AN: Hey guys! First of all, I wanted to say we're over half way through with this story! I know a lot of you are patiently waiting for The Hybrid Part II, but I don't plan to post that till this story has been completed and uploaded. I've been working on it here and there and I have about seven chapters written so far. Second of all, I've been so happy that despite the fact that Cordovan has come in between Amy & Shadow, a lot of you have warmed to him as a character. I'm not normally a fan of OC's in Fanfictions, but I solely made him up and created for this sequel and I think it's made for quite the interesting story! I want to thank, MissMJS, Aliciathewolf45, risingzero2001, and our newest reviewer Shadrougeforever (Who isn't even a Shadamy fan, but likes my story!) for leaving me reviews on my last chapter! I really hope you continue to predict and read the rest of it till the end. I promise you'll be happy with the ending.

P.S: There is a scene in this chapter with a certain song in mind. I really feel it helps bring the mood of that scene together, so if you're one of those people like to feel immersed in a scene while reading, I'd recommend giving it a listen!

Song Credit: "Your Soul" – RHODES

•~•

Later that evening, Shadow popped into Amy's bedroom as she prepared for the dinner party. He entered the room just as Amy put on a necklace to compliment her elegant black and blue gown. "You look beautiful," he complimented.

"Thank you," she replied simply without even a smile.

His smile faded by her tone as he felt her sour mood in the atmosphere. "You seem tense. What is the matter?"

She turned around to face him looking guilt ridden. "I tricked Cordovan into staying like you asked. I manipulated him, his life, and I-I called off his courtship with Rouge."

"I had a similar conversation with her," Shadow responded. "What was your excuse? Does he know that we're suspicious of him?"

She looked down, unsure of how to answer Shadow's first question. "No, he's not suspicious."

Shadow analyzed her demeanor before coming to his own conclusion. "Did…did you allow him to believe that you have feelings for him?" She remained silent, keeping her eyes closed and he gulped by her lack of response. "I-I understand. All for the cause, I suppose."

There was a knock on the door, relieving an awkward tension that had begun to build. "Enter," Amy called. The door opened and Sonic came inside.

"Did you find the valet?" Shadow asked, shifting the conversation.

"Yes, but he's dead. He was killed shortly after he returned to Cordovan's region," Sonic informed.

"You think that's him trying to tie up loose ends?" Shadow speculated.

Sonic nodded. "It's what I would do if I paid someone to poison a monarch."

"—This is all speculation," Amy interjected.

"Not all," Sonic interrupted. "Fredrick had debts, staggering ones, apparently. His landlord claimed to have seen Fredrick and Cordovan engaged in a heated conversation, then days later, Fredrick's debts disappeared overnight and thus began our father's first signs of madness."

"…He paid him to do the deed," Shadow realized and sighed. "We have little choice but to confront Antoine and Cordovan directly." Shadow turned to look at Amy. "You don't have to be there."

"I want to be," she replied. "I want to see his expression. I know him…or at least I think I do."

"You are prepared for the outcomes then? If he is guilty, there can be no hesitation, no build up of support or unrest. I will have him beheaded immediately," Shadow made explicit.

"I realize that I just hope we're wrong," Amy sighed.

•~•

In the dining room, Antoine and Cordovan sat at the table in silence as they waited for the rest of Shadow's family to arrive. King Antoine drummed his fingertips on the table in boredom after waiting for several minutes. "So much for a party. It's quite dismal."

"For once, I must agree with you," Cordovan muttered. Just then, the doors opened and Sonic, Shadow, and Amy came walking in. Shadow walked over to Cordovan's side and carelessly plopped a heavy clothed item down in the center of the table, making a clunk. Both Cordovan and Antoine eyed the item curiously, after observing the tension that came with his gesture. Amy sat down next to Shadow so she could watch Cordovan's features for deception across the table.

"Open it up," Shadow demanded.

Cordovan shot a bewildered look at the demand but moved the cloth away revealing Phillip's journal. "A diary?"

Shadow remained composed. "My father's journal to be precise. He wrote in it every day since he was crowned king. Isabelle took comfort in his writing after he died, but Fredrick, my father's valet, poisoned it."

