King Xerxes

They will remember me for the crown. Not for my doubts.Not for the nights I sat awake while the empire […]

The palace is quiet now. The crisis has passed. The gallows stand empty, the scrolls rewritten, the ink dried. Mordecai

The second banquet was smaller.Quieter.No flutes, no nobles, no spectacle. Just me.Esther.And Haman — pale as parchment, trying to look

I could not sleep. Not for lack of wine.Not for lack of warmth or women or music echoing from distant

A king does not need to understand everything.He needs to decide. That is what I’ve always believed. My father, Darius,

They brought her in the same way they brought all the others. Clothed in silk.Painted lips.Eyes lowered, posture rehearsed. But

The feast ended. The nobles returned to their provinces.The courtiers offered polished farewells.The palace was cleaned, the goblets counted, the

I ruled from India to Cush. One hundred and twenty-seven provinces bowed to my name.Their princes kissed my feet, their