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I won’t be judged by the King anymore. I refuse to.

It’s up to our people to decide if I have broken a sacred oath; putting a female in danger, all out of my desperation to make changes to our lives. It’s up to them to decide my fate. Do they hate me for my deeds? I’m realizing that I no longer really care what others think of me. My own opinion of me is what I should consider. Standing firm in my faith and beliefs, not bending to another’s will just to try and please them. Yet I am already guilty, in the King’s eyes and Maya’s. And in my own.

“I tricked her,” I tell the crowd. “I tricked her into following me to this place, all under the guise of helping her save her own people. I never had any intentions of returning her home.”

My heart squeezes as the truth unfolds within me, as I speak my shame. I accept it. I have to. Because if I refuse to recognize my own faults, how can I ever become better? We all trip in the darkness sometimes, but we must get up and keep moving towards the light.

My gaze lands on Maya’s tear-stricken face; her disbelief and heartbreak evident. I set out on a quest to save my people, and destroyed myself in the process. I destroyed her - my shining beacon of pure hope and radiant beauty.

I tear my eyes away from hers, her pain searing into my very soul.

“Quite the deceitful ploy, but an effective one,” the king states. His glowing eyes pierce me, considering. It’s like he’s seeing me in a new light, and it burns me.

“I do not deserve her,” I state. “I never did.”

“I’m sure that there are many warriors here who would be happy to take her as a mate, even as deformed as she is without luminae. Who knows, maybe she’ll even be able to give me a daughter?”

“Like hell!” I shout, struggling to my feet. Tanis’ hand lands on my shoulder, the pressure slamming my knees to the floor once again. His grip is painful and firm, but not enough to break bones. Still, it’s a stark reminder of that fine line I am very, very close to crossing.

“She should be returned to her people! They have need of her.”

“You just said you had no intention to return her,” the King replies.

“I...” My thoughts flicker through my mind, trying to determine how I will deal with this situation.

With sudden clarity, I understand what matters most. My dream of becoming king seems hollow compared to Maya’s safety and happiness. I’ve spent my life seeking power, believing it would give my existence meaning. But meaning has found me in her eyes, in her courage, in her unwavering determination to help others even at cost to herself.

Unlike my own kind who hide in darkness, content to remain stagnant, Maya’s people want to grow, to learn, to live better lives. They may be physically weaker, but their spirits—their desire to improve—make them worthy of protection and aid. And they actually welcome the help, unlike my own people who resist change at every turn.

You can’t help those who don’t want to be helped. This truth strikes me like a physical blow. I’ve spent years trying to drag my people toward the light when they cling to shadows. But Maya and her colony—they’re reaching for something better. They deserve my support more than those who refuse to see beyond their fears.

My people can be damned. Let them follow one corrupted by his own greed and fears if that is what they want to do. I have strayed for too long in the dark, and I refuse to continue doing so. I will do the right thing, for once. I will see Maya achieve her dreams.

The King stands, gazing down at me like I am some wild beast he cannot predict. I feel like one. I’m definitely not one that will cower beneath him, or blindly follow his rules anymore just because it might upset him.

“Maya is my queen!” I declare, my voice ringing throughout the room. “I love her!”

Deadly silence descends around us. No one dares make a noise, to bring attention to themselves.

I glance at Maya, seeing her eyes widen, lips parting in surprise. For a brief moment, the pain and betrayal in her gaze gives way to something else—a flicker of hope, of wonder. Has she never truly believed my feelings for her were real? Have I been so caught in my own desires that I never properly told her how deeply she’s affected me?

The realization that I’ve never truly spoken these words to her—not clearly, not honestly, not without some ulterior motive shadowing my actions—fills me with regret. I should have told her every day since I met her. I should have shown her with actions untainted by deception.

The King looks like he’s swallowed something sour, sickened at what he’s just heard. Perhaps because I denied him for the first time ever. Or perhaps it’s because I gave Maya the title that only a King themselves can bestow—I’ve directly challenged him to his throne, effectively declaring myself King, even without his granted grace.

“She is an outsider,” the King spits, his face contorting with rage. “Not good enough for the likes of you.”

“But good enough for you?” I sneer. I shrug off Tanis’ grip, rising to my feet. “You’d force a female against her will, but not let her mate the male that loves her? I’d die for her!”

The king waves his hand in our direction. “She’s clearly corrupted you. Tainted your mind somehow. Prior to this, you were never disrespectful. These outsiders must have some secret power we are not prepared for.”

I scoff, staring up at the male that rejects everything he doesn’t understand. Rather than embrace what makes each of us unique, finding ways to benefit us all, he punishes any for standing out… against him.

Whispers. More whispers. Always this insidious noise, a hiss of secrets and lies. The noise drives me mad, the low voices always in the background. But these are from those who have spent countless hours in my father’s presence. They’ve likely learned that it’s not safe to speak their minds without punishment.

I look to Maya, drawing strength from her example. Since the moment I met her, she’s been terrified—I could smell her fear, see it in every tense line of her body. Yet she never stops moving forward. She faced scampers with nothing but a rock and a puny slingshot. She confronted me despite my greater strength. She pushes through her fear because what matters to her—her friends, her colony, the truth—is more important than her comfort or safety.

That’s what I want for my people. Not this cowering, this whispering, this hiding in shadows. I want them to stand tall, to face their fears, to fight for what matters even when their knees shake and their hearts pound. Maya has shown me what courage and strength truly is—not the absence of fear, but the determination to move despite it.