Page 65 of Crowned

Reef’s gaze sharpens as he looks between us, his brow furrowing. “Wait. Are you?—”

Before he can finish, Malia sighs, her shoulders slumping. “I was going to tell you all later, but…yes. I’m pregnant.”

The room falls silent again, the weight of her words sinking in. I glance around, seeing the shock on everyone’s faces, but my own reaction is different.

I step closer, my hand brushing against hers. “I knew,” I whisper, just loud enough for her to hear.

Her eyes widen slightly, but before she can respond, Marlowe lets out a harsh laugh. “How sweet,” he sneers. “A child to inherit Aerwyna’s ashes.”

The rage that surges through me is unlike anything I’ve ever felt. Before I know it, my hand is gripping Marlowe’s collar, yanking him forward.

“You’ll never touch her. Or this child,” I growl, my voice low and deadly. It doesn’t even occur to me in that moment to question how he knows that Malia’s unborn baby is the heir. Another mystery for another day. And now we’ll have some explaining to do with the council. Fuck them. They can wait.

Marlowe’s smile falters, but I release him before I do something I’ll regret.

The Council immediately and swiftly votes to imprison Marlowe and interrogate him further, but the damage is already done. The Shadow Legion’s plans are clear, and we have no choice but to act quickly.

As the meeting ends, I pull Malia aside, my hands gently resting on her shoulders. “We’ll protect you,” I promise. “No matter what.”

Her gaze softens, and she nods, leaning into me. For the first time, the weight of the coming battle feels a little less heavy.

The room is still, the weight of Marlowe’s betrayal pressing down on everyone like a heavy shroud. The Council members exchange tense glances, the air thick with a mixture of anger and disbelief. The silence is broken by Elder Sylas, his voice trembling with suppressed fury.

“This is a disgrace,” he says, his knuckles white as he grips the edge of the table. “To think one of our own could betray us so thoroughly… How many others are working against us?”

“It doesn’t matter,” Reef says sharply, his voice cutting through the tension. “What matters is that we stop the Shadow Legion before they can carry out their plan. Traitors can be dealt with after.”

Sylas nods, but his expression remains grim. “We’ll interrogate Marlowe,” he says, glancing toward the guards who have already moved to restrain him. “Perhaps he can give us names, locations, anything we can use.”

Marlowe sneers as he’s dragged toward the exit. “Do what you want,” he says coldly. “You’re already too late.”

The door slams shut behind him, and the sound reverberates through the chamber like a warning.

“We need to move quickly,” Vance says, his voice steady but strained. “If the Shadow Legion is planning to attack during the celestial alignment, we have no time to waste, it’s days away.”

The other Elders nod in agreement, but I can feel their unease. The betrayal has shaken them, and it’s clear that trust will be hard to rebuild.

Malia shifts beside me, her hand still resting on her stomach. I can see the tension in her shoulders, the way she’s trying to hold herself together despite the storm raging inside her.

“I think we’ve done enough for today,” I say firmly, stepping forward. “The Council needs time to process this, and we need to prepare for what’s coming.”

Sylas hesitates, then nods. “Agreed. We’ll reconvene tomorrow. Until then, keep this contained. We can’t afford for the people to know how deeply the Shadow Legion has infiltrated us.”

With that, the meeting dissolves, and the Council members begin to file out, their voices low and hurried as they discuss the next steps. I place a hand on Malia’s lower back, guiding her out of the room with Reef, Cove and Bhodi close behind.

Once we’re back in the privacy of the palace chambers, the tension that’s been holding Malia together finally snaps. She sinks onto the edge of the sofa, her hands trembling as she stares down at her lap.

Reef is the first to break the silence, pacing the room like a caged animal. “I can’t believe it,” he mutters, his hands raking through his hair. “An Elder. One ofthem. How are we supposed to trust anyone now?”

“We’ll figure it out,” Bhodi says, though his voice lacks its usual conviction. He leans against the wall, his arms crossed tightly over his chest.

Reef shakes his head, turning toward Malia. “But forget about the council for a moment. You’re pregnant?” His voice softens, the hard edges of his frustration giving way to something more tender. “Why didn’t you tell us?”

“I was going to,” Malia says quietly, her voice barely above a whisper. “I just…I didn’t know how.”

Reef moves to kneel in front of her, his hands resting lightly on her knees. “Malia, you can tell us anything. You know that, right?”

Her eyes fill with tears, and she nods, but she doesn’t say anything.

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