The double doors of the King’s Audience Chamber were plated in gold that had begun to flake, revealing the dull, oxidized copper beneath. As Constantine approached, the heavy scent of burning ambergris and aged wine drifted through the cracks in the wood, a cloying sweetness that failed to mask the smell of stagnant power. He adjusted the collar of his tunic, feeling the slight tremor in his fingers. His body was still recovering from the duel at the training grounds, but his spirit was honed to a razor edge. He signaled to the guards, who crossed their pikes with a hesitant clatter before slowly stepping aside.
"Do you intend to tell him everything you saw at the training grounds, My Lord?" Seraphina whispered as they paused at the threshold.
Constantine kept his eyes fixed on the distant throne, which sat at the end of a long, crimson carpet. "I will tell him only what serves my purpose, Seraphina. My father does not possess the stomach for the full truth. He prefers a comfortable lie over a harsh reality."
"The King is in a particularly fragile mood today. The news of the missing servant has made the palace staff restless," she noted, her voice barely audible over the humming of the distant court.
"Let them be restless," Constantine replied. "A stagnant pond only clears when you stir the mud at the bottom. Wait here. This is a conversation between a father who has forgotten his duty and a son who has just remembered his."
He stepped into the hall, his footsteps swallowed by the thick pile of the carpet. The ceiling was a vast mural of the heavens, once vibrant but now obscured by layers of candle soot and neglect. High above, the painted figures of ancient Astraian heroes looked down with fading eyes, their glories trapped in plaster. At the far end of the room sat King Alaric, a man whose crown seemed to weigh more than his actual head. He was draped in heavy furs despite the warmth of the season, his face a map of broken veins and deep-seated exhaustion.
"You have become quite the topic of conversation this morning, Constantine," the King began, his voice thin and reedy, echoing off the marble walls. "I am told you raised a hand against an instructor. In public."
Constantine stopped several paces from the dais, his posture so straight it seemed to defy the frailty of his frame. "I did not raise a hand against a man, Father. I removed a cancer from your military. There is a distinction."
"Sir Kaelen has friends in the nobility, boy," Alaric sighed, rubbing his temples with trembling fingers. "You cannot simply go about humiliating men of standing because you have found a sudden, reckless surge of energy. It disturbs the peace of my house."
"The peace of your house is the quiet of a graveyard, Father," Constantine said, his voice cold and resonant, vibrating with an authority that caused the King to flinch. "I walked the training grounds. I saw men who could not hold a pike. I saw officers who smell of the gutter. Is this the peace you value? A peace that ends the moment a Valerion scout decides to cross the border?"
The King’s eyes widened, the mention of the empire acting like a spark in a dry forest. "The treaties are signed. Elara has no reason to move against us as long as the tithes are paid. Why do you insist on speaking of war?"
"Because war does not ask for permission, and Elara does not sign treaties out of friendship," Constantine stated, taking a step forward. "She signs them to buy time while her enemies rot from within. And looking at your guards, I would say she has invested her time very well."
"You speak with a tongue I do not recognize," Alaric muttered, leaning back into his cushions. "Where is the quiet, sickly child who spent his days among the scrolls? Who gave you the right to judge the state of my kingdom?"
"The scrolls gave me the maps, and the maps gave me the truth," Constantine replied, his eyes locking onto his father's with an intensity that bordered on the supernatural. "I looked into your eyes and saw the guilt of a man who knows he is failing. You remember my mother, don't you? You remember the promise you made to keep this kingdom whole for the sake of her memory?"
The King turned his face away, his grip tightening on the gilded armrests of the throne. "Do not bring her name into this. You have no idea what it takes to keep this crown on my head."
"I know exactly what it takes, and I know you are no longer willing to pay the price," Constantine said, his voice softening but losing none of its edge. "You feel the weight of every coin sent to the empire. You feel the shame of every servant who bows lower to the first concubine than they do to you. It is eating you alive, isn't it?"
