Skylar's POV
The palace felt different.
Colder.
The halls used to carry music and light, but now—they echoed. With silence. With suspicion. With the weight of a kingdom choking on its own glory.
I stood before the grand press room, cameras already aimed, microphones extended like weapons disguised in plastic and wire. This wasn't just a press conference—it was a declaration.
One I could no longer avoid.
I adjusted the Blackwood insignia pin on my chest—not because I was proud of it anymore, but because abandoning it would mean surrender. And I wasn't ready for that.
The lights flared. The red "LIVE" indicator blinked on.
I stepped forward.
"My name is Skylar Blackwood," I began, my voice steady despite the storm inside me, "and I am speaking today not as 02 of the empire, not as Chris Blackwood's wife, but as a voice for the people who have been silenced."
The room shifted. Journalists sat up straighter. Cameras zoomed in.
"I do not stand in support of the new laws—of citizens auctioning their names, of numbers replacing dignity, of mercy being seen as treason. This is not the future I dreamed of when I stood beside my husband."
I paused, letting the silence weigh heavy. Then I locked eyes with the front camera, speaking now to the millions watching beyond the screen.
"I still love my husband. But I do not love what this empire is becoming. And if speaking out makes me a traitor… then so be it."
Reporters burst into motion, voices layering questions over each other, but one pierced through:
"Are you saying you plan to oppose Chris Blackwood?"
I stared into the lens, unwavering.
"I'm saying… if no one else will, I will be the balance to his unchecked power. I won't raise a sword—but I will raise the truth."
The feed cut. Security rushed me out. But I knew the damage—or the awakening—was already done.
I wasn't running anymore.
I was rising.