Chapter 54: The Panther’s Last Stand

Karina stood frozen in the courtyard, Cassian’s parting message stil echoing in her ears.

He hopes to see you again soon.

The words should have meant nothing to her. Cassian was just another arrogant beast king, another man who thought he could waltz into her life and demand her attention. She had dismissed him, mocked him, and treated him with the same cold indifference she showed everyone else.

But for some reason, his absence felt like a loss.

No, she corrected herself firmly, shaking off the thought. I don’t care. I don’t care about any of them. I just need to get my son to safety.

She turned back toward the carriage, her grip on Valen’s hand tightening.

"Let’s go," she commanded, her voice brooking no argument.

"Yes, Your Imperial Majesty," Aldric responded, already moving to open the carriage door.

Sophie hurried forward to help Valen climb inside, her pink hair bouncing with each step. The little prince scrambled onto the velvet cushions. He looked tired. So painfully, heartbreakingly tired.

Karina’s chest ached at the sight.

My poor baby. You’ve been through so much. And I promised I would protect you.

She gathered her skirts, preparing to climb into the carriage after him.

"Karina, wait!"

Karina’s jaw tightened.

"Leonidas," she said flatly, her back still to him. "I told you. We’re leaving."

"Please. Just—just give me a moment."

She heard the desperation in his voice. And for a brief, treacherous moment, she felt something that might have been pity.

No.

She crushed the feeling ruthlessly. Pity was dangerous. Pity was what had kept the original Karina trapped in this miserable cycle of neglect and heartbreak. She would not make the same mistake.

She turned to face him.

Leonidas stood a few feet away, his dark hair disheveled and his tunic rumpled. There were dark circles under his purple eyes, and his jaw was shadowed with stubble. He looked like a man who hadn’t slept in days. A man who was slowly, painfully crumbling apart.

"Karina," he breathed, his voice cracking. "Please. Don’t go. Not like this."

Karina’s expression remained perfectly cold. "There is nothing left for me here, Leonidas. My son was almost murdered in your castle. The woman who tried to kill him is dead, and we don’t know who was truly behind it. I refuse to stay another moment in a place where my child’s life is in constant danger."

"I can protect you!" Leonidas stepped forward, his hands outstretched. "I swear to you, Karina. I will triple the guards. I will personally watch over Valen’s chambers. I will—"

"Protect us?" Karina laughed. "Like you protected us from Renira? Like you protected us from the rabid panther on the road? Like you protected us from Drystan when he called my son a mutt?"

Leonidas flinched as if she had struck him.

"That’s not fair—" he started.

"Fair?" Karina’s voice rose. "Fair?! You want to talk about fair, Leonidas? It wasn’t fair when you ignored your son for six years. It wasn’t fair when you paraded your mistresses in front of me while I wept in my chambers. It wasn’t fair when you brought me to this cursed kingdom and let someone poison my child!"

Leonidas stood his ground, his face pale but determined. "I know I failed you. I know I failed Valen. I know I was a terrible husband and a terrible father. But I am trying to change, Karina. I am trying to be better. Can’t you see that?"

"Trying?" Karina scoffed. "You’re only trying because I stopped caring. You’re only trying because I stopped begging. You’re only trying because your pride couldn’t handle the rejection."

Leonidas’s jaw tightened. "That’s not true—"

"Then what is it?" Karina demanded, stepping closer. "Tell me, Leonidas. What do you actually want from me? Is it my crown? My title? The legitimacy I give you as the father of the future emperor?"

"I want YOU!" The words tore from his throat like a confession ripped from his very soul. "I want you, Karina. Not the crown. Not the title. Not the political power. I want you."

Karina’s breath caught in her throat.

Oh.

For a moment, she didn’t know what to say. The raw honesty in his voice, the sincerity in his eyes, it shook her in a way she hadn’t expected.

But then she remembered. She remembered the years of neglect. The countless mistresses. The way he had looked at the original Karina with such cold disdain. The way he had called her a "pathetic burden" just days ago.

This doesn’t change anything, she told herself fiercely. This doesn’t erase the past. This doesn’t make him a good man.

"Too little, too late," she said quietly.

Leonidas’s face crumpled. "Karina—"

"Don’t," she interrupted, holding up a hand. "Don’t say another word. I’ve heard enough from you. I’ve heard enough for a lifetime."

