Marcus steps aside, and Konstantin enters the kitchen. He's imposing in a way that makes the space feel smaller, but there's something about his demeanour—respectful, almost gentle—that keeps me from being truly afraid. He looks at the three of us sitting at the table, takes in Lucy's tear-stained face and Marcus's protective stance, and something shifts in his expression.
"You're planning something," he observes. It's not a question.
Marcus tenses, but I speak before he can. "We're planning to help Drogo kill Klaus." The words come out steady and sure, and I'm surprised by my own certainty. "We're ready to do whatever it takes. All of us." I gesture at Marcus and Lucy. "Even if it means putting our own lives on the line. If that's what it takes to set him free."
Konstantin is silent for a long moment, studying each of us in turn. Then, slowly, he nods. "Me too," he says quietly.
I blink. "What?"
"Me too," he repeats. "I would die for him. For Mr. Drogo." He moves further into the kitchen and leans against the counter, his posture relaxing slightly. "You think you're the only ones who see what he is? What he's become? I've worked for Klaus for eighteen years. I've seen men come and go—some weak, some cruel, most just… empty. But Drogo?" Konstantin shakes his head. "He's different. He's an amazing heir. Strong, smart, decisive. But more than that—he's good. Even with all the blood on his hands, even after everything Klaus has made him do, he's still good. He protects people. He cares. He leads with honour. He—he even protected my family. Kept everyone in hiding. I will never be able to repay that."
Lucy's crying has stopped, and she's staring at Konstantin with wide eyes. Marcus is still tense but listening intently.
Konstantin continues, his voice low and intense. "Every man under Drogo's command feels the same way. We follow him not because we fear him—though we do, make no mistake, the man is a… something we’ve never seen before—but because we respect him. Because he's earned our loyalty in a way Klaus never could. We're waiting, all of us, for Klaus to make one wrong move. Just one. And when Drogo kills that bastard—" He pauses, meets my eyes directly. "And he will kill him, make no mistake about that—we'll be right behind him. Supporting him. Protecting him. Making sure he survives to claim what's rightfully his."
The kitchen falls silent. I can hear my own heartbeat, can feel the weight of what Konstantin just said settling over all of us like a physical presence. It's not just us. It's not just the four people who grew up together in that tiny squat, who survived on scraps and determination and love. It's an entire network of dangerous men who have chosen Drogo, who have decided he's worth following, worth dying for.
"How many?" Marcus asks, his tactical mind already working. "How many men are loyal to Drogo?"
Konstantin considers for a moment. "Most of them. Maybe seventy percent. The younger ones especially—they see him as the future. Klaus is old, sick, cruel for cruelty's sake. Drogo is young, strong, strategic. He doesn't waste violence. Doesn'thurt people for fun. He protects his own. The men respect that."
"And the other thirty percent?" I ask.
"Klaus loyalists. Older men who've been with him for decades. They'll fight for him when the time comes." Konstantin's expression hardens. "But they're outnumbered. And they're slow. When Drogo makes his move, it will be fast and decisive. Klaus won't see it coming until it's already over."
Lucy reaches across the table and grabs my hand, squeezing tight. "So we wait," she says. "We wait for the right moment. And then we move."
Konstantin nods. "Exactly. And when that moment comes—" He looks at each of us in turn. "You need to be ready. Because this will be war. Brief, bloody, and brutal. But when it's over, Drogo will be free. And Klaus will be dead."
I think about Drogo—about the man who held me last night, who made me coffee this morning, who refused to let me do anything because he needs to take care of me. The man with eight-pointed stars on his collarbones and my name tattooed over his heart. The man who became a monster to keep me safe.
And I realize with absolute clarity that I would do anything for him. Kill for him. Die for him. Burn the entire world down if that's what it took to set him free.
"We're ready," I say, and my voice doesn't shake. "Whatever he needs. Whenever he needs it. We're ready."
Marcus and Lucy nod in unison, and Konstantin smiles—small and grim but real.
"Good," he says. "Because the time is coming soon. I can feel it. Klaus is getting sloppy, overconfident. He thinks he's won, thinks he's turned Drogo into his perfect weapon. Buthe's wrong." Konstantin's smile widens slightly. "Drogo isn't Klaus's weapon. He's ours. And when he strikes, we'll all be there to make sure he doesn't fall."
He straightens up and moves toward the door. "I should go. The other guards will wonder why I'm inside so long. But know this—" He pauses at the threshold and looks back at us. "You're not alone in this. None of you. Drogo has an army waiting for his signal. And when he gives it, we'll tear Klaus apart."
Then he's gone, the door closing quietly behind him, leaving the three of us sitting in stunned silence.
Lucy speaks first, her voice barely a whisper. "An army. He has an entire army."
"Yeah," Marcus says, and there's something like pride in his voice. "He does."
I lean back in my chair and close my eyes, feeling the weight of it all settle over me—the danger, the violence, the blood that's coming. But underneath the fear is something else. Something fierce and bright and unbreakable.
Hope.
Because Drogo isn't fighting this alone. He never was. He has us. He has his men. He has people who would die for him without hesitation.
And together, we're going to end this. We're going to kill Klaus and set Drogo free and give him back the life that was stolen from him two years ago.
"When he comes home tonight," I say, opening my eyes and looking at Marcus and Lucy, "we tell him. We tell him we're with him. All the way. No matter what."
They both nod, and Lucy wipes her eyes one more time before managing a shaky smile. "All the way," she agrees.