"Silence!" Alaric shouted, though the command lacked any real force. "I am still the King of Astraia. You are but a prince with no title and no followers."
"Then give me the title," Constantine demanded, his words striking like iron. "I do not ask for your treasury or your court. I ask for the dregs. Give me authority over the palace guard’s third unit. The useless ones. The ones even Sir Kaelen wouldn't touch."
The King laughed, a hollow, bitter sound. "The third unit? They are nothing but thieves and cripples. They are the laughingstock of the city. Why would you want to lead a pack of mongrels?"
"Because mongrels know how to bite when they are hungry, and I am very good at making men hungry for something other than wine," Constantine said. "You feel guilty for my years of illness, Father. You feel guilty that you cannot protect me from the political vultures circling this palace. Give me the guard. It is a small price to pay to ease your conscience."
Alaric looked at his son, truly looking at him for the first time in years. He saw a coldness in Constantine’s gaze that reminded him of the ancient kings of legend, a freezing charisma that made the very air in the chamber feel heavy. The guilt he had carried since the death of Constantine’s mother surged within him, a dull ache that Constantine was skillfully poking.
"If I give you this, you will stop causing scenes in the courtyard?" Alaric asked, his voice weary and defeated. "You will take these men and keep them out of the public eye?"
"I will take them and I will forge them into something that will make people afraid to look toward this palace with anything but respect," Constantine promised. "You want peace, Father. I will give you the only kind of peace that lasts: the peace of a drawn sword."
"Very well," the King said, waving a hand as if dismissing a bad dream. "I will sign the decree. You are now the commander of the Third Palace Guard Unit. God help you, Constantine. You are taking charge of a funeral procession."
"On the contrary, Father," Constantine said, bowing just low enough to be respectful but not a second longer. "I am taking charge of a resurrection. The funeral has already been going on for too long."
He turned on his heel and began to walk away, his pace steady and purposeful. The King watched him go, a shiver running down his spine that had nothing to do with the drafty hall.
"Constantine!" Alaric called out as the prince reached the doors.
Constantine paused, half-turning his head. "Yes, Father?"
"Where did you learn to speak like that?" the King asked, his voice trembling. "You sound like... like an emperor who has seen a thousand wars."
"I learned it from the silence of my room," Constantine lied, his voice smooth and untraceable. "When you are forced to listen for long enough, you eventually learn exactly what everyone is afraid to hear. Thank you for the guards. I will not waste them."
He stepped out into the corridor, where Seraphina was waiting. The heavy gold doors groaned shut behind him, the sound echoing like the closing of a chapter. The hallway felt brighter, though the torches had not changed. Constantine felt the weight of the decree he was about to receive, a mental weight that felt far more natural than the physical body he inhabited.
"You have the authority?" Seraphina asked, her eyes searching his face.
"I have the unit," Constantine confirmed. "The third unit. The most useless, corrupt, and broken men in the city."
"And what will you do with such a rabble?" she asked, falling into step beside him as they headed toward the barracks.
"I am going to burn the weakness out of them," Constantine said, his eyes glowing with a cold, predatory light. "And then I am going to show this kingdom what happens when a tyrant takes command of the shadows."
"The first concubine will see this as a move against her," Seraphina warned. "She will not like that you have your own armed force, no matter how pathetic they are."
"I hope she hates it," Constantine said, a dark smile playing on his lips. "I want her to watch as I turn her 'useless' unit into a noose around her neck. But first, we have a mess to clean up in the barracks. I can smell the rot from here."
They walked through the stone corridors, the sound of their footsteps synchronized and sharp. Constantine could already hear the distant shouting and the clink of bottles from the direction of the guardhouse. His blood was cold, his mind was clear, and for the first time in this new world, he felt like he was exactly where he was meant to be. The palace of Astraia had no idea that its true master had just walked out of the audience chamber.
Aksara