Golden Melody (Editing)

Chapter 28

Chapter 28 - Voices in the Dark

The crystal goblet shattered against the obsidian wall. Electric-blue liquid exploded across the stone, splattering across the polished floor.

The woman in the black veil trembled with rage.

Each breath escaped her lips in a thin, venomous hiss as her talon-like nails dug into the marble armrests of her throne.

"The Dom family," she snarled.

Her voice sounded like glass grinding together. "She chooses the Dom family!"

Her son—her masterpiece. Forged from birth to stand beside Sarah Wayne's only daughter.

Two royal Zenips bloodlines united. Through them, power would rise again. Not merely over the Zenips but over all the world... and beyond.

She had orchestrated every detail. From the first meeting, she carefully placed a moment where two children would cross paths beneath perfectly aligned stars.

Destiny had been written. She made sure of it.

And now— Ruined.

"Sarah changed the future without warning," she hissed.

Venom dripped from every syllable. "She dares to rewrite destiny."

Sarah Wayne would pay for that arrogance. She had played the seer. Pretended to see a future where their children ruled together.

The veiled woman rose slowly from her throne. Her black gown unfolded like smoke crawling across the floor. Beside the throne rested a coiled whip.

She picked it up.

A whimper echoed through the chamber. Kneeling before her was a creature—half-scaled, half-human. One of the lesser Zenip servants. It did not dare look up.

Crack.

The whip split the air. Blood sprayed across the marble.

Crack.

The second strike burned deeper into the skin. The cursed enchantment woven into the leather hissed as it tore open flesh.

"You spineless parasites allowed this to happen—!"

Crack.

The servant did not dare to scream. Only whimpered.

"Sarah once claimed she saw it," the veiled woman spat. "That my son and her daughter were destined."

Her laugh was brittle and cruel. "Such a convincing lie."

She lifted the whip again— Then froze.

A shadow slipped across the chamber floor.

Someone had entered. From the far end of the hall, a man stepped forward

His long black hair drifted around his face like silk in water. His coat shimmered faintly in the dim light. His eyes-unnaturally green, softly glowing-met hers without a word.

The whip slid from her hand and clattered across the floor.

"You're here," she breathed. "Lotus."

He approached slowly, elegance wrapped around something far darker.

"You summoned me," Lotus said. His voice was calm.

The veiled woman straightened, forcing her fury into something colder.

"It is no longer the Sebastians who stand in our way."

Lotus raised an eyebrow. "Who, then?"

"The Doms," she replied.