Chapter Nineteen: The Punishment
Elara had not moved from the bed.
The dream still clung to her like smoke, fragments of faces she did not know but somehow missed, voices that felt familiar and distant at the same time.
You are not meant to be small.
The words would not leave her head….
A soft knock sounded at the door.
She blinked and struggled to say…
"Come in."
Seris stepped inside carrying a tray, warm steam rising from the bowl.
"You should eat," Seris said gently.
Elara stared at the wall.
"You can leave it."
Seris hesitated. "Are you unwell."
Elara opened her mouth but nothing came out at first. Her chest felt tight.
"Seris," she finally muttered, barely audible, "I want to be alone for now please"
Seris' expression softened with worry but she nodded. "Of course."
She set the tray down and left quietly, The room fell silent again.
The food remained untouched.
Time had passed and Elara did not know how long…
Shortly she heard Another knock.
Seris returned…
She stopped when she saw Elara in the exact same position and had not touched the food..
"You have not eaten."
"I'm not hungry."
"But You need your strength."
"I said I'm not hungry Seris."
Seris sighed softly and lifted the tray.
On her way out she nearly collided with someone in the corridor.
She bowed quickly. "My lord."
Kaelreth walked past her, then paused.
"Elara's servant."
"Yes, my lord."
His eyes dropped to the tray in her hands.
"She is awake."
"Yes she is…"
"And she refuses to eat."
Seris nodded carefully.
He held her gaze for a moment, unreadable.
"Prepare fresh food. Bring it to her chamber."
"But…My lord—"
"I will be there., she will eat"
Seris bowed and hurried off.
⸻
When she returned with a new tray, Elara looked up, faint irritation crossing her face.
"Seris, I told you—"
"I ordered her to bring it."
The voice cut through the room.
Kaelreth stepped inside.
Seris froze, then quickly moved toward him, offering the tray. He took it without looking at her.
She bowed and left.
The door closed.
Silence settled between them.
He placed the tray on the table beside the bed and sat next to her.
"How are you feeling."
"I'm fine, just a bit dizzy"
"You don't look fine, elara"
She avoided his gaze, she knew he was saying the truth
He watched her carefully. "The one responsible for the fire has been caught."
Her eyes flickered to his. "Who was it."
"You will know soon enough."
That answer did not satisfy her…. But she didn't ask further questions..
"You need your strength," he added.
He picked up the spoon, scooped a portion, and held it near her lips.
She didn't move.
"Open."
She stared at him instead.
"Why do you care."
The question lingered in the air between them.
For a moment he had no answer.
He did not fully understand it himself.
He had ruled for centuries without attachment.
Yet the thought of losing her earlier at the library had hollowed something inside him.
He lowered the spoon slightly but did not pull away.
"Open," he said again, quieter this time.
She hesitated.
Then slowly, she did.
He fed her carefully, not rushing, watching her swallow before offering another spoonful.
It was strangely intimate, the tension between them was felt…
A bit of food lingered at the corner of her lip.
Without thinking, he reached up and brushed it away with his thumb.
Her breath caught…
The touch lingered a second too long.
A shiver ran down her spine.
Then their eyes met, the air become hot and tensed…
He noticed her lips then.
Not just noticed, he also looked hard like he wanted to study every organ on her face…
For the first time, the thought formed clearly.
She is beautiful….
Elara felt the weight of his gaze and did not look away, She felt drawn
His thumb brushed her lower lip again, slower now.
He was not thinking, not calculating…
He just leaned in, brushed his lips against her lips, pulled away like he was asking for consent to continue
Elara was in shock and hesitant at first…. But she kissed back..
It was warm and sudden and real, his hand sliding to cradle her jaw and feeling every feature of her face…as her fingers instinctively gripped his Kurta…
Her breath mixed with his.
The world narrowed to the space between them, Her heart pounded so loudly she thought he could hear it.
When he deepened the kiss slightly, she responded without realizing, leaning closer, her body forgetting the fears and confusion she had been feeling and living only this moment..
This feeling felt safe, consuming, and wrongly right at the same time..
It felt like falling and being caught at the same time.
He pulled back slowly first.
His breathing was heavier now.
