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MARA POV
The sirens screamed louder the deeper we went. Red strobes danced over the walls, painting our faces in chaos and fear. The air was thick with static — like the whole empire was holding its breath.
The King had locked the world down.
And the Queen was coming to break him free.
I followed close behind Her Majesty, my boots echoing against the steel floors of the lower corridor. Soren led ahead, his rifle strapped across his chest, though we all knew guns wouldn't stop the man we were going to face.
"Keep your pace steady," Soren said through clenched teeth. "Security sensors are tripped. One wrong move and the system reads us as intruders."
Amara didn't even look at him. Her gown flowed behind her, ripped at the edges from the sprint, her eyes burning with one thing—love mixed with defiance.
We reached the security gate. A glowing emblem pulsed on the console: BLACKWOOD PROTOCOL – LEVEL 1 LOCKDOWN.
Unauthorized access: Immediate Lethal Response.
I typed furiously, bypassing codes, sparks flying from the interface. The machine resisted, growling with mechanical warnings.
"Damn it!" I hissed. "He encrypted it personally—there's no backdoor. Not even B.A.M. has clearance."
"Then find a front door," Amara snapped, stepping forward.
And before I could stop her, she pressed her palm against the biometric scanner.
The console flickered—then blared a violent alarm.
ALERT: ROYAL BREACH DETECTED.
Soren cursed. "He's gonna see this—"
"Let him," Amara said coldly. "If he won't open the door for his queen, he'll have to face the woman who broke it."
The metal gate hissed, gears unlocking one by one. The moment it opened, a gust of cold air hit us — sharp, metallic, almost suffocating.
Inside the control wing, screens covered every wall — the map of the empire glowing blood red, every district sealed, every citizen confined.
And at the center of it all, standing like a shadow of fury — King Chris Blackwood.
His coat was off, shirt torn open at the collar, hair disheveled. His eyes… empty yet burning.
Soren froze behind me, whispering under his breath, "He's lost it."
But Amara didn't stop. She walked straight toward him — barefoot, trembling, but fearless.
I stayed at the door, hand on my holster, heart pounding. This wasn't a battle between a king and his queen.
It was a war between power and love.
"Chris…" she said softly, stepping closer through the flashing red haze.
No answer.
"Look at me, my love."
He didn't move. The monitors flickered behind him, the world under his command — and yet he looked like a man who'd lost everything.
That's when she reached out and touched his hand.
The whole room went silent.
I swear, even the alarms held their breath.
— To be continued…