Forgotten Wife Let the traitors kneel Down (by Patricia Maradiaga) novel Chapter 372

I’ll Be the Next Queen

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Enzo used a teleportation scroll and arrived directly in the throne room, where his father was meeting with several councilors and war generals. When Vritra saw his son with a bloodied arm and looking disheveled as if he had been in a fight, he frowned and asked angrily, “Did you fail?”

Enzo knelt before his father and said, “I left the gifts, but I couldn’t stay to see what happened; someone discovered me, and I had to escape.”

“Was your opponent so strong that you couldn’t kill him and complete your mission?”

“He was very skilled, father. If I had used my magic, I would have won, but I didn’t want to reveal my identity.”

“You’re useless; I should’ve sent your sister. She’s better than you.”

“I’m sorry to have disappointed you, father.”

“Get out of my sight; I don’t want to see you.”

Enzo stood up and quickly left the throne room. His sister Cira, who was a year younger, was waiting by the door. She said with a mocking smile, “From the state you’re in, you must have failed your mission.”

“That’s none of your business, Cira.”

“Actually, it is. I begged father to send me there. I wanted to be the one to deliver the gifts to our sister and see her face of terror.”

“It’s true I haven’t completed my mission, but that doesn’t mean I failed. The gifts were delivered.”

“But you didn’t see our sister’s face marked by fear.”

“I don’t understand why you insist on calling that woman a sister.”

“Because, unlike you, I don’t underestimate any of my siblings, no matter how useless they are. To all of

you, I say that you are a stone that hinders my ascent to the throne.”

“You don’t hide your greed even a little.”

“If I were you, I’d watch my back. I’ve already dealt with my older sister; now it’s just you.”

Enzo knew that his sister’s threat was not something he could take lightly. She was like a rattlesnake that

required extreme caution; if he let his guard down, he would end up bitten and dead because she

possessed a lethal venom.

“I know, but don’t think I’ll be as easy to defeat as that woman was. So be careful with what you do, or one

of these days, you might not wake up.”

“That’s why I always keep a dagger under my pillow, to rid myself of any enemy.”

Enzo was losing a lot of blood; the marble floor was stained with it. Cira said to him, “You should treat that

I’ll Be the Next Queen

wound, or I might not even have to do anything to get rid of you.”

Enzo ignored his sister’s comment and left in a fury.

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As Cira watched her brother walk away, a man appeared out of nowhere. It was Xein, one of the soldiers. under her command, who was loyal to Cira.

“Your brother is weak at the moment; we could attack and get rid of him,” Xein commented in a low voice. Cira frowned and replied, “No, even wounded, he’s strong. If he feels threatened, he’ll burn down the entire palace since he won’t have good control of his magic. I don’t want such trouble tonight.”

“But princess?”

“We mustn’t rush, Xein. Good things come to those who wait.”

“Yes, princess.”

“Have you found out anything about the gift my father sent?”

“Not yet. Do you want me to go personally to the kingdom of Cosset and see what’s happening there?”

“No, at this moment, they must be very alert because of what happened, and I don’t want you to get

caught.”

Cira dismissed Xein, who immediately vanished into thin air. She went to her room and called one of the maids to help her change her clothes. The maid was combing her hair, and seeing the princess so happy, she asked, “Has something good happened, princess?”

“Why do you ask, Taru?”

“Because you look very happy today.”

“Well, you’re not wrong. The truth is, something very good has happened to me. The more time passes, the closer I get to becoming my father’s successor, the queen of Laios.”

***

Abril sat on her bed, looking outside at the moon shining high above. The palace was in complete silence; it seemed as if everything that had happened during the ball hadn’t been real. At first, everything had been as wonderful as a dream, but then that wonderful dream turned into a nightmare. She kept staring at her hands, unable to believe she had so easily defeated those horrifying creatures. She had used her magic, but she didn’t feel tired at all; instead, her body felt full of energy, strength, and power.

Abril was lost in thought, staring at her hands, when Alessandro entered the room. He called her name to

get her attention.

“Aby.”

“When did you come in?”

She asked, very surprised to see him standing in front of her.

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“I just got here, but you seemed really out of it. Are you alright?”

“Yes, I was just thinking about everything that happened.”

