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Chapter 18
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The King's Bride Chapter 19
Alexei raised his sword, the etched blade catching the first faint glow on the horizon. Then he swept it downwards and battle cries shattered the morning stillness as his men charged from all sides.Grapples and ladders flung upward, the first attackers clambering swiftly to gain the ramparts while archers covered them with a hail of arrows. Caught off guard, the startled sentries' alarm shouts came too late. Alexei was first to surge over the wall, blade carving a path through the scrambling defenders."To the hall!" Alexei shouted, rallying his men as they cleared the gatehouses. If they could capture the inner keep, the day was won. Side by side they advanced against strengthening resistance, steel singing on all sides. A roar from above signaled the counterattack as a troop of enemy horsemen circled from the rear barracks. Alexei braced himself, parrying a vicious blow from a mailed knight. The momentum was shifting, their push for the hall slowed."Press forward!" Alexei yelled
The King's Bride Chapter 20
Katrina wavered, on the verge of speech, but seemed to falter. Alexei crouched before her, troubled blue gaze searching hers. "Please, let me help bear this burden."Her composure shattered then. Covering her face, Katrina wept with abandon, leaving Alexei baffled. He gathered her shaking form into his arms."Shhh....whatever haunts you, we will face together," he murmured tenderly, stroking her hair.At last she looked up at him, eyes raw and swollen. "I was with child when you left. But I lost it. Our child is gone..." Her voice broke on the words.Shock and sorrow knifed through Alexei. He held her close, voice husky with shared grief. "Oh my heart, I am so sorry..." They clung to one another as the moon traversed the night sky.In the days after Katrina's devastating revelation, Alexei wrestled with churning emotions. Though he maintained a strong front before the court, inwardly he reeled from the loss revealed to him. Their child, a piece of himself and his beloved, gone without
The King's Bride Chapter 21
"For treason, kidnapping, and murder most foul, the sentence is death."A murmur passed through the crowd. Two guards stepped forward to bind Nikolai to the execution block. The prisoner made neither protest nor resistance. Defeated, he simply closed his eyes as the glinting axe was raised.Alexei forced himself to watch impassively as it fell. The heavy blade cleaved flesh and bone in one clean stroke. The crowd roared approval, thirsty for vengeance slaked at last.Alexei turned away, feeling only ahollow sense of grim necessity fulfilled. There could be no satisfaction or closure from this ritual of violence and pain. The hole left by his loss would ever gnaw silently within him. But with Nikolai gone, no one else need be sacrificed to this bloody feud between their families. Alexei would rule with wisdom and temperance, honoring those his uncle's cruelty had cut down too soon.As Alexei rode from the silent fortress, the first winter snowflakes swirled around him, pristine and fo
The King's Bride Chapter 22
Though Alexei had secured stability after Stefan's exile, there were still isolated pockets of resentment towards his rule. Rebellion simmered in the northern mountain villages, far from the capital's oversight.When Alexei heard rumors of attacks on royal supply wagons, he decided to ride there swiftly with a small escort, hoping his direct intervention could calm the tensions before violence escalated. The mountain folk glared with sullen mistrust as Alexei first arrived in their rough-hewn villages. But he persevered, listening to grievances about tax burdens and scarce winter rations. He investigated shortfalls himself, rooting out corruption and relieving overzealous tax collectors.Gradually, wary hostility thawed into cautious welcome, especially when Alexei personally helped shovel snowbound roads and repair storm-damaged roofs. Word spread that this new young king possessed not just honeyed speeches but willingness to work alongside commoners.On the eve of his departure, th
The King's Bride Chapter 23
Alexei leveled his blade at Stefan's throat. "Who are you truly, and who sent you against me?" he demanded.The imposter bowed his head bitterly as murmurs rippled through the crowd. The kingdom had almost fallen to this elaborate ruse. But Alexei's loyal allies and cunning had saved it, for now. With Stefan once more imprisoned, Alexei felt hope cautiously rekindle that order could be restored.The false Stefan was hauled away in chains, still refusing to reveal his true identity or purpose. Alexei knew powerful forces were behind this nearly successful coup, and he had to act swiftly to solidify control before the next strike fell.After hastily gathering reinforcements from nearby estates, Alexei addressed his warily gathered court. "My friends, we have weathered a great deceit intended to topple all we have built. But we did not yield. Remember this in the coming days."Privately, he conferred with his inner circle of advisers to root out any remaining dissenters hiding behind f
The King's Bride Chapter 24
The return journey from the bloody valley felt different to Alexei. Where before he had been energized by righteous purpose, now an uneasy weight settled on his heart. His enemies were vanquished, yet he took no joy in it.He had led his people to a swift, decisive victory. But the brutality required left a bitter aftertaste, and concerns gnawed at him. Had he allowed vengeance to twist justice too far in the heat of conflict?Brooding, he gazed at the road ahead winding through sleepy villages and sun-kissed fields, so unlike the bleak valley he left behind. These people knew only peace, not the burdens of conscience now troubling their king.Katrina's worried face as Alexei had bid her farewell rose in his mind. He wondered if she would still recognize the man returning home to her - hardened, wary, glimpsing darkness in his own soul. But he resolved anew to be the honorable ruler she deserved.Upon arriving home, Alexei found no celebrating crowds or feasts arranged, only a somber
The King's Bride Chapter 25
The warlord's forces surged ever closer to Alexei's kingdom, scouts reporting their numbers and ferocity increasing daily. Though Alexei had mustered his troops as swiftly as possible, they remained outmatched. Grim options weighed upon him.In the war room, Alexei pored desperately over maps by candlelight, seeking anything that could avail them. He had to find some way to shield his lands and Katrina from the coming storm. At last a risky possibility emerged - luring the advancing horde into a mountain pass notoriously treacherous and prone to avalanche. It was a desperate gambit, but their best hope of evening the odds. Alexei began issuing orders to covertly funnel the enemy toward the site of ambush.When the day of reckoning came, Alexei watched anxiously from a distance as the oblivious invaders took the bait, flooding into the narrow pass. The tide of their march would soon turn.Finally Alexei gave the signal. With a thundering detonation, his engineers collapsed part of the
The King's Bride Change 26
Only time would reveal whether Stefan's presence brought reconciliation or renewed threats. Alexei resolved to watch him very closely, the safety of his new family paramount.In the tense days after Stefan's return, Alexei kept his brother under close watch, wary of deceit but hoping for reconciliation. Stefan seemed humbler and willing to make amends, yet doubts still plagued Alexei.He conceded to let Stefan stay in an isolated wing of the castle, neither fully welcomed nor imprisoned. They had terse but civil conversations, carefully avoiding past grievances. Alexei searched for any sign of deception, but Stefan played the role of penitent well.The court buzzed with speculation about Stefan’s true motives. Katrina urged Alexei to take care, eyes worried whenever Stefan came near the prince. Alexei shared her caution - too much harm had come before from misplaced trust.Late one night Alexei was woken urgently with reports of a suspected assassin caught stealing through the upper
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