Cordovan suspected an accusation rising and looked to his left towards his brother who looked just as confused as he did. "What is this? Are you making an accusation?" he asked in an offense.

"Fredrick served under your command in Babylon," Shadow noted pointedly. Cordovan only scoffed with a grin seeing exactly how this was going to pinpoint him. "He returned to your region after my father died, where he was murdered." Antoine's eyes fell on the table as he listened to Shadow's accusation. Shadow leaned closer, staring hard at Cordovan. "Was he on your orders to poison the king?"

Cordovan looked away from Shadow and glared towards Amy in realization. "So, this is why you wanted to keep me in the castle, so you could put me on trial?"

"We are asking you directly," she responded. "Please tell the truth, Cordovan."

"This is outrageous," Antoine intervened.

"We know you paid off Fredrick—his debts to be exact," Sonic cut in, pointing at the prince. "We have witnesses that will testify."

"I swear that I had nothing to do with this," he snapped. "Yes, Fredrick served under me, and he begged me to relieve his debts, but I refused him! He had a gambling problem."

Shadow studied him in disbelief. "I don't believe you."

Antoine looked to Shadow, growing annoyed with his accusation. "Is this some kind of revenge for my talk with Conquering Storm?"

Before Shadow could respond, the doors flew open and Isabelle walked in. "It wasn't him, Shadow," Isabelle spoke with a letter in hand. "We uncovered a trail from the bankers. It was Colton," she finished looking towards Amy. "He paid the debts, but that was only to bait the poisoner. After your father was poisoned, they fled to claim a parcel of land that he had been granted from Colton's holdings."

"…My uncle poisoned the king?" Amy asked flabbergasted.

She nodded sadly. "Your uncle despised him."

Cordovan clenched his fists resting on the table as he looked at Amy. "I have done nothing but be a friend to you and Shadow—doing your bidding, no matter the peril, or price," he said exasperated and hurt.

Amy felt awful after discovering he was innocent in all of this. She could only imagine how betrayed he must have felt. "You must understand…"

"—That there is bad blood between our lines?" Cordovan cut off. "You think I don't know that?" Shadow stayed quiet, knowing he had a right to be angry. "You call us murders, after all, you've done to this kingdom?"

Shadow looked at him empathically and reached for his arm. "Cordovan…"

He flinched away from his touch. "Don't touch me! You are the murderers…" He stood from his seat and stormed off. Antoine stood and followed after him, leaving the rest of the family alone.

Once the doors slammed shut, Shadow looked over to two of his guards standing posts and sighed. "Arrest the Duke."

"There's no need, Finitevus has had it taken care of," Isabelle assured. She looked across the table over to Amy, feeling lost and confused. "Your uncle will never betray anyone, ever again."

Amy looked down sadly at the table. How could her uncle do such a horrible thing?

•~•

Riding back to court, Colton sat in his carriage completely oblivious to the fact that he had been named the conspirator behind Phillip's poisoning. His carriage came to a sudden halt, confusing the mature hedgehog. He raised a brow waiting for the carriage to continue, but it stayed stalled. "Driver, why did we stop?"

With no response, Colton apprehensively made his way out into the snowy path. As he walked towards the front of the carriage, he was startled when he found the driver had completely vanished. As Colton stared into the darkness, an arrow whizzed towards him and hit him straight in the throat. He staggered forward holding his throat where the arrow protruded, desperately trying to stop the bleeding. He gagged, choking up blood.

Then out of nowhere, another arrow flew through the air, hitting him in the back of the calf. Colton collapsed into the snow, face first and lied still. Underneath his body, a pool of blood formed and after a few moments, he was dead and would never step foot into Mobian court ever again.

•~•

After the disastrous dinner party, Amy searched all over the castle for Cordovan, and eventually stumbled upon him, fuming on one of the castle balconies and staring into the night. Cautiously, she approached him. "Cordovan, I am so sorry," she apologized sincerely.

He didn't bother to look her in the eye, still appalled by her lies. "For what? Manipulating me or believing me capable of such deception?"

She stood by his side, hearing his bitter tone. "I needed to keep you here to clear your name if it could be cleared," she defended. "You must understand, there was such evidence against you!"

