Title: “I Know She’s Watching”

Scene: Mouth of the Cave – Eastern Blackwood Ridge

POV: Chris Blackwood

The snow had slowed.

Not stopped.

Just… slowed. Like even the sky was waiting to see what I'd do next.

I could hear the faint whine of a recon drone in the air, its shadow passing over the rocks. It tried to stay high, hidden behind clouds, but I knew its sound. I designed that model.

Which meant…

She was watching.

Good.

I stood tall—no crown, no throne, no polished armor. Just a torn coat, blood at my ribs, and a heart that beat too damn loud for the silence around me.

Soren shifted beside me.

> "They're flanking. Four on your left, three right, one behind. Stealth formation. All Shadow Hawks."

> "I know," I muttered. "She sent her best."

I didn't move toward them. Not yet.

Because power… real power… doesn't chase.

It draws.

It waits.

Let them remember what it means to stand in the presence of something absolute.

---

My eyes locked on the hovering drone. I tilted my head back, just slightly. Let it catch the full angle of my face.

My lip was cracked. My hair wind-beaten. My coat torn like I'd walked through hell barefoot.

Good.

Let her see me raw.

Let the world see the truth.

> "They're waiting for a signal," Soren said. "Orders?"

I didn't respond right away.

Because I knew what she wanted.

She wanted to come.

She would come.

> "Let them wait," I said finally. "Let them sweat in their silence. If Amara is still who I married, she's already airborne."

> "And if she's not?"

I turned to him—slowly. My eyes calm.

> "Then I die here. But not quietly."

---

The snow finally stopped. The wind didn't.

I felt the earth hum—something distant approaching.

Engines.

Royal Convoy.

I smiled.

> "She's coming."

---

Let the world feel what it feels like…

When a king doesn't return to the throne.

But the throne returns to the king.

---