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Alessandro sat beside her, worried about Abril because whenever she used her powers, she ended up

completely exhausted. That day, she had not only unleashed her magic but also used it to destroy the

monsters that had entered the ballroom.

“Are you sure? You used a lot of magic to destroy those monsters.”

“I know, but I’m fine. Now I don’t feel tired when I use my magic.”

“I knew your mother was teaching you how to use your magic, but I never imagined you had advanced so

much.”

“I didn’t know either. I didn’t think I could do it, but when I saw you were in danger, I didn’t think about it. I just rushed over to where you were; I just wanted to protect you.”

Alessandro wrapped his arms around her and said,

“I’m glad you’re okay, that nothing happened to you.”

They stayed in each other’s arms for a while, saying nothing; words weren’t necessary. They just wanted to

feel the presence of one another.

After a while, Abril broke the silence.

“Lessan, when the war begins, I want to be by your side.”

Alessandro pulled back a little to see her face. Abril’s face showed not a hint of doubt; she looked

determined.

“It would be dangerous.”

“I know, that’s why I want to be by your side.”

“Aby.”

“If you insist on leaving me behind, I’ll go on my own to the battlefield. I’ll dive into the battle until I find you and make sure you’re alright.”

Alessandro pressed his forehead against Abril’s. Although he wanted to object to what Abril was saying,

he knew her words were not a lie, that she would do exactly what she had just said if he left her behind, so he replied,

“You’re so stubborn.”

“Yes, I am. So, you decide: take me with you, or I’ll go on my own.”

“Then I have no choice; we’ll go together.”

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When Cassian finished organizing the guards, he went directly to Maya’s room, knocked on the door with his knuckles, and asked.

“Maya, are you awake?”

Maya was awake; she couldn’t sleep. Upon hearing Cassian’s voice, she got up and opened the door,

“I don’t think anyone can sleep tonight.”

“Can I come in?”

“Sure, come in.”

Upon entering the room, Cassian saw Maya’s dress lying on the floor beside the bed, torn. He asked, “Are you okay?”

“I’ve already told you yes, I just have a few bruises from the fight.”

“Show me.”

“I have them all over my body. Do you want me to take off my clothes?”

“What you did was reckless. You should have informed the guards if you saw something strange on the roof. There was no need to expose yourself to danger like that.”

“I can fight my own battles, Cassian. I’m not as weak as I seem.”

Cassian took Maya’s hand, noticing several bruises starting to form.

“You should go to Abril to have your wounds healed.”

“I don’t have any wounds, just a few bruises.”

“Even so, you should do it. I don’t like seeing you hurt.”

“And I don’t like seeing you dirty. You look awful; your face is so full of dust and dirt that I can’t even see it clearly. You need to take a bath.”

“I know, I’ll go now, but I couldn’t go to sleep without checking that you were okay.”

Maya pulled Cassian’s hand and led him to the bathroom. The bathtub was full of water. She started to

undress him and said, “Thank you.”

“Why are you thanking me?”

“For caring about me.”

Cassian felt the urge to kiss her. He took Maya’s chin, making her lift her face, looked directly into her

eyes, and asked, “Can I kiss you?”

Cassian’s question left her a little surprised, since it was usually her who did the asking to kiss him or

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simply did the kissing. It seemed strange to her that he asked for a kiss, but deep down she liked it.

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“Yes.”

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Cassian leaned in to kiss her, but Maya stopped him before he touched her lips and said, “But first, clean

up, you’re a mess.”

Maya headed to the door, and before crossing the threshold, she said, “When you’re clean, you can touch

me, not before.”

She closed the door after leaving.

Cassian laughed at Maya’s response. After taking a bath, he returned to the room wrapped in a robe which

was too small for him but covered what was necessary. Maya was lying on the bed. She patted the bed

and said, “Come, now that you’re clean, I’ll share my bed with you.”

Cassian got under the sheets, rested his head on his arm, kept looking at her, and repeated, “Can I kiss

you?”

Maya gave him a kiss in response. “What do you think?”

Cassian captured her lips again, his kiss was deep, long, and passionate, leaving Maya breathless. It

wasn’t until that moment that Cassian realized how deeply he longed to kiss her, to taste her soft lips. He

only let Maya take a breath and then kissed her again, hungry and voracious, wanting more, wanting to

keep kissing her until their lips were tired, until the night ended, the moon disappeared, and the radiant sun

rose. But she gently stopped him.