"But you lied to me," he barked, causing her to flinch. "Humiliated me—letting me believe that…" He stopped himself then turned to face her. "…You push me away, time and time again, then pull me towards you. Don't you understand? I'm in love with you, Amy!" Amy tensed up by his words, feeling her heart skip a beat. "What I wrote in that letter, do you think it was an impulse, a passing infatuation? It was the truth!" He huffed in frustration and walked around her, leaving her. Amy watched as he retreated down the hall and placed a hand on her chest. She felt terrible and almost felt like she had lost something very precious to her.

•~•

The next morning, Shadow found Amy in her study and in the middle of writing a letter. Amy didn't look up from her writing, knowing full well that Shadow was at the door. But since she sensed he wanted her to acknowledge him, she started dialogue. "I'm writing my mother a letter to inform her of my uncle's fate. I wonder if she'll be surprised? It was power, not family, that ever moved my uncle."

Shadow approached the front of her desk and tucked his arms behind his back. "I keep thinking if we discovered the poison…"

"—You wouldn't have had to kill your father?" she guessed.

"You would've been spared," he corrected. Amy remained silent and went back to her writing, leaving an awkward silence. Shadow noted on it and shifted the conversation. "Perhaps we can salvage the match between Cordovan and Rouge..."

"No," Amy replied placing her quill pen down. "I think we should step back instead of trying to force things. We can't force our own hearts so why would we try to force others? There's no point anymore, it's time to let our hearts go where they want," she finished before resuming her writing.

"It's the first time I've heard you talk about your heart and the future." Amy glanced up at him. "What's changed?" he probed softly.

"Time, I suppose?" She dipped her pen back in her ink jar.

Shadow studied her, sensing something troubling as he came to a thought. "Time that has brought your heart no closer to mine," he assumed. Amy glanced up at him again, suspecting animosity in his tone. "You say that I can be free—open to another, but without you, my heart is closed as tight as a fist."

Amy looked away sadly, feeling his pain, but at that moment, she felt like she could do nothing to ease his sadness. With no response on her end, Shadow turned away crestfallen and retreated the room.

•~•

Meanwhile, outside the castle walls, King Antoine waited patiently for a secret guest to meet him. Eventually, a figure came trekking towards him from around the corner and the king turned towards the figure to address them. "You've heard, I assume?"

The figure lowered their hood revealing their identity as none other than Lord Finitevus. The echidna chuckled darkly. "About Colton? Yes, brutal way to die, especially as he was innocent."

Antoine held up a sack full of gold coins and handed it over the to echidna lord. "A ransom befitting a prince."

"Oh, a bargain. Considering I warned you that Isabelle was circling and provided you with an excellent scapegoat to shoulder the blame."

"I killed Fredrick myself, so how were you led to me?" Antoine asked curiously.

"The proprietor of the establishment Fredrick fell into such debt with is a close acquaintance of mine," he answered simply. "He opened his books to me with some convincing if you know what I mean," he smirked.

"How did you obtain the document leading Fredrick's payments from the duke?"

"I have an expertise in that area, and the more I tell you, the more I'd have to get rid of you. Just be happy that I was able to fix your problem," he answered simply.

Antoine furrowed his brows with scrutiny as he stared back at the echidna. "So you're clever, but what's stopping you from blackmailing me?"

"You poisoned a king and a queen, and I've helped you get away with it. You must look at it this way, your highness, we each hold a noose for the other."

He was right if Antoine ever opted to rat out Finitevus, he, in turn, would be exposed himself, leaving them both to the same fate, execution.

•~•

After his meeting with Finitevus, Antoine returned to his chambers only to find Cordovan waiting for him by the fireplace. His brother sat in one of the elegant chairs, with a hardened expression as his brother entered the room. Antoine closed the door behind him. "You're still here? I thought you were going home."

Cordovan remained silent and never faltered his expression as his brother approached him. "You framed the duke, didn't you?"

Antoine kept up his poker expression and merely just shrugged. "You're cleared now, Cordovan."

