It was always someone close.
Not the enemies who bared their teeth openly. Not the angels who begged for mercy. But the one who stood beside her throne… wore her colors… and whispered like family.
Vael.
Her war general. Her first loyal follower after the fall of Mirex. The one who helped burn the old laws of Hell and rebuild them in Lina's image.
Now, he stood before her with blade drawn—drenched in Andra'sblood.
Lina didn't scream.
She didn't cry.
She simply stared.
Her eyes glowed with something colder than fire.
"Why?" she asked softly.
Vael's smile was slow. Cruel. "Because you forgot where you came from. You used to want revenge. You used to be ours. Now you kiss a king and beg for thrones."
"I never begged," she said.
He sneered. "You fell in love and got soft."
A heartbeat passed.
Then she moved.
One breath, and he was on the ground, fire burning through his veins, magic locking him in place. She knelt beside him, gaze unreadable.
> "Do you think love made me weak?" she whispered.
"Love made me limitless."
Behind her, the chamber doors crashed open—and Andra stood there, bloodied, furious, alive.
Not dead.
Changed.
Because Vael hadn't known the secret.
When Lina and Andra joined in soul and flesh, their bond had become immortal. Pain could touch him. Death could try. But so long as she burned—hewouldrise.
Lina stood.
Andra walked past her and drove his sword into Vael's chest without a word.
The betrayal was handled. Silenced. Ended.
But the message had been written in blood:
Even in the heart of her empire, there were cracks.
And now Lina knew—Hell and Heaven weren't enough.
There would always be those who feared love wrapped in power.
So she would rewrite not just the laws…
But the gods who dared to limit her.
—
That night, she didn't sleep.
She sat at the edge of the ruined throne room, blood still drying in her hair, and Andra knelt in front of her. Not as king. Not as warrior.
As her anchor.
"You're not alone," he said quietly. "Not in this war. Not in this world."
She looked at him, fierce and broken and burning. "I know. And because of you… I won't just survive it."
Her lips brushed his, slow and deep.
"I'll own it."