Chapter 7:
Skylar's POV
I watched from the shadows of the grand hall, my heart steady, my mind racing.
Chris—my Chris—was no longer just a man, nor even a ruler. He had become something else, something greater. The God of the Empire. The very foundation of Blackwood now bent to his silent will.
I had always known he was destined for more, but this… this was absolute.
Ethan stood at the center, officially crowned as the ruler, yet everyone in this room knew the truth. He was a king beneath a god. Christiana, ever the enforcer, had already sworn her allegiance. Classic, despite his silence, would never move against his father.
And me?
I had stood beside Chris in the shadows for years, shaping this empire in ways few could ever understand. But now, for the first time, I felt something foreign—distance.
He sat above us all, beyond even my reach.
I stepped forward, my heels echoing against the polished marble. The murmurs died as I approached the throne, all eyes shifting toward me.
Chris's gaze met mine. Still the same piercing depth, the same control, but now layered with something more. Power beyond measure.
"Chris," I said, my voice unwavering.
A beat of silence.
"You have achieved what no one in history ever has. The empire bows, the world watches. But tell me this—" I stepped closer, my voice soft but laced with steel, "will you still stand beside those who built it with you? Or will you now rule from above, untouchable even to us?"
The hall was silent. Even Ethan and Christiana waited for his answer.
Chris exhaled slowly, his expression unreadable. Then, finally, he spoke.
"Skylar… you, above all, should know the answer to that."
His words were simple, but they carried an unspoken weight. A message only I could understand.
He had not abandoned us. But he was no longer one of us, either.
I took a slow breath, nodding.
Then I did something no one else in this room had dared.
I bowed.
Not just to the ruler. Not just to the empire.
But to the God of Blackwood.