The Exiled Prince: Thorns of the Crown

their somber clanging echoing

skies above hung heavy, pregnant with thunder, as though the heavens themselves mourned the kingdom's descent into turmoil. The crimson banner of House Th

sweat as if the very earth itself was trying to swallow him whole. His breath came in shallow gasps, every inch of his being a reflection of the anguish that gnawed at his soul. His once-pristine royal

come swift, and the punishment was no less merciful. He had been framed by his younger brother, Zazeal, who had set him up as the orchestrator of an assassination attempt

begged for justice, pleaded for his innocence, but no one had listened. The king had been blinded by his younger son's influence. Zazeal, cun

ored a hunger-a thirst for power that could never be sated. Azeal had always been the soldier, the protector, the one willing to fight for his kingdom. Zazeal, on the other hand, had mastered the art of manipulation, playing

allow himself to remain a prisoner forever. He had to escape. He had to survive. Not for his own sake, but for the king

is heart skipped a beat. A shadow moved beneath the

nded, his voice rough and

cognizing the woman before he could even see her face. It was his mother-Queen Alendra. The wom

news of her death had spread like wildfire throughout Westonia, the kingdom mourning the loss of its

voice trembling with disbelie

bound his wrists. "There is no time to explain," she whispered urgently. "The kingd

hitect of this treachery. But he had not realized the extent of her machinations. It had been Laurie who had whispered

r answers. "You said the kingdom is poisoned... b

to madness. Laurie has been poisoning him for years. She has controlled him, manipulated him from the s

ing into place, but they still didn't make sense. "But why

But Laurie's poison is in the court, in the very fabric of this

ble man-had been reduced to a puppet in the hands of a woman who cared only

e pressed a dagger into Azeal's hand. "You must survive

t of the dungeon. He had no choice now. His fate was sealed. He ha

rn and reclaim what is mine." With one last kiss to his mother's trembling hand, Azeal fled

e town square, where a grand scaffold had been erected. T

e, hidden from the world,