Chapter 194

Grayson’s POV

“Anyone can be a king, but not everyone is a king.”

I looked up at my father from the balcony, where we stood overlooking the endless expanse of land below. His words always felt heavy, as if meant to anchor me to the ground, or chain me to an inescapable idea. Most of the time, I tuned him out, knowing each lesson was a thinly veiled command or warning about power and weakness. But this time, his words lingered.

“What does that mean?” I asked, partly out of curiosity, partly to fill the silence.

He turned, his gaze sharp and calculating, as if measuring each word before speaking. For a brief moment, I thought I saw pride—a rare softness—flash in his expression. But my hope was fleeting. He wasn’t proud. He never was.

“It means,” he began, his voice low and deliberate, “that anyone can wear a crown and call themselves king, but to be a true king, you must own everything that comes with it. You are not ordinary, Grayson, and you wouldn’t need a crown for people to know it. But remember this: even without an actual crown, people will do anything to take it from you. Anything. Sometimes, even those closest to you.”

His words should have struck me deeply, but my attention drifted. Why did he always have to turn everything into a power struggle?

“Grayson, hey! You ready?”

Liam’s voice snapped me from my thoughts. I looked down and saw him waving from below. A wide grin spread across my face, and I started downstairs.

“Where do you think you’re going?” My father’s voice cut through the air like a blade.

I stopped, sighing. “To play with my friend.”

“Kings don’t have friends,” he said sharply. “They have rivals. And if you keep showing that boy your weakness, one day he’ll be the one to usurp you.”

I glared at him, as much of a glare as a ten-year-old could muster. “You’re wrong. Liam is my friend, and Mum said I could play if I spent time with you—even though I didn’t want to.”

His eyes flashed with anger, but he didn’t argue. He sighed heavily. “One day, you’ll see that I’m right.”

But I was already running downstairs, his words fading as I chased the freedom Liam’s presence always brought.

The memory dissolved as I stirred, my body heavy and unresponsive. My head throbbed, and my eyes felt weighed down by lead, but I forced them open. Everything returned in a rush—the image of Elaine crumpled on the floor, the sound of my voice calling her name, and the feeling of helplessness as everything went dark.

Now, the sharp, metallic scent of the vault hit me. My arms shook as I propped myself up, and I saw Elaine, lying still a few feet away. My throat burned as I rasped her name.

“Elaine,” I croaked.

She didn’t move.

I gritted my teeth and dragged myself toward her, my arms trembling. “Elaine,” I tried again, louder, but there was no response.

Before I reached her, the vault door creaked open, and footsteps echoed. My vision blurred, but I focused on the shoes—shoes I recognized.

Liam.

“You woke up faster than I expected,” he said in a neutral tone that made my stomach churn.

I stared, too exhausted for anger or surprise. Maybe I would have felt betrayed if I had the energy.

“So this is it?” I rasped. “Your big reveal?”

A faint smile curved his lips. “Or maybe I just missed spending quality time together.”

I let out a bitter, weak laugh. “Why don’t we skip the theatrics? Tell me why you brought us here, what your plan is, and everything you’ve done to get to this point.”

His smile faltered. Something unreadable flashed in his eyes. “You’ve really become so empty, haven’t you? I do all this, and you don’t even care?”

I didn’t respond.

He glanced at Elaine, his smile colder. “I guess I’ll just have to wait for her to wake up. I didn’t go through all this effort for the big moment to be wasted because you’re dead inside.”

Turning to me, he tilted his head. “Stay comfy, Grayson. I’ll be back in a couple of hours.”

He left, the door slamming shut.

I shuddered and fell back against the cold floor. My limbs refused to cooperate, and my mind felt like it was sinking into a fog.

I closed my eyes, too tired to fight, and drifted away. My thoughts unraveled, and I slipped into a vivid dream.

I was in a sunlit meadow. The sky was wide and blue. A soft laugh caught my attention, and I saw her.

Ava.

She was barefoot, her dark hair flowing, her white dress catching the sunlight as she ran through the tall grass. She looked back, her smile brighter than the sun.

“Are you going to stand there all day, Grayson?” she teased, her voice warm and full of life.

I laughed, a laugh that lifted me instead of weighing me down. “I’m trying to figure out if I’m dreaming,” I said, walking toward her.

Ava stopped, tilting her head. “Dreaming, huh?” she mused, placing her hands on her hips. “Well, if you are, it’s a good one, isn’t it?”

I nodded, smiling. “Yeah. It’s a damn good one.”

(The following section was largely unintelligible and has been omitted.)

She grinned, extending her hand. “Then stop wasting time and come enjoy it with me.”

I didn’t hesitate. I took her hand. Her fingers intertwined with mine, and the world shifted.

“Do you remember the first time we came to a place like this?” she asked, glancing up at me.

“How could I forget?” I replied softly. “You dragged me out here, claiming you’d found a piece of heaven.”

“And wasn’t I right?” she said with a smirk.

I chuckled. “You always are.”

We reached a small hill, and she pulled me down to sit beside her. The grass was soft, and the world stretched endlessly. For a moment, we were silent, watching the clouds drift by.

“You’ve been carrying too much,” she said softly, her tone serious. “It’s written all over you.”

I stiffened, reality creeping in. “It’s nothing I can’t handle,” I said, trying to dismiss it. Ava turned to me, her hand on my arm. “Grayson,” she said gently but firmly. “You don’t have to handle everything on your own. You never did.”

“I don’t have a choice,” I murmured, looking down. “That’s the role I was born into.”

She cupped my face, forcing me to meet her gaze. “Maybe that’s what they told you, but it’s not true. You’re not just a title or a responsibility. You’re so much more than that.”

Her words hit me hard, and I felt my throat tighten. “I don’t know how to be anything else,” I admitted.

She smiled, a smile full of love and understanding. “You don’t have to figure it out alone,” she said. “I’m here. I’ve always been here.”

I wanted to tell her how much she meant to me, but the dream began to fade.

“Ava,” I called, reaching for her.

She smiled one last time. “You’ll find your way, Grayson. I believe in you.”

“Grayson!”

I woke with a start, my heart pounding. For a moment, I wasn’t sure if I was still dreaming. Then my name was called again—sharper this time—and I realized it wasn’t a dream. It was Elaine.

I turned to her slowly, and saw her mirroring my exhaustion.

“What is going on? Where are we?” she asked, her voice trembling.

I took a deep breath, trying to gather myself. Before I could answer, the vault door creaked open.

Liam stepped inside, his presence cold and deliberate.

The relief on Elaine’s face was immediate, and for a moment, I almost believed it too. But then I saw Liam’s smile grow, sharp and cruel, feeding off her misplaced trust. It was the kind of smile that preceded disaster.

“Well,” he said, his voice dripping with mockery, his gaze flicking between us, “shall we begin?”