"Rest," he said, voice rougher than before. I wouldn't want to use up your remaining strength and besides We attend the punishment shortly so You need your strength…
Elara barely heard him, Her lips still tingled, she was still caught up in the moment..
Her mind was spinning, but in a different way now.
She didn't feel lost anymore
He tucked her in bed and walked out without another word.
The door closed softly.
She touched her lips.
And for the first time in a while, she smiled…
⸻
Not everyone missed it.
From the corridor's far corner, hidden behind a column, Serathiel's maid watched everything.
She did not linger anymore, She ran straight to Serathiel's chambers
⸻
Serathiel listened without blinking as her maid delivered the news.
"He fed her himself," the maid whispered. "And then… he kissed her."
Serathiel was Silent.
Then—
A crash.
Serathiel swept her arm across the table, sending crystal goblets shattering against the wall.
"He what."
The maid flinched in fear..
"He kissed her, and he tucked —"
"Enough."
Serathiel's breathing turned sharp.
The chamber trembled slightly with her rising power.
She began pacing.
"No This is not happening."
She threw Another object as it struck the floor.
"He does not bend. Not for anyone."
Her nails dug into her palm.
"I will not be replaced by a fragile human."
She stopped suddenly.
Her eyes darkened.
"If fire did not end her…"
Her lips curved slowly.
"Then something far worse will."
She turned toward the window, jaw tightening.
"Kaelreth is mine."
And no one, even that human can't reverse this
⸻
The punishment chamber was colder than the throne hall.
Servants dressed Elara in dark fabric lined with silver thread.
When she stepped into the corridor she saw him already waiting at the far end.
Their eyes met, A small smile touched her lips.
His expression softened almost imperceptibly.
They did not walk side by side nor sit together.
But the connection lingered, glances were stolen..
Lyrisse's mother was already on her knees at the center of the punishment hall when they entered.
"Please," the woman cried. "Mercy, my lord."
Kaelreth did not acknowledge her, he simply nodded to the guards and they dragged Lyrisse forward.
She looked nothing like before.
Her hair disheveled, and her Skin was pale…
Chains wrapped around her wrists and ankles.
Elara felt something twist in her chest.
The announcer stepped forward.
"Lyrisse of the Eastern Wing is found guilty of attempted execution under false pretense of accident."
Murmurs echoed faintly.
"The sentence will be power severance and public marking."
Elara's stomach dropped.
Lyrisse began shaking. "No, please."
Kaelreth gave a single nod and Two elders stepped forward.
They raised their hands.
Energy formed between them, bright and sharp.
It shot toward Lyrisse's chest.
Her scream tore through the chamber.
The power did not kill.
It pulled.
Elara watched as silver threads of energy were dragged from Lyrisse's body like something alive being ripped out.
Her back arched violently.
Blood streamed from her nose, ears and her eyes..
The chains rattled as she convulsed.
Elara's fingers dug into her seat.
The energy kept pulling,
Lyrisse's scream broke into sobbing gasps.
The glow around her dimmed rapidly.
Her elemental core, the source of her fire, was torn away.
When it detached fully, the elders crushed it between their palms.
The light vanished.
Lyrisse collapsed, barely conscious.
But it was not finished.
A guard stepped forward holding a heated sigil rod.
Elara's breath caught, "this is too much", she thought
The mark of treachery.
They pressed it against Lyrisse's shoulder.
The sound—
The smell—
Elara stood abruptly.
Her vision blurred.
She stumbled back.
The chamber felt too small.
No, this is Too brutal.
She understood Lyrisse wanted her dead.
But this—
This felt unbearable.
Before she realized what she was doing, she turned and ran.
Kaelreth noticed the shift long before she moved.
The way Her smile had faded, Her posture stiffened and the change in her breathing
When she bolted from the chamber, he rose immediately.
He followed.
He found her in a shadowed corridor, crouched near the wall.
She was shaking and noticed She had just thrown up.
For all her hidden blood, powers and unknown origin—
She was still human enough to break.
"Elara."
She looked up slowly.
Her eyes were wide, Not with anger.
But filled with tears and fear.
And something else….
A question he had not expected.
"Is that what I might become," she whispered.
He stopped.
"This ruthless"…
The hallway fell silent.
And for the first time, Kaelreth did not have an answer.