped, his fists clenching at his sides. "She’s not her."

Rafael stared at him like a squirrel was stripping on his head. "Different? She’s the same woman who spent years weeping in her chambers over you. The same woman who starved herself for scraps of your attention. The same woman who—"

"I know what she was," Leonidas interrupted harshly. "But she is not that woman anymore. I don’t know how, I don’t know why, but she is not the old Empress."

Rafael’s brow furrowed. He crossed his arms over his bare chest. "And what exactly is she, then?"

Leonidas was silent for a long moment. Then, so quietly that Rafael almost missed it, he whispered, "She calls to my panther instincts."

Rafael’s jaw dropped. "What?"

"Like—" Leonidas ran a hand through his hair, his composure cracking. "Like I want to claim her. Not just mate with her for children. I want to mark her. I want—"

"Forgive me, but you are infact out of your mind!" Rafael exploded, stepping forward. He jabbed a finger at Leonidas’s chest. "Out of your mind! You have spent years ignoring her, humiliating her, cheating on her....and now you want to claim her?!"

"I know how it sounds."

"It sounds insane! What do you think Karan will do when he finds out? Or Zarek? Or Drystan?!"

Leonidas’s expression darkened. "I know what they’ll do. But she is my wife. The crown belongs to her....and through her, to me. If I lose her, I lose everything."

"Then why didn’t you think of that before you decided to annul the marriage?!"

Leonidas’s fist slammed against the windowsill. The glass rattled. "Because I didn’t know! I didn’t know she would change! I didn’t know she would—" He stopped, his chest heaving. "I didn’t know she would make me feel like this."

Rafael fell silent. He studied his king, the man he had served for over a decade. The man who had never shown weakness, never faltered, never doubted himself. And now, Leonidas stood before him, looking like a man drowning in his own confusion.

"Let me be," Leonidas said, his voice cracking. "Please. She will remain here for now. That’s my final decision."

Rafael let out a long sigh, the fight draining from his shoulders. He rubbed his face, his rings glinting in the firelight. "Fine. But you owe me an explanation. All of it."

Leonidas nodded slowly. He turned back to the window, staring out at the moonlit mountains of Shadow’s Edge. "There was an attack on the road," he said quietly. "A panther. Rabid."

Rafael’s eyes widened. "What? Here? So close to the capital?"

"It came from the outer regions. It attacked the carriage. Killed the driver." Leonidas’s voice was flat, but his hands trembled slightly. "I killed it before it could reach Valen or the Empress. But there will be more."

Rafael cursed under his breath. He paced toward the hearth, his long fingers drumming against his arms. "We still don’t know what’s causing the sickness. The healers have been examining the corpses for weeks....no poison, no curse, no magical residue. It’s as if they simply... go mad."

"A few more panthers are catching it," Leonidas said grimly. "The villages in the outer reaches are reporting more cases every day. If this spreads to the capital—"

"It won’t," Rafael said firmly. "We’ll find the source. We’ll cut it off. But right now, we have a bigger problem."

Leonidas raised an eyebrow. "Bigger than a plague?"

Rafael hesitated. Then, slowly, he said, "What about.. ..Renira?"

Leonidas froze. His heart dropped into his stomach.

Damn it.

He had completely forgotten about her.

Renira. A panther noble’s daughter, beautiful, ambitious, and fiercely loyal. She had been his lover for the past two years. He had promised her, promised, that he would end things with the Empress and make her his official consort. She had waited patiently. Quietly. She had believed in him.

And now this.

Leonidas let out a heavy groan, pressing the heels of his hands to his eyes. "I don’t have time for this right now."

"She has been asking about you," Rafael pressed, his voice cautious. "Every day. ’When is the annulment happening? When will the Empress be gone?’ She’s getting impatient, Leonidas. And when she finds out you’re keeping the Empress here—"

"I know," Leonidas snapped. Then, softer, "I know."

Rafael sighed, his irritation fading into pity. "You are playing with fire, my friend. The Empress isn’t the only one you need to worry about. Renira has powerful family connections. If she feels scorned, she could make your life very difficult."

Leonidas turned back to the window, his reflection hollow in the glass. "I’ll handle Renira. Just... give me time."

Rafael studied him for a long moment, before nodding.

He walked toward the door, his chains clinking softly. He paused with his hand on the handle, glancing back over his shoulder. "I’ll have the servants prepare a formal dinner for tomorrow evening. Introduce the Empress to the court properly."

"Do what you must."

Rafael nodded and stepped out, closing the door behind him.