Chapter 7.3 – Crown of Venom

"Fire consumed the palace,

but the real threat wore a crown."

-Nest Of Serpests

by E.S.Mare

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Some nobles fled in panic, others cowered in place.

Some drew swords to protect their families, while others saw nothing—not their wives, not their children—only their own skin.

Soldiers converged upon us, their swords drawn, while others cast their bodies against the shattered windows.

“Protect the prince!” a Black Snake commander shouted.

Not the king. The prince.

The Black Snake King was already fading, and if he hadn’t known it yet, this moment made it unmistakable.

The prince drew his sword. “Find them! I want them alive.”

The White Snake Kingdom reeled—its honor, set ablaze.

And yet the prince barked commands as if this were his palace.

How would my brother Drassa have responded if he were here?

Not that it mattered. He was chasing his fleeing brother, too consumed with his own disgrace to help.

Who cared?

I didn’t.

The queen had made it very clear: think only of yourself.

Fire slithered up the walls, its hiss a serpentine taunt against our fears. Fear tightened every face around us. Fire was the one thing snakes feared above all else.

King Siles turned to one of his commanders and shouted, “Get the queens and children to safety!”

But the prince whirled around. The prince spun to face the king, eyes blazing. “My wife remains by my side.”

I didn’t understand his outburst. Did he really think I would run?

Of course I was going to flee.

But he couldn't know that.

So what was this?

King Siles furrowed his brow, exhaled, and almost smiled. “As you wish.”

The look he gave me whispered: I hope you don’t make it out.

I’d escape—and in a way that would leave the king’s envy rotting in his lungs.

As the queens and children were led out under heavy guard, I caught the Black Snake Queen’s final glance at the prince. But he didn’t look back.

He was too busy issuing orders, ignoring the king—his father—who stood behind him.

The Black Snake King simply watched, silent.

The nobles were being ushered out too.

King Siles drew his sword and joined the soldiers.

King Siles could have been many things, but he was no coward.

Had he been, the queen would have taken the reins long ago.

They had never truly lived as husband and wife—likely only united to produce an heir.

As for me…

Like my mother, if ever I were forced to bear a child by a man I despised, I would throw myself into the fire.

“Let’s go,” the prince said, turning toward me. “Do not leave my side.”

This tale has been unlawfully lifted from Royal Road. If you spot it on Amazon, please report it.

I had no such intention—at least, not for now.

As we passed through the path cleared by soldiers, efforts to subdue the flames had already begun. I steered clear of even a single ember. Heat and I had never been allies. Ours was a land born of frost, and frost had always claimed me. We snakes were cold creatures.

Walking through the corridors, my eyes lingered on the soldiers’ swords. I had never longed so fiercely to hold my own blade.I wanted to use it to sever the prince’s head from his body—just as he had done to the woman who had been brought in my place. I knew I could do it. But even I couldn’t guess what would follow.

When we reached the main gate, the prince glanced around first. Only after scanning the surroundings did his gaze settle on me. Adrastis’s voice dropped low. “Why does the king hate you?”

I wasn’t surprised he’d figured it out. He was as sharp as I was.

What did surprise me was his timing.

“I don’t understand,” I said, hoping he’d clarify.

“This attack…” he hissed. “It was meant to kill you.”

What?

I stared at him, truly stunned.

“That’s impossible.”

His jaw tightened. He turned to face me fully, leaning in just enough to dominate the space between us. "The wedding is done." He grabbed my wrist, twisting it until the dried blood and the twin marks were visible. "The signs remain. You're my wife. And that—" his voice darkened, "—is exactly when the attack struck. Think, Marian. Our marriage sealed the peace between two kingdoms. But you… you were not the bride King Siles would have chosen for me. If you had died, the alliance would have remained intact—and he would have gained more than just peace. The war would have ended, and the crown prince..." he let out a angry laugh, "…would have been left without a wife. But we—"

Hatred seethed beneath his words, molten and barely contained.

"We could never undo the treaty. Not after King Siles had done everything expected of him. Especially not after losing his daughter in the very attack that confirmed it."

He pulled me closer, as if dragging the truth straight into my bones.

"The king seeks your end."

I stared at him, shocked—but not because of his theory.

He had pieced it together so well, so perfectly, that if I didn’t know the real story, even I might have believed him.

But the truth was simpler.

The Commander Vilas had simply acted at the worst possible moment.

There was no way the prince could have known that.

That’s why he kept me close.

I am Assra Marian— both the victim of fate’s cruelest hour… and the only soul it spared.

“You’re clever, but not quite right,” I said coolly.

His jaw tightened again. Did he think I was a fool?

He was wrong.

"If I die, our marriage dies with me, dear husband. You’d be free to marry again, to crown a new queen. But what if I simply vanish? Wouldn’t that be worse? Everything you predicted would still come to pass, and yet you couldn’t remarry—not until my death is certain. A king without a queen... That would be your true misfortune."

His brows shot up.

"By the ancient blood!" he hissed through his teeth. "You’re right."

Once again, I could hear my mother’s voice.

The king is a puppet, my dear. And it is always the queen who holds the strings. She places a dazzling crown on his head, and the poor fool never sees the strings—too blinded by the shine. So give him that crown, my daughter. Make it so bright he’ll never see what binds him.

But I...

I won’t give him a gleaming crown.

I will crown him with venom

—and sever the strings myself.

From that moment, The puppet would dance to venom’s command.

His rage would turn the strings to serpents—some would coil and choke him, others would writhe in pain.

And every drop—a venom of my making.

My mother had never granted me freedom.

Only a different kind of servitude.

But I had a gift for her.

A poisoned puppet.

“Listen,” I said, my voice laced with fury. “Take them alive. Let the king answer for the blood he has spilled.”

“Do you realize what exposing this will bring?”

Of course I did.

It would give them the upper hand.

The king would be the one to break the treaty—even at the cost of his own daughter.

Who would have imagined he’d let such a cunning plot slip from The King Siles’s grasp?

“I am aware,” I said, my breath burning in my throat.

I stepped closer, until the nearness between us turned venomous.

“I care not if all the White Snakes pay the price. The king will answer for his schemes. Should the faintest harm befall me …” I smiled, a smile sharp as a blade., “unleash your wrath, my king.”

Not prince.

King.

The very throne he longed for—and would soon claim.

I had exalted him to such heights, even rage turned to delight.

“I will destroy them, my queen.”

The ropes bit into my flesh, but I only pulled them tighter.

A queen in chains—but with poison in her smile.

And from that smile, the poison seeped into a crown.

The poisoned crown did not wait.

It wrapped itself around his brow like a serpent, hissing triumph.

And as I walked toward my freedom,

I would let the strings go.