Seraphina's POV
"Executed?" I jerked awake, my heart pounding. "What are you talking about?"
Cassian was already on his feet, positioning himself between me and the guards. "On what charges?" he demanded.
The captain smirked. "Conspiracy to overthrow the King. Practicing illegal magic. Harboring a dangerous fugitive." He looked at me. "Pick one. King Theron was very thorough."
"This is insane," I said, scrambling to stand. "We haven't done anything!"
"You have magic, don't you?" the captain asked. "Illegal magic that you used against Lady Morgana, a respected member of the court."
My stomach dropped. "Respected? She's the one who cursed Cassian! She attacked us!"
"Lady Morgana says otherwise. She claims you attacked her unprovoked. That you're a dangerous witch who seduced Prince Cassian into helping you plot against the throne." The captain gestured to his guards. "Take them both."
Guards moved forward. Cassian's fists clenched, ready to fight.
"Don't," Elias said quietly from the corner. "There are twelve of them. You'll just get hurt."
"I'm not letting them take her," Cassian growled.
"You don't have a choice," the captain said. "Resist, and we'll add assaulting royal guards to the charges."
My mind raced. We were trapped. Outnumbered. And in a few hours, we'd be dead.
Unless...
"Wait," I said suddenly. "I demand a trial."
The captain laughed. "Servants don't get trials."
"But princes do," I said, looking at Cassian. "He's still a prince of this kingdom, cursed or not. By law, royals accused of treason must be tried before the full court. Isn't that right?"
The captain's smile faded. I'd clearly touched on something true.
"The law is the law," Elias added, catching on to my plan. "Even King Theron can't ignore it without looking like a tyrant. The nobles would question it."
The captain's jaw tightened. "Fine. A trial. This afternoon. But the girl comes too—as his co-conspirator."
"Agreed," I said before anyone could argue.
The guards surrounded us. Cold iron shackles locked around my wrists. Around Cassian's too.
"Move," the captain ordered.
They marched us through the palace corridors. Servants stopped and stared. Nobles whispered behind their hands. Everyone watched as the cursed prince and the mysterious servant were dragged toward the dungeons.
"What are you doing?" Cassian hissed at me. "A trial just delays the inevitable. Theron controls the court."
"Maybe," I whispered back. "But it buys us time. And it forces everything into the open. In front of witnesses."
Understanding flickered in his eyes. "You want to expose him."
"I want to make him show his true colors in front of people who matter. Nobles. Advisors. People who can question him." I kept my voice low. "Right now, we're just two people he can quietly execute. But in a public trial? We become a problem."
"A problem he'll just eliminate faster," Cassian said.
"Or a problem that makes him slip up." I met his gaze. "Do you trust me?"
He stared at me for a long moment. Then, incredibly, he smiled. "You've been in my life for one day, and you're already the bravest person I know. So yes. I trust you."
Warmth spread through my chest despite the cold shackles.
The guards threw us into a dungeon cell. Dark. Damp. The door slammed shut with a horrible finality.
"Well," Cassian said, looking around. "This is romantic."
I couldn't help it—I laughed. The situation was so absurd, so impossible, that laughter was the only response that made sense.
"Are you laughing?" Cassian asked, incredulous.
"Yesterday I was a disowned servant with nothing," I said. "Today I'm in a dungeon, scheduled for execution, and apparently I have magic powers. If I don't laugh, I'll cry."
He studied me for a moment. Then he laughed too. Deep and real and the first genuine laughter I'd heard from him.
"You're absolutely insane," he said.
"So are you. Who else would protect a stranger from dark magic and royal guards?"
"Fair point."
We sat against the stone wall, shoulder to shoulder. The shackles made it hard to move, but somehow, being close to him made the fear less overwhelming.
"Tell me about your power," Cassian said quietly. "What did it feel like? When you stopped my transformation?"
I thought back to that moment. "Like... like fire in my veins. But good fire. Warm fire. It hurt, but in a way that felt right. Like my blood knew exactly what to do." I paused. "For a minute, I thought I could actually break the curse completely. But it was too strong."
"You stopped it for two minutes," Cassian said. "In six years, nothing has ever stopped the transformation. Not even for a second. You're incredible."
"I'm scared," I admitted. "What if I can't control it? What if Morgana's right and my blood can be used to make curses permanent? What if—"
"Hey." Cassian turned to face me. "Look at me."
I met his silver eyes.
"You are not a weapon," he said firmly. "You're a person. A brave, stubborn, impossible person who stayed with a cursed prince when anyone else would have run. Whatever power you have, it's yours. No one gets to take that from you. Not Morgana. Not Theron. No one."
Tears stung my eyes. No one had ever spoken to me like that. Like I mattered. Like I was worth protecting.
"Thank you," I whispered.
"For what?"
"For seeing me. Really seeing me. Everyone else looks at me and sees nothing. But you..."
"I see everything," he finished softly.
The moment stretched between us, heavy with things neither of us could say.
Footsteps echoed in the corridor. We both tensed.
A guard appeared, unlocking our cell. "The trial's been moved up. King's orders. You have ten minutes."
My heart stopped. "Ten minutes? But you said this afternoon!"
"King changed his mind. He wants this handled quickly." The guard's expression was almost pitiful. "I'm sorry. I wish... well. It doesn't matter what I wish."
They pulled us from the cell and marched us toward the throne room. My mind whirled. Ten minutes wasn't enough time to plan anything.
"Steady," Cassian murmured. "Whatever happens, stay calm. Don't let him see you're afraid."
The throne room doors opened.
Inside, hundreds of nobles filled the space. Theron sat on the throne, looking every inch the powerful king. Beside him stood Morgana, her smile venomous.
And in the center of the room, something that made my blood run cold.
A guillotine.
"Welcome," Theron announced, his voice carrying through the room. "To the trial of Prince Cassian Thornhart and the witch Sera, accused of treason against the Crown. Let the proceedings begin."
I felt Cassian tense beside me. This wasn't a trial. It was an execution with an audience.
"However," Theron continued, his smile cruel, "I am a merciful king. Before we begin, I offer the accused one chance at redemption."
He gestured, and guards dragged someone else into the room.
My blood turned to ice.
It was Elias—beaten, bloody, barely conscious.
"Prince Cassian," Theron said pleasantly. "Confess to your crimes. Admit you plotted against me with this witch's help. Do this, and I'll spare your loyal friend's life." His eyes glittered. "Refuse, and Sir Elias dies right here. Right now. In front of everyone."
Cassian's face went white. "You monster."
"I'm a king," Theron corrected. "And kings make hard choices." He leaned forward. "So what will it be, brother? Your pride, or your friend's life?"
Cassian looked at Elias. At me. At the guillotine waiting.
I saw the moment he made his decision. Saw him straighten his shoulders, ready to sacrifice himself.
"No," I said loudly, before he could speak. "We won't confess to crimes we didn't commit."
Every head turned toward me.
"Because," I continued, my voice shaking but strong, "we're not the ones on trial here. You are."
I lifted my shackled hands. Golden light exploded from my palms, so bright that people gasped and shielded their eyes.
The shackles shattered.
And in that moment of chaos, as the entire throne room erupted in shock, I saw something that changed everything.
In the crowd of nobles, near the back—a woman with grey hair and ancient eyes was watching me. She wore simple clothes, but power radiated from her like heat from a fire.
She smiled.
And mouthed one word:
"Run."