CHAPTER 173: A KINGDOM OF TWO

Natalia stiffened beside me. "What do you mean?"

I turned the datapad so she could see both articles side by side. "Veronica Cabana tries to blow the whistle on the VHC’s greatest fuck-up, the kind of story that could bring down careers and trigger actual government oversight. What happens? A photogenic underdog prospect gives a dramatic speech, rejects the elite guilds, and becomes the most shareable feel-good content of the year." I tapped the screen. "Forty-five minutes, Natalia. That’s how long it took for my story to completely bury hers."

Her face went through several expressions. Confusion. Understanding. Then something cold and sharp that I recognized from our Gate run.

Fury.

"Seraphina Vance."

"Has to be. She controls the media narrative in Valoria. President of the VHC, granddaughter of the guy who co-authored the Aspect theory that made the entire industry possible. If anyone has the power and motivation to kill a story that makes the VHC look incompetent..."

Natalia finished my thought. "It’s her."

We sat in silence.

She grabbed my hand, lacing our fingers together. The Cryo-Lich Ring was cool against my knuckles. "So what are we going to do about it?"

And there it was. Not ’what are you going to do.’ Not ’maybe we should stay out of it.’

We.

I looked at my queen, really looked at her. The girl who’d hated me a month ago was now ready to go to war against the most powerful woman in Valoria because they’d dared to use me as a pawn.

"Nothing. Yet."

Her eyes narrowed. "Explain."

"We’re students. First-years. We have zero leverage, zero proof, and if we start making noise about VHC conspiracies, we won’t just get expelled. We’ll disappear." I pulled up the article again, pointing at the byline. "But Veronica Cabana is an S-Rank. She has resources, reach, and more importantly, she already threw the first punch. Someone that powerful doesn’t make a move like this without backup."

Natalia processed that. "You want to wait and see what she does next."

"I want to get strong enough that when we do make a move, they can’t just erase us like they did my father." The words tasted bitter. "And I want to figure out what the fuck the VHC is actually hiding."

She kissed me. Hard. When she pulled back, her eyes were glowing faintly purple. "Good. I was hoping you’d say something like that. Because I’ve been thinking."

"Dangerous habit."

She ignored me. "You know what’s interesting about your viral moment? Everyone’s focused on the drama, the romance, the underdog story. No one’s asking why VEGA flagged your combat trial as ’anomalous.’"

I went still.

Natalia’s smile was sharp enough to draw blood. "I did some research while you were sleeping yesterday. VEGA doesn’t flag performances. It’s an AI. It evaluates based on pre-set parameters. The only time it generates an anomaly tag is when something in the data doesn’t fit its understanding of physical reality."

"Where did you—"

"This anonymous conspiracy blog called The Black Gate Files. Posted something last night." She pulled it up on her datapad.

The same connections I’d just made. The same questions. But with one additional detail at the end.

The question is: what IS he?

Natalia set the datapad aside and turned to face me fully, crossing her legs and leaning forward. The hoodie slipped off one shoulder. "So. My brilliant, scheming king. What exactly ARE you?"

This was the moment.

I could lie. Redirect. Feed her another version of the Sovereign’s Covenant story.

Or I could trust her.

The Liar’s Brooch was still in my drawer. I wasn’t wearing it. Didn’t need it with her anymore.

"Something that scares the shit out of the VHC," I said finally. "Something they can’t understand or control. And if they can’t control it, they’ll try to weaponize it. If they can’t weaponize it..."

"They’ll kill it."

"Yeah."

Natalia absorbed that. "The monitoring bracelet."

"Among other things."

She reached out and traced the edge of the black band around my wrist. "We need to get this off you."

"Tampering with VHC equipment is a felony."

"So is what we’ve been doing in this bed for the past week, and that hasn’t stopped us." She looked up at me through her lashes. "Besides. You’re not thinking creatively enough. We don’t need to break it. We just need someone who can tell us exactly what it’s monitoring and how to... work around it."

I raised an eyebrow.

Natalia’s smile turned wicked. "Guess who just recruited the most paranoid, tech-obsessed information broker in our year?"

"Jacob Williams."

"Jacob Williams. The boy practically worships you after you saved his life in that simulation. One kind word from the legendary Stray Dog and he’ll hand over every classified VHC schematic he’s ever stolen."

I had to admit, it was a good play.

"You’re getting scary good at this."

"I learned from the best." She kissed my jaw. "So here’s what I’m thinking. We get to the academy. We establish our power base in the Onyx Hounds. You work your magic on the shy ones like Soomin and Jacob, make them feel valued and protected. I’ll handle the aggressive ones like Raphael, keep them pointed in useful directions."

"And Emi?"

Natalia’s expression flickered. Just for a second. Then the mask came back, smooth and perfect. "Emi is mine to manage. I know her. I know how she thinks. You charmed her, got her interested. That’s good. It gives you cover, gives us an excuse to spend time together as a ’group.’" She air-quoted the word. "But I’ll be the one who brings her into the fold properly. She trusts me. She’ll listen to me when the time comes."

Translation: I don’t want you fucking her without me present.

Fair enough.

"Alright. Then we’re agreed. We play the game. Smile for the cameras. Build our little kingdom in the rejects’ guild. And behind the scenes..."

"We find out what your father discovered that scared them so badly they erased him from history."

I pulled her into my lap. She came willingly, wrapping her arms around my neck. The domesticity of it clashed beautifully with the conspiracy we were weaving.

"You know this might get us killed, right?"

Natalia’s smile was all teeth. "I’m going to be an A-Rank Hunter, Satori. Danger is literally my career path." She leaned in, her lips brushing my ear.

"Besides. You already promised me a throne. Queens don’t run from fights."