Chapter 18
CHAPTER EIGHTEEN
O ver the next week, Fallon moved through the palace on autopilot, attending meetings, approving work orders, and being poked and prodded by Esteban’s troupe of tailors fitting him for his wedding attire. He didn’t know what was worse—being surrounded by people who peppered him with nonstop information and requests, or being alone in his office, where he now found himself.
His hands trembled as he sifted through the tidy stack of papers sitting on his repaired desk. He pulled out the folder of payment reimbursements and began signing them. The smell of fresh ink clung to his nostrils, mingling with the soft scent of Loric’s recent visit. The wise mage had helped Fallon put his office back in order, but the same could not be said for Fallon’s mental state.
Finished with the payment approvals, he glanced at the next document to be signed.
Suddenly his breath hitched.
It was an order, already signed by the Royal Council, for Annika’s execution.
He shot out of his desk and crossed the room, flinging open the window to the cold mid-morning air.
Was there no end to the overwhelming weight of despair bearing down on him?
The sacred chimeras had escaped. The Prioress was dead. His mother had cursed him, his brother, his daughter, and all their future children with Kaos magic. He was scheduled to marry a woman who was like a sister to him. And on top of it all, he’d been taken for a fool to believe a foreigner’s tale about his elder brother still being alive.
His kingdom—and his sanity—was teetering on the edge.
Fallon felt the earth shift beneath his polished boots. He clenched his jaw, forcing himself to breathe slowly…in and out…cooling the heartbreak and fury that simmered in his veins. The heat of his Kaos magic taunted him, beckoned to him, but he swallowed it down, a poison he couldn't afford to spill.
As he stumbled back to his chair, his thoughts were a tangled snarl of dread and exhaustion. His newborn daughter wailed through the night, her cries a relentless reminder of his responsibilities to the Crown.
Pushing the execution order aside, Fallon folded his arms on his desk and buried his head in them. There had to be a way out of this nightmare. He closed his eyes, focusing on the sound of his breath. Sleep was a distant memory, replaced by the gnawing fatigue that left him hanging onto his lucidity by a thread.
Why did the gods smile on him one moment, then curse him the next?
He recalled the ominous warning in the very first chapter of the Grimoire of Damnation. ‘ The price of power is exacted not in gold or gems, but in blood and bone, in memories and dreams, in the very threads of fate that weave our existence. Venture forth with caution, for the ledger of Kaos will be settled in flesh, spirit, or sanity.’
"Your Highness, the Royal Tailor awaits," a nervous page boy stammered, hovering at the threshold.
Fallon’s head shot up at the sound. He hadn’t even heard him knock.
He walked to Esteban’s studio in a daze. He’d already been there twice in the last week. Each session left him feeling more like a mannequin than a man, his mind clouded with weariness and resentment. Nevertheless, he wore his royal duties like armor, knowing that even the strongest steel could crack under enough pressure.
"Hold still, Your Highness," Esteban said while holding a pin between his teeth. “This new gold trim is extremely difficult to work with.
Fallon’s patience frayed further with every second that dragged by. His muscles screamed for rest, his eyes stinging from lack of sleep. Yet he dared not falter. It wasn’t allowed. Too many lives depended on his strength.
“Damn,” Esteban muttered as the stiff gold trim fell out of place. “I need to start over.”
"Is it truly necessary?" Fallon growled under his breath, trying to maintain the facade of composure. Esteban quickly repositioned the trim, hastily nodding.
“Her Majesty insisted, sire. It’s the first royal wedding since her own.” He paused while slipping another pin into place. “Appearances must be upheld."
"Appearances," Fallon echoed bitterly. What good were appearances when everything around him was crumbling? The chimeras' rampage, the destruction caused by Annika's untamed magic, and now Talvi’s treachery—all of it conspired to strip away any semblance of control he had left.
The door flew open and the same page boy burst into the studio, panting and wide-eyed.
"Your Highness! I have an emergency summons from Miss Novi!"
Ice gripped Fallon's heart. Lucia. Something must have happened to her.
Straight pins rained down on Esteban’s head as Fallon tore off the bespoke jacket. He sprinted through the castle corridors, his mind conjuring a thousand nightmarish scenarios. When he finally reached his chambers, he flung open the doors, chest heaving. He crossed the room quickly, his black cloak billowing behind him like a storm cloud.
"What's happened? Is Lucia alright?" he demanded, his voice strained.
The sight that greeted him was...anticlimactic.
Novi sat in one of the plush armchairs by the fire, her hair disheveled, nursing their daughter. Both appeared unharmed.
“She’s fine,” Novi said without looking up.
Fallon's relief immediately gave way to irritation. “Then what in the seven hells is this emergency?"