She turned back toward the carriage, her heart pounding so loudly she could barely hear her own thoughts.

"Goodbye, Leonidas."

The words hung in the air between them.

"Valen," Karina called out, her voice softer now. "Come here for a moment."

The little prince scrambled out of the carriage, his small feet hitting the cobblestones. He looked up at his mother, his purple eyes wide with confusion.

"Mama? What’s wrong?"

"Nothing’s wrong, sweetie," Karina said, crouching down to his level. She smoothed down his rumpled tunic, her fingers lingering on his small shoulders. "I just thought you might want to say goodbye. To him."

She gestured toward Leonidas with a tilt of her head.

Valen’s expression shifted. The confusion faded, replaced by something guarded and closed off. He turned slowly, his small body rigid, and looked at his father.

Leonidas’s breath caught in his throat. He stared at his son, his purple eyes shimmering with unshed tears.

"Valen," he whispered, his voice cracking. "I—"

Valen didn’t let him finish. He turned back to Karina, his small face perfectly blank.

"I’m ready to go, Mama."

Karina’s heart clenched. She could see the pain in her son’s eyes, the wall he had built to protect himself from his father’s rejection. She wanted to reach out, to hold him, to tell him it was okay to feel hurt.

But now wasn’t the time. Now, she just needed to get him out of this cursed place.

She stood up, taking his hand.

"Then let’s go."

"Valen, please!" Leonidas stepped forward, his voice breaking. "Please, just—just let me explain. Let me—"

Valen didn’t even look back. He climbed into the carriage again with Sophie’s help, his small shoulders hunched, his face turned away from his father.

Karina watched him settle onto the velvet cushions before she turned back to Leonidas one last time.

"Don’t follow us," she said quietly. "Don’t send messengers. Don’t try to contact us. I don’t want to see you again."

Leonidas looked like a man who had just been stabbed through the heart. "Karina, please—"

"I mean it, Leonidas." Her voice was cold. "If you try to come after us, I will have Aldric’s men stop you. I am the Empress of Zyleria, and I do not make idle threats."

She climbed into the carriage, settling onto the seat beside Valen. Sophie took the opposite bench, her pink eyes darting nervously between the Empress and the broken king standing in the courtyard.

Aldric climbed into the driver’s seat, taking the reins.

"Ready, Your Imperial Majesty?" he called out.

"Yes," Karina said firmly. "Let’s go."

The carriage lurched forward, wheels grinding against the cobblestones. Karina kept her eyes fixed forward, refusing to look back.

But Valen couldn’t help himself.

The little prince pressed his face against the window, his breath fogging the glass as he watched his father grow smaller and smaller in the distance.

Leonidas stood in the middle of the courtyard, his arms limp at his sides, his face devastated.

Valen shook his head, turning away from the window. He didn’t want to think about it. He didn’t want to feel sorry for the man who had ignored him for six years.

He reached out and took his mother’s hand.

Karina looked down at him, her expression softening instantly. She squeezed his small fingers, her thumb tracing gentle circles on his skin.

"Are you alright, sweetie?" she asked softly.

Valen nodded, even though he wasn’t. "I’m fine, Mama."

Karina’s heart ached at the lie. But she didn’t push. She just pulled him closer, wrapping her arm around his small shoulders and pressing a kiss to the top of his head.

"Everything’s going to be fine," she whispered. "I promise."

Valen leaned into her warmth, his small body finally relaxing. He closed his eyes, letting the gentle motion of the carriage lull him toward sleep.

For a long moment, Karina just held him, her mind churning with everything that had happened.

Cassian had left. Leonidas was broken. Renira was dead. Drystan was in the castle doing who knew what. And someone out there was still pulling the strings, still orchestrating this dark conspiracy.

She didn’t know who it was. She didn’t know what they wanted. But she knew one thing with absolute certainty.

They will not touch my son. Not now. Not ever. I will burn this entire continent to the ground before I let anyone hurt him.

The carriage rumbled on, carrying them away from Shadow’s Edge and toward the uncertain future that lay ahead.

Karina pressed another kiss to Valen’s hair, her eyes fixed on the horizon.

Goodbye, Leonidas.

Goodbye, Shadow’s Edge.