The Boy's POV
The moment was already unbearable—Chris Blackwood's face exposed, his words still echoing in my skull—when the air shifted again. A thunder of engines roared outside the base. Blackwood crests glimmered under torchlight.
Then I saw it.
Her convoy.
Glossy black armored cars rolled into the yard like shadows with wheels. Guards leapt out first, surrounding the courtyard with precise, calculated movements. And then, from the center vehicle, she stepped out.
Amara Blackwood. The Queen.
Her presence alone silenced every gasp, every breath. Draped in royal black and gold, her crown shimmered even in the dim light. Her eyes—sharp, cold, yet frighteningly calm—swept over the kneeling soldiers before locking onto Chris.
"My King," she said, her voice smooth yet laced with something sharp. "So this is where you've been hiding?"
Chris didn't flinch. He simply turned his head toward her, his lips curling into the faintest smirk. "Observing. Testing. Sometimes to know the strength of your army, you must march with them."
Amara's gaze shifted to us—the trembling soldiers, the stunned faces—and then finally to me. I felt my throat close. Those eyes pinned me down like a nail to wood.
"And who," she asked softly, dangerously, "is this boy that has captured your attention enough for you to shed your mask?"
Chris stepped closer to me, his hand resting on my shoulder. My knees nearly buckled at the weight of that gesture.
"This one," Chris said, his tone calm but laced with authority, "is proof that loyalty is not inherited. It is earned. Even if his own blood could not see it."
I froze. My heart pounded so hard it hurt. He knows. He knew about my father's rejection. About everything.
Amara arched one brow, tilting her head. For a terrifying second, I thought she might order me executed, or worse—tested in ways that would break me.
Instead, she laughed. A short, chilling laugh. "Then perhaps the boy is worth more than his father."
The courtyard remained silent. Soldiers pressed their heads deeper into the dirt.
Me? I couldn't move. Couldn't think. All I knew was this—Chris had revealed himself, Amara had arrived, and my life would never be the same again.