Hearing his response, Cordovan placed a disappointed hand on his forehead and closed his eyes. "I admit, it took me a moment to piece it together and then I remembered," he said opening his eyes. "I confided in you about Fredrick; how torn I was refusing to help him." Antoine looked away briefly. "And in doing so, I had no idea I gave you the perfect weapon against King Phillip."

"Let it go."

"No! I stood before my king and queen and told them we were innocent. You made me a liar, an accomplice in your treason," he pointed accusingly.

Antoine crossed his arms over his chest, looking piqued by his frustration. "What has this place done to you?"

Cordovan abruptly rose from his seat, standing before him. "You did this to me!" he pointed. "You are my brother and I will never trust you again." Cordovan stormed around him, heading for the door.

Antoine's eyes followed him. "I righted the scales," he defended causing him to halt. "I restored the balance between our families!" he added.

Cordovan turned and looked at him. "Just leave and go back to your kingdom. I can't even bear to look at you," he said before he left.

•~•

Later that evening, Cordovan stood on one of the balconies of the castle again, watching fresh snow rain down from the sky.

"I see you under the blue skies, I need a little sunshine."

"I fill into your brown eyes, I told you I was your light."

He enjoyed his moment of peace as he gained clarity and tranquility. He needed it after everything that had happened in the past days, even hours.

"No, I don't wanna talk about it, I don't wanna listen all that much."

"Is it falling apart?"

But once again, Amy found him by his own and decided to join him. He turned when he heard her footsteps and softened by her sight. "Oh, Amy…"

"I don't wanna talk about it, I just wanna hold your hand."

"Oh you know when you're alone, I'm holding on, and on and on and on."

"Please," she said holding up a hand. "Let me speak." He took a few steps towards her to listen. "I knew I was taking advantage of you, your regard for me—and you deserve better than that."

"Oh you know when you're alone, I'm holding on, and on and on and on."

"To your soul, your soul, your soul, your soul."

"It's done now. No need to apologize again," he dismissed.

"Soul shine, it must've been so tired."

"I am sorry, but I'm not here to apologize. I'm here to tell you the truth, which I suppose I already did even before I realized it. You see, when I told you to call things off with Rouge, I didn't want to lose you. Not to another or to-"

"Don't cry, I must've been so blind."

"—To the charges of treason?" he surmised.

"Oh you know when you're alone, I'm holding on, and on and on and on."

She nodded meekly. "I imagined you dead…and that loss and your betrayal pained me more than they should pain someone who is married."

"Oh you know when you're alone, I'm holding on, and on and on and on."

He tilted his head slightly by her statement. Was she really implying what he thought she was? "But you're not really a married girl anymore, are you?"

"To your soul, your soul, your soul, your soul."

She smiled softly. "I am, Cordovan. In the eyes of my kingdom, and the world I am Shadow's wife. I will never do anything to compromise my duty as queen. I don't have the same freedom as a male or a king to stray beyond my marriage, and given what I've been through, I have nothing to offer you."

"No, I don't wanna talk about it, I don't wanna listen all that much."

"Is it falling apart?"

"I hear you, I do. But of all the reasons you expound of why we can't be together, none are of the heart," he observed.

"I don't wanna talk about it, I just wanna hold your hand."

She blinked a few times. "What do you mean?"

"Oh you know when you're alone, I'm holding on, and on and on and on."

"Oh you know when you're alone, I'm holding on, and on and on and on."

He took a few steps closer to her, and stared at her lovingly, while he built up the courage to admit the truth. "I have to fight every instinct I have pulling me towards you," he admitted sincerely. "When I'm near you, I am aware of every breath you take, and when I'm away, even the wind in the trees reminds me of you."

"To your soul, your soul, your soul, your soul."

Amy swallowed the lump forming in her throat. His admittance was so sincere and heartfelt, and the worst part of it was she regrettably felt the same way, despite fighting the urge to want to. She looked him in the eye, seeing his own eyes were watering from his genuine confession. She let out a shaky breath, processing what he had just confessed to her. "You will be the death of me, and I of you…" she foreshadowed.

"No, I don't wanna talk about it, I just wanna hold your hand…"

With that said, Cordovan watched as Amy turned on her heel and retreated from the balcony heading back inside.

•~•

AN: Remember to leave a review! :)