Novi's eyes flashed at him, a hint of yellow fire flickering in their depths. "Your mother," she spat, "had the audacity to come here with a nanny and a wet nurse! She demanded that I hand over our daughter to be 'raised properly as a royal bastard!”
Fallon's jaw clenched. "And?"
“ And …the only reason she left was because I screamed so hard at her that my eyes turned bright yellow!”
Fallon pinched the bridge of his nose, exhaustion and frustration warring within him.
“Let me make sure I understand... My mother offered assistance and you told her to leave. Then your eyes—your demonborn eyes given to you by the gods themselves—glowed yellow and you sent me an emergency summons? Do you have any idea how busy I am?”
Although their daughter had started to whimper, Novi's gaze pinned to his, hurt and anger mingling in her expression. “Are you even listening to me? Your mother tried to take our baby ! We talked about this, Fallon! We both agreed—no nannies!”
“Perhaps you should’ve accepted the offer instead of chasing her off!” Fallon snapped. “If we had a nanny, I might be able to get some fucking sleep !”
Lucia began to cry, and Novi rocked her gently, trying to soothe the infant.
"You think you’re tired?" she asked with an incredulous glare. She rose from the chair, cradling Lucia protectively. “I’ve been sharing my body with another person for an entire fucking year ! And then I spent an entire day pushing her out ! My crotch still feels like it was used as a military-grade punching bag! And even though I’m feeding Lucia every two hours, my tits haven’t stopped leaking since my milk came in! So until you know what all of that feels like, I don’t want to hear you say another fucking word about how tired you are!”
“You’re a concubine! That’s your job! You’re not doing all this while running a fucking kingdom !” Fallon’s voice cut through the room like a blade, sharp and unforgiving. Novi stared at him like he’d just backhanded her across the face.
“What’s wrong with you?” Her voice dropped low and grew suspicious. “You’ve been nothing but moody and distant ever since the night you went out with Mauricio. What are you hiding from me? Are you secretly practicing more Kaos magic from that stupid grimoire?"
"Don't be ridiculous." His voice grew tighter, the exhaustion seeping into his bones making his temper flare uncontrollably.
"Ridiculous? That’s the only excuse that makes sense!” Novi's voice rose, trembling with anger. "Why are you suddenly so obsessed with Kaos magic in the first place?”
"Because it's in my fucking blood !" Fallon roared, having reached his limit. The words exploded out of him, raw and unfiltered. He pointed a shaking finger at Lucia, her innocent eyes wide and uncomprehending as she began to cry louder. "It's in hers as well! There! Are you happy?”
Novi's eyes widened in stunned disbelief, and the room plunged into a suffocating silence. For a few seconds, the air felt thick with unspoken dread.
Then Lucia whimpered softly, sensing the tension as her tiny fingers clutching at her mother’s unwashed hair. Fallon felt an immediate pang of regret, but it was too late to take back the words now etched into the fabric of their reality.
“Fallon…how could you?”
Novi’s voice was barely a whisper, tremulous and broken. She looked down at Lucia, her fingers trembling against the delicate skin of their daughter’s cheek. She was so pure…so innocent. How could she have something so dark within her soul? How could Fallon? The enormity of his confession hung between them like a guillotine poised to fall.
Her lower lip trembled as she cradled Lucia closer. “Did you use a spell from that damned grimoire to do this to her?” Her voice quivered like a fragile thread of spider silk in the wind.
“No,” Fallon admitted, his tone filled with regret. He could see the whirlwind of emotions raging behind Novi's gaze—shock, fear, betrayal. "My mother has Kaos magic in her blood. It was passed down to me…and subsequently, to our daughter. Any children she has will also carry that magic in their blood. It won’t manifest in any of the boys. Only the girls…when they come of age.”
Lucia whimpered, sensing the tension that crackled in the air like an impending storm. Novi’s gaze flickered to the infant's innocent face, the weight of what Fallon had revealed crashing down on her like a tidal wave.
She closed her eyes, drawing a shuddering breath. She turned away from him, focusing on soothing her baby. The room filled with the newborn’s soft whimpers, a welcome distraction from the turmoil that surrounded them. Fallon watched as Novi gently placed their daughter into the bassinet, her motions tender yet tinged with a desperate fragility.
"How could you keep something like this from me all this time?” She shook her head, tears glistening in her eyes. "I feel like I don’t even know who you are anymore.”
Her words were a knife, cutting through the thick silence.
"I only found out a few days ago," Fallon assured her, his voice broken and raw. "I've been trying to come to terms with it myself. You and I both know that Kaos magic isn’t well understood, let alone accepted. I’ve already spoken to Loric about this. He says it can be managed.”
