The moment the healer saw the leaves and immediately know that it was a curse but the king was long out already, but she still didn't give up, not after he has saved that guy already, Lumira laid the sacred leaves across Erevan's chest also with her healing magic, she started to heal , the room tensed as if the air itself was holding its breath. A soft glow shimmered through the veins of the leaves. Carlos, blood on his hands, sweat dripping from his brow, stood motionless beside the bed—silent, save for the low hum of desperation pulsing from his chest.
"Breathe," he whispered. "You promised me you'd breathe, you bastard." Carlos doesn't know that his brother was on the edge, if he had known he would have moved faster, even if it is already fast enough.
Lumira crushed the last leaf between her palms, the scent thick and bitter. "It should work," she said, trying to keep her voice steady. "It must work. I am not losing this boy. Not after everything I've done. Not after the gods themselves bore witness."
The crushed leaf was placed between Erevan's lips. Carlos held his brother's hand, feeling how cold it had become. For a moment, there was nothing. No sound, no breath, no heartbeat loud enough to be felt. Then—
A cough. Weak. Wet. But a cough.
Carlos's breath hitched. Lumira nearly collapsed with relief. Erevan's eyes opened slightly, glazed, as he whispered, "…Carlos?"
Carlos gritted his teeth. "Don't talk. You idiot. You're not allowed to die yet."
Erevan gave the ghost of a smile. "I wasn't planning to, but you looked so serious. Thought I'd test your devotion."
Carlos barked a soft laugh—but there were tears in his eyes. He grabbed Erevan's hand harder than necessary. "Never do that again."
And Lumira beside them, coughing, she has used too much magic too for his good sake, and she is not going to do anything again for those guys.
But when Lumira looked at those guys which was filled with tears, she realised that they really took a place in her heart, not as people she romantized but as friends, as her little brothers. For Lumira, deaths were never really something that she cared but for some reason she cared too much about that king life, maybe his father was right. Death is not painful if you don't know who was dying but it does matter when you care about the person who was dying.
After that , she laughed as Kave watching her.
" Ha ha... Idiots."
---
Later That Day – The Court Hall
The nobles sat in tight silence, fidgeting in golden robes, eyes darting toward the throne, which sat empty—save for the crown placed upon its velvet cushion. At the center, Carlos stood like a blade drawn from fire. He held a small vial, the crushed remains of the leaves that nearly killed the king, and beside him were the guards who had turned their loyalty to him—silent, grim, ready.
Lumira stood behind him, her presence cold and composed, yet unflinching. Kave sat on the steps, arms crossed, watching the assembly like a hound waiting to bite.
Carlos's voice rang out. "Bring her in."
The Queen entered, dressed in silk and sorrow, hands raised in a posture of purity. "My son," she said sweetly. "Is he—?"
Carlos cut her off. "He lives. And you will not be the reason he dies again."
The nobles whispered. The Queen froze. Her eyes, once soft, now trembled with rage.
"I have here," Carlos continued, lifting the scrolls, "orders to import the poisoned rosewine. I have letters—your seal—planting lilies in his garden, knowing their scent turns the drink fatal. And I have the testimony of your chef, the one you appointed."
The Queen's face twisted. " Lies..."
" You can't do anything about the evidence, you think every evidence was destroyed, i made it look like that after all." Carlos mocked the queen as he was waiting for a opening. And the queen takes that.
" You dare insult a queen of this empire. I would never hurt my boy."
" Stop calling him your boy, he is not your boy anymore. He is a king and mostly he is my brother and I won't let you hurt him."
" And what nobody would believe you, you think that my people will listen to you, not me. You are nothing without my boy."
Carlos' anger risen but he is not the one who has to step in the trap, not him. The one who need to is in front of him and she is stepping into the trip. Carlos smiles....making the queen more angry.
" You dare!"
"And you dare stand here and slander me?" she shrieked. "A child born of a commoner! I raised that boy! I have the nobles at my sides. This kingdom believes in me. They worship me!" but the silence was unheard for the queen, her nobles are silent, they don't defend her. Something is wrong. As she was thinking___
Carlos walked toward her. "Then let them see."
With a nod, the doors to the great hall swung open. Citizens stood outside in the dozens, maybe hundreds. Commoners, nobles, children—all gathered to watch.
The Queen spun. "No—no, no, no—"
She turned to the crowd. "He lies! They all lie! I have only ever prayed for my son—loved my son!"
But no one moved.
Her eyes found Carlos, wild and bloodshot now. "You ruined everything! This is your fault—your curse! You should have died with your father!"
Carlos stepped forward. "I was only a boy when you hated me. I only ever wanted my brother safe."
She screamed and lunged, not toward him, but toward the crowd—toward someone, anyone to believe her.
Carlos raised his sword. "I swore an oath to the king. And you are no longer queen."
The blade fell.
---
Erevan did not see. He could not.
Carlos kept it that way. He returned to his brother's side, knelt as Lumira tended to him. Erevan was pale, unconscious, but his breathing was steady again.
Kave sat at the door, arms folded, expression unreadable. "So. That's how you win a kingdom," he muttered.
Lumira glanced over at Carlos. "You may have saved his life. But at what cost?"
Carlos didn't answer. He only looked at his brother—and prayed, for the first time in two lives, that peace might last longer than a heartbeat.