The throne room felt colder than any battlefield.
Anna stood at its center in chains.
Not ordinary chains—these were forged from soul-iron, etched with ancient runes that pulsed faintly against her skin. Every movement sent a sharp, burning sting through her veins, suppressing the power coiled deep inside her.
So this is how they planned to break me.
She lifted her chin anyway.
The Demon Council filled the chamber, seated in a semicircle of towering black thrones. Their expressions ranged from anger to fear… but not one showed doubt.
Not one spoke in her defense.
At the highest throne sat King Zareth.
Her father.
He didn’t look at her.
That, more than the chains, cut deepest.
Lucien stood at his right, composed and sorrowful—playing the perfect son. Varro stood behind him, silent, his gaze fixed on the floor.
Coward.
Anna’s eyes flicked toward him briefly before returning to the council.
An elder rose, his voice echoing through the chamber.
“Princess Anna Ravaryn, you stand accused of stealing the Demon Ban and endangering the entire demon race. How do you answer?”
Anna let out a quiet, humorless laugh.
“You’ve already decided I’m guilty,” she said. “Why bother pretending this is a trial?”
Murmurs spread instantly.
“Watch your tone!” another elder snapped.
Anna tilted her head slightly.
“Or what? You’ll chain me harder?”
A few guards shifted uneasily.
Even now, she wasn’t afraid.
The first elder raised a hand.
“Evidence has been presented. Witnesses have spoken. The relic vanished under your watch.”
Anna’s gaze sharpened.
“Then your ‘evidence’ is either fabricated… or you’re all fools.”
Gasps filled the room.
Lucien stepped forward with practiced calm.
“Anna,” he said gently, “this isn’t helping you.”
She looked at him—and smiled.
It wasn’t kind.
“If you’re going to betray me,” she said softly, “at least don’t insult me by pretending to care.”
For a split second, Lucien’s mask slipped.
Then it was gone.
The king finally spoke.
“Enough.”
His voice carried absolute authority.
Silence fell immediately.
Zareth rose slowly from his throne.
“Anna,” he said, still not meeting her eyes, “you have always walked your own path. You have defied tradition. Defied this court.”
Anna’s voice dropped, dangerously quiet.
“And that makes me a thief?”
The king hesitated.
Just for a moment.
Then his expression hardened.
“It makes you a risk.”
Something inside Anna stilled.
Not broke.
Stilled.
“I see,” she said.
The first elder stepped forward again.
“By order of the Demon Council, Princess Anna Ravaryn is hereby stripped of her title, her power, and her place within the Demon Kingdom.”
The words echoed like a death sentence.
Anna said nothing.
“Her magic will be sealed,” the elder continued, “and she will be cast into the human realm, where she will live as one of them.”
Now the room reacted.
Some demons looked shocked.
Others satisfied.
None objected.
Anna finally laughed.
This time, it was louder.
“So that’s your grand punishment?” she said. “Exile me to a weaker world and hope I disappear?”
Her eyes swept across the council.
“You’re afraid of me.”
No one answered.
That was answer enough.
The king raised his hand.
Dark energy gathered in the air.
Ancient symbols ignited beneath Anna’s feet, forming a massive spell circle.
The memory spell.
Anna felt it immediately.
Cold.
Invasive.
It pressed against her mind like a suffocating fog.
“They’re going to erase me,” she realized.
For the first time, anger flared into something sharper.
Not fear.
Defiance.
“You think this will fix your kingdom?” she said, voice rising. “Blaming me won’t stop what’s coming.”
Lucien’s eyes flickered.
But the council ignored her.
The spell intensified.
Her memories began to tremble—faces, voices, fragments of her life threatening to slip away.
Anna clenched her fists.
No.
She would not beg.
She would not break.
Her gaze lifted to the throne one last time.
“To exile your own daughter without truth…” she said coldly, “you don’t deserve to call yourself king.”
Zareth finally looked at her.
And for a brief moment—just a moment—regret flickered in his eyes.
But it wasn’t enough.
The spell surged.
Pain exploded through Anna’s mind.
Her memories began tearing apart. Names blurred faces faded, then palace itself felt distant.
She dropped to one knee, breathing hard, but she didn't scream. Lucien watched her, carefully, waiting, measuring, fearing because even now she hadn't broken.
The portal to the human world open behind her a swirling vortex of pale light, wind tore through the chamber.
The chains binding Anna shattered as the spell completed it's work.
Anna forced herself to stand, her vision blurred, But she held onto one thing, one single thread of will.
Her eyes locked into Lucien,
The council,
Then the king her father.
She smiled slowly, dangerously.
“I will return," she whispered.
The spell took everything, the world vanished.
Anna Ravaryn fell into darkness.
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