Novi stood there, rocking the bassinet with a light touch. She kept her back to Fallon, as if that act alone could shield their child from the dark revelation of her fate.
“I still don’t get it. Kaos is so powerful. How could you just…not know ?”
“Please, Novi. I need for you to listen to me," Fallon said, stepping closer. His voice was urgent but soft. He had hoped to shield her from this truth, to bear the burden alone for as long as possible.
But now that she knew, it might help for her to better understand it.
“I didn’t know I had Kaos in my blood until I met Annika. She has unicorn magic in her blood. It creates Harmony—the polar opposite of Kaos. That's why my magic was drawn to hers. They’re two sides of the same coin. Her magic seeks out order and balance. Mine…well…mine is the opposite. It’s destructive and chaotic. Her magic was dormant inside of her. So was mine. But when we exchanged blood, our combined magic created something bigger and more powerful than I ever could’ve imagined.”
“That’s an understatement.” Novi's voice was laced with bitter irony. “Did you ever stop to think of the consequences?”
“Truthfully? No,” Fallon admitted, his heart heavy with guilt. “I’d say it’s easily the most reckless thing I’ve ever done in my life. I knew it was a risk, and I did it anyway. Things went wrong. Terribly wrong."
“Yeah, you think?" Novi’s laugh was a brittle, humorless sound. She looked down at their daughter once more, her expression torn between love and fear. Fallon's heart ached at the sight, knowing he was the cause of her pain. He reached out, placing a tentative hand on her shoulder.
To his surprise, she didn’t shrug it off.
“Now that I have Annika's Harmony magic, I can use that to counter the Kaos," he said softly, not wanting to wake their daughter. "We just have to find a way to control it. To make it work for us, or at least, not against us. The same goes for our future children. They’ll have both Harmony and Kaos.”
Novi turned around and slowly walked over to the bed, gingerly sitting down on the edge before lying down on her side. She closed her eyes, shuddering as she nestled against her pillow.
“Our future children are the last thing I want to talk about right now. I’m still recovering from this one.”
The room remained steeped in tension, yet in that moment, Fallon felt a flicker of hope.
“Then can we talk about the two of us?” he asked, taking another step toward her. He stepped to the bed, then drew the blankets over her tired body before sitting beside her. "Don’t shut me out, Novi. I need you now more than ever."
When she opened her eyes to look at him, her face was a mask of conflicting emotions—fear, anger, and beneath it all, a fierce love that refused to be extinguished.
"You should’ve told me as soon as you found out,” she said, her voice trembling. "We're in this together, Fallon. For better or worse."
Fallon felt a tightness in his chest begin to loosen. He reached out, half-expecting Novi to pull away. Instead, she took his hand, her touch grounding him in the storm of secrets and magic that threatened to tear their world apart.
“I was trying to protect you.”
After failing to fight off a huge yawn, Novi smirked at him.
“If trying to protect me means you turn into a moody asshole, then I’m not interested.”
“Fair enough,” he murmured before kissing the back of her hand. “But I do think we would both benefit from a nanny. If I’m spent, I can’t imagine how you must feel.”
Novi shook her head.
“Your mother doesn’t want to give us a nanny—she wants to take Lucia away from us and have her be raised by strangers. That’s not happening.”
“Agreed,” Fallon replied. “I don’t want my mother involved in any of Lucia’s care. Would you consider asking one of the girls from my harem if they’d be interested? You’ve gotten to know them fairly well, and they’re all going to be out of a job soon.”
Novi nodded.
“I like that idea. Elka’s really sweet. We could ask her.”
“She’s not available, unfortunately.”
“How about Tamira? She’s really reliable and smart, and comes from a huge family. She knows how to take care of babies.”
Fallon let out a sigh of relief. “She can start tonight, as far as I’m concerned. Just say the word, and it’s done.”
Novi’s brows lifted with worry.
“Can I think about it first? I love the idea of more sleep, but I feel weird about someone else taking care of Lucia. I don’t want her out of my sight.”
“Of course you can think it over.” Fallon gave her a soft smile while his dark eyes flickered with affection. He let go of her hand to run his fingers through her hair. “Perhaps you could invite Tamira to stop by and meet Lucia, then see how it goes?”
Novi closed her eyes, humming at the soothing touch of his hand.
“Mmmm…I like that idea.”
As much as Fallon wanted to let her drift off to some much-needed sleep, he knew that their conversation wasn’t over. He savored the warmth of Novi's embrace, the heat of her touch still lingering against his palm. He let out a sigh, running his other hand through his hair while the weight of his unspoken words pressed heavily on his chest.
"There's more I need to tell you," he said, his voice barely above a murmur but carrying the gravity of a thousand secrets. "Halen has returned."
