Betrayed by My Ex, Marked by His Alpha Emperor Brother novel Chapter 224

Chapter 224: Chapter 224

Elara’s POV

The horse moved beneath me. Steady. Mechanical. I didn’t guide it. Didn’t need to.

My hands gripped the reins so hard my knuckles had gone white. I couldn’t feel them anymore. Couldn’t feel much of anything, really. Just the rhythm of hooves on cobblestone and the images that wouldn’t stop.

Seraphine’s body. Those marks. Kaelen’s bare chest. The tangled sheets.

Over and over. A loop with no exit.

I blinked. The palace gates were ahead. When had I gotten this close? The ride back to the palace should have taken longer. Or maybe it had. Maybe I’d lost time somewhere between the stables and here, swallowed up by the pictures branded into the backs of my eyelids.

A messenger approached as I dismounted. Young. Nervous. He held out a sealed envelope.

"Your Majesty, from Training Commander Jessica. Regarding tomorrow’s schedule—"

I took the letter. Didn’t open it. Tucked it into my belt without looking at it.

Tomorrow’s training schedule. As if tomorrow mattered. As if anything on that piece of paper could matter now.

The messenger lingered. I walked past him.

Inside the corridor, my boots echoed against the marble floors. The sound was too loud. Everything was too loud and too quiet at the same time. My own breathing felt like someone else’s.

Gareth’s voice slithered through my mind, uninvited.

"When you and Kaelen are finally done... you can come to me."

I almost laughed. Almost. The sound died somewhere in my throat, strangled by something that tasted like bile.

I gestured to a nearby maid in the corridor. "Connect the magical communication to the Royal Academy."

The maid bowed, quickly activating the enchanted relay crystal on the wall. A moment later, a woman’s face shimmered into view above the crystal. Unfamiliar. Middle-aged. Spectacles perched on a narrow nose. She wore the deep burgundy collar of the Royal Academy’s faculty.

"Your Majesty." She dipped her head. "Forgive the intrusion. I’m one of the afternoon tutors at the Academy. We’ve been trying to reach His Majesty the Emperor regarding Prince Valerius and Princess Lyra’s collection arrangements for today, but we’ve received no response."

Of course he hadn’t responded.

He’d been busy.

"I’ll handle it," I said. My voice sounded foreign. Flat. Like words spoken underwater.

"Thank you, Your Majesty. We simply need confirmation that their escort will arrive on time. The children are in excellent spirits today—Prince Valerius completed his—"

"The governess will be there within twenty minutes."

The tutor paused. Studied my face through the projection. Whatever she saw made her swallow her next words.

"Of course, Your Majesty. We’ll expect her."

The crystal went dark.

I stood in the corridor. Alone. The silence pressed in from all sides.

My children. I needed to make sure someone was there for my children.

I couldn’t do it myself. Not right now. If Valerius looked at me with those dark gold eyes—his father’s eyes—I would shatter. And if Lyra reached for me with her small hands and asked me to smile, I would break into so many pieces no one would ever find them all.

I sent a servant to fetch the governess.

She arrived within minutes. Flushed. Slightly out of breath. Her expression shifted when she saw me standing in the dim hallway, still in my riding clothes, still gripping Jessica’s unopened letter.

"Your Majesty? Is everything—"

"I need you to go to the Royal Academy. Collect Valerius and Lyra." I paused. Breathed. "Stay with them this evening. A few hours. Take them to the gardens, or the playroom. Whatever they want."

"Of course." She stepped closer. Concern softened her voice. "Your Majesty, are you unwell? Shall I send for—"

"No." The word came out sharper than I intended. I softened it. Barely. "I just need a few hours. Please."

She nodded. Didn’t push. Good woman. Reliable. She’d been with us since Lyra was born.

"I’ll take excellent care of them, Your Majesty."

"I know you will."

She left. Her footsteps faded down the corridor, and then I was alone again.

Alone.

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