Ironveil Keep stood hushed.
The world powers had gathered: elven queens, dwarf chieftains, high priests of the Celestial Orders, and knights in sanctified armor. They'd come to decide the fate of one kingdom. One king.
And then he arrived.
Kael Veylor, crowned in living thorns, cloaked in dusk and death. The cursed Veilborn Gaze shone beneath his hood, twin whirlpools of power and pain. Behind him, Luna and Eclipse walked like dusk and dawn made flesh.
Gasps spread like wildfire as he entered, uninvited.
A few knights stood. One reached for his sword.
"Sit," Kael whispered.
Gravity warped. The man dropped, choking on his own breath, crushed under invisible force.
Luna purred. "He warned you."
At the high table, Princess Seraphine had turned pale. But it was the girl beside her who made Kael hesitate.
Lyra Veylor.
His sister. Born of the man who threw him away.
She looked so much like him. The same silver in her gaze. But hers was innocent, proud. She didn't flinch. She stood.
"You're the Dread King?" she asked, voice sharp and clear.
Kael tilted his head. "I was your brother. Once."
Silence stretched, thick and raw.
Seraphine stepped forward. "We didn't know—"
Kael's smile stopped her cold. "You knew. You just didn't care."
Lyra's hands trembled slightly. "You hate us."
"I did." He looked past her, through her. "Maybe I still do. Or maybe I hate myself more."
The chamber wavered with the weight of his words.
"I was born in chains. Raised in filth. Given away like a cursed relic." He turned slowly. "You grew up in gold. So tell me, Lyra. How do you plan to lecture me?"
Lyra didn't move. "I don't want to lecture you. I want to understand you."
The words struck deeper than any blade.
Kael faltered—just for a moment. His aura flickered, the oppressive force easing. He looked at her again, not as a king or conqueror. But as a boy who once dreamed of having a family.
"You shouldn't try," he said quietly. "Understanding me might break you."
And with that, he turned.
The doors opened without a touch.
Luna followed, casting one last look at the girl who might've been her queen in another life.
Outside, as the sky darkened, Kael paused beneath the blood-red moon.
"She looked like my mother," he whispered.
"You feel guilty," Luna said softly.
"She was a child," Kael murmured. "Like I was. And I spoke to her like she was my enemy."
"She's the daughter of your enemy," Eclipse growled.
"No…" Kael closed his eyes. "She's my sister."
And somewhere, beneath the steel and magic and scars, his heart ached.
Not even kings are immune to regret.