After a few kisses, in a breathless voice, Maya said to him.

“Let’s stop for tonight.”

Cassian wanted to ask why, but he didn’t dare. She hugged him, buried her face in his chest, and said,

“Let’s just sleep tonight.”

He wrapped her in his arms, satisfied to feel the warmth of her body. That night they only limited

themselves to sleeping in embrace, feeling each other’s breath and shared warmth.

When Dantriel and Ethan arrived at the palace, they noticed a strange atmosphere throughout the palace.

There were more guards, and they all looked somber, as if something had happened. Ethan and Dantriel

went directly to the main palace and requested an audience with the king. Gabriel led them to a room and

told them to sit and wait.

They waited for quite a while, Ethan began to get impatient and said.

“I’m tired of waiting; they’re the ones who need us. Why do we have to wait for them?”

“This war concerns us all, Ethan.”

“Our kingdom can fight against the darkness; we don’t need humans.”

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“Ethan, in the past when the darkness was fought, all the kingdoms were united. Eleves, fairies, humans, and sorcerers, all fought under one banner, as one people; now the faires have isolated their kingdom and

hate anyone who isn’t a fairy. The sorcerers have scattered and now there are only a few. We cannot win

this war alone.”

“The darkness is still weak; if we strike first…”

Dantriel interrupted him, saying,

“The darkness is not so easy to defeat, Ethan, don’t let your judgment be clouded by your disdain for

humans.”

“Don’t ask me for something I can’t do.”

“Then I order you. Collaborating with humans is a direct order from our queen. We are here to form an

alliance, not to start a war. Don’t forget that.”

The door to the room opened, Alessandro entered, Ethan said, very annoyed.

“You’ve kept us waiting too long. If you don’t need our help, we’ll be on our way.”

“Ethan.”

Dantriel replied to silence him.

Alessandro was tired. That night he had only slept a few hours, he said to them.

“I am a king and have more things to attend to. I can’t come running when you call me. Yesterday we were

attacked by monsters, monsters created by the darkness.”

Ethan was alarmed to hear they had been attacked and asked.

“Where is Sophia? Is she okay? Is she not hurt?”

Annoyed by Ethan’s use of “Sophia,” Alessandro replied.

“It’s not Sophia, it’s Abril, and she’s fine, she took care of the monsters.”

Ethan was more at ease upon hearing she was okay. Dantriel said.

“Tell us what happened.”

“Yesterday we had a ball, and King Venobich took the opportunity to send monsters created by the

darkness; there were many deaths and injuries.”

“Were they easy to defeat?”

“No, they weren’t; fire no longer affects them as it used to.”

“That means they have grown stronger.”

“That’s why they should have killed that man before he got stronger.”

Ethan said as he let himself fall onto the sofa.

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“If they had done so, this wouldn’t have happened.”

“Acting recklessly wasn’t an option.”

Alessandro replied.

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“Even without the darkness, King Venobich is a terrifying and extremely powerful man; it would be suicide to invade a kingdom you know nothing about. I’ve sent several spies, but none have come back. There’s no way to know what’s happening in the kingdom of Laios or what King Venobich is plotting. What we do know is that with yesterday’s attack, he has openly declared war on us. It’s only a matter of time before he sends his troops here.”

“Then we mustn’t waste any more time; we need to find the keys to the Underworld before he does and prepare for war.”

“We need more warriors; your kingdom will send troops to fight in this war, right?”

“Yes, that’s why we wanted to speak with you. Our kingdom will send its warriors to fight in this war and will also supply weapons blessed with light magic.”

“When?”

“The reinforcements should arrive in a few days; they will join your army, although we will also need help from the mages. I understand you have mages at your service.”

“The mages are currently reinforcing the barriers throughout the kingdom.”

“When they finish, have them join your army; the mages will be of great help during the battle.”

“I know; I’ve already ordered that any mage not currently occupied should come to the palace.”

“Then we’ll depart today, if possible, to the fairy kingdom.”

“I’ll summon Cassian and Maya; they’ll accompany you.”

“Then we’ll wait for them here.”

Alessandro headed to the door, and before he crossed the threshold, Ethan said to him.

“Take good care of her.”

“You don’t have to tell me, I will; she is my wife.”

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