Novi’s eyes snapped open as she looked up to him. Her initial expression was one of hope. Fallon’s lack of excitement quickly turned it to dread.
"Dillon's not with him," he went on, each word feeling like a dagger to his heart. “Neither is Talvi."
Confusion clouded Novi's features, giving way to a dawning realization that seemed to suck the air from the room.
"What happened?"
"Talvi betrayed the mission," Fallon said, the bitterness in his voice palpable. "He turned on Halen and Aisha the moment they arrived at Bleakmoor. Their account of events made it clear that this was all an elaborate trap. They had to kill him. Dillon's existence...it was all a lie.”
Novi yanked her hand out of Fallon’s and covered her mouth. "No! That can't be right! We know Annika, and she wouldn’t have married such a terrible person!”
“You never met the arrogant bastard.”
“I refuse to believe that she’d ever be involved in a plot like that.”
“True, Annika has always been genuine with us," Fallon said, his tone firm yet laced with uncertainty. "But Talvi... I never liked him. Something about him always felt…off.”
“There has to be more to the story,” Novi countered, her eyes searching Fallon's for answers. “Annika’s not a liar. She’s not manipulative, either. Not like this! How could she not know what her husband was capable of?”
"Perhaps she did know,” Fallon admitted, the thought chilling him to the bone. "Or perhaps she was deceived by him, just as I was.”
Novi pulled herself to sit up, her eyes widening with horrified realization. "If Talvi's dead, then she's all alone here. We have to protect her.”
A shadow passed over Fallon's face, his lips twisting into a grimace.
"The Council has already made their decision. They're calling for her execution as a Kaos witch. There’s an order sitting on my desk as I speak. I haven’t signed it yet.”
Novi recoiled as if struck.
“You can't sign it at all! Not after everything she's done for us, and the power she gave you?—"
Fallon's fists clenched at his sides, frustration radiating from every taut line of his body. "My hands are tied, Novi. I can't openly defy the Council, not without risking everything we've built."
Novi's composure ripped apart as tears streamed down her face. "This isn't right! You have to save Annika! You owe her that much.”
Fallon flinched, guilt twisting his features. "That's not how this works.”
"Then make it work!" Novi's tears glistened like silver in the afternoon light, her anguish palpable. "Tell the Royal Council you're just as responsible for destroying the temple! Tell them the truth!"
"Do you think I haven't considered it? Choices have consequences.” His voice rose, the frustration nearly boiling over. "If I reveal my Kaos magic, they'll know it came from my mother. They’ll strip us of our titles, perhaps even execute us! And what then? Who will protect you and Lucia if I’m dead? Who will keep you safe?”
Shaking her head in denial, Novi wiped away her tears with the bed sheets. “Why would they execute you, when you’re the reason that life in Sinaryos is better than it’s been in a hundred years? So what if your blood’s impure! Don’t they know how much the people love you? If I can accept it, so can they!”
Fallon laughed bitterly, the sound hollow and jagged.
"The Council won't bend the rules of tradition out of sentiment. Not for something as serious as this. Not even for my mother. They'd see me as a threat, an abomination. They'd?—"
"You're already an abomination to them!” Novi interrupted with a sneer of disgust. “They don’t respect you at all! That’s why they don’t give your new parliament any power. That’s why they’re forcing you to marry a rich, high-born lady instead of me, even though I was blessed by Daiyana herself! Tear up the execution order right in their stupid faces! Fight for what you believe in!”
"Gods, Novi," Fallon's voice cracked, a rare fissure in his steely facade. "I want to. I sincerely do. But I'm bound by chains you cannot see. Chains forged by my family’s dynasty and by duty?—”
"Then break them!”
Her words were a challenge, a dare wrapped in hope and defiance. He looked into her eyes, seeing not just the woman he loved, but the fierce warrior who had stood by his side through every storm.
"I cannot risk exposing my Kaos magic. Perhaps some day, but not now.”
"Not ever," she corrected, her eyes narrowing. "Because you're afraid."
"Yes," he hissed back, the word both a confession and a curse. “I am afraid. Afraid of losing you !”
Novi's shoulders sagged under the weight of Fallon’s obligations and responsibility to the Royal Council and the Crown. She reached for his hand, giving it a squeeze.
After all, she’d known he was a prince when she met him. He would never be free.
This was part of the deal.
"Promise me you'll at least try to save Annika’s life,” Novi pleaded, her eyes searching his for any sign of hope.
"I will try. I promise," he vowed, pulling her close, their foreheads touching in a moment of shared vulnerability.
Silence enveloped them, thick and oppressive, as they stood on the precipice of an uncertain future. In the distance, the faint sound of waves crashing against the shore offered a cruel reminder of the chaos beyond the castle walls.