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Chapter 20 – A Letter of Ashes
Smoke rose before dawn.By the time Elias reached the eastern battlements, the air was thick with ash and the bitter smell of burning oil. The gatehouse shuddered under distant thunder not from the sky, but from rams pounding against ironwood.“Archers, to the wall!” Seren’s voice cut through the chaos. “Hold the gate!”Elias drew his sword, the same blade his father had once carried into the War of the North. Firelight flickered along its edge, reflecting in his eyes like molten gold. The night before had been politics. Now, it was war.A soldier stumbled toward him, blood streaking his face. “Majesty they came from inside! Someone opened the gate from within the guardhouse!”“From inside?” Elias snapped.“Yes, sire. The locks were undone before they struck.”Mara appeared at his side, cloak torn, a cut on her cheek. “The signal fires they’re burning from the lower city too.”Elias’s stomach tightened. This isn’t an attack. It’s a message.He turned to Seren. “Seal the inner gates. N
Chapter 19 – A Shadowed Feast
The palace smelled of roasted boar, spiced wine, and treachery.It was the first feast held since the assassin’s failed strike, a celebration demanded by the nobles to “restore confidence in the crown.” Elias knew better. Feasts in the court of Valenor were not for unity they were hunting grounds, and tonight, he was the prey on the dais.Golden banners fluttered from the vaulted ceiling, candlelight trembling across polished armor and jeweled goblets. The murmur of the court swelled like an incoming tide as the young king entered, flanked by Seren and Mara. A hundred heads bowed, a hundred false smiles followed.“Majesty,” drawled Lord Alaric, rising from his seat near the center. “To see you unscathed warms every loyal heart in this hall.”Elias forced a smile. “Then may your hearts stay warm and your knives cold.”Soft laughter rippled through the chamber. Alaric bowed low, but the smirk that lingered told Elias the man had taken the warning as challenge, not threat.Mara leaned to
Chapter 18: Seren’s Warning
The horns of war wailed like dying beasts across the city. The sound clawed through stone, echoing down the marble corridors and into the council chamber where fear had already taken root.Elias stood frozen for a heartbeat, hand resting on the table’s edge, the world narrowing to that single note of alarm.Then instinct returned.“Rhys!” he barked. “Find Captain Neron seal the inner gates. I want every entrance guarded with men we can trust.”Rhys was gone before the sentence finished. The heavy door slammed, shaking the iron bolts.Mara’s sword flashed as she turned to the nobles. “Anyone even breathes Alaric’s name in defense and I’ll carve it from their tongue.”“Enough!” Elias snapped. His voice rang across the chamber, steel without shouting. “Fear serves only Alaric now. None leaves this room until we know what we face.”Lord Sera’s face had gone pale. “Majesty, the horns does that mean invasion?”Elias’s jaw tightened. “It means Alaric moves. Whether his hand or his pawn, the
Chapter 17: Mara’s Push
The first light of dawn bled pale and thin through the palace windows, painting the floor in streaks of silver. The night had been long, and Elias hadn’t slept a breath. His thoughts were smoke and fire, each one darker than the last.The words from the servant’s hall still rang in his skull—Tomorrow night. The king dies in his bed.He had spent the hours since pacing his chambers, the candle burned to a stub beside him. His sword lay drawn on the table not for defense, but as a reminder. A crown might be worn by kings, but it was guarded by blades.The heavy doors swung open. Mara strode in, armored even at dawn. Her eyes were hard, her jaw clenched. She looked every bit the storm he feared was coming.“You sent for me,” she said, her tone half accusation, half command.Elias nodded slowly. “You said last night you wanted to hunt shadows. It seems we’ve run out of time to wait.”Mara’s brows furrowed. “You found them?”“Enough,” he replied. “Servants. Guards. Even the wine bearer. Th
Chapter 16: Whispers in the Hall
The blade gleamed inches from Elias’s chest.Every nerve screamed at him to draw steel, to call Rhys forward, but he forced himself still. Kings did not flinch. Kings did not beg.Rynna’s hand trembled. Her lips pressed together as though she warred with herself. Then just as sudden as she’d raised it she dropped the dagger. The clatter rang louder than any horn.“Majesty,” she whispered, her voice cracking, “I had to. If I didn’t take it, they’d know I was yours.”Mara’s sword was out in a flash, point to Rynna’s throat. “Explain. Now.”Rynna lifted her hands, wide-eyed. “The dagger wasn’t mine. It was placed under my pillow. A message. If I didn’t… if I didn’t carry out their command tonight, they would expose me. I swear it, I am no assassin.”Elias’s heart hammered. The woman stood balanced between salvation and execution. One word from him, and Rhys would cut her down. But her eyes haunted, desperate were not the eyes of a liar.“Who?” Elias demanded. His voice cracked like a whi
Chapter 15: The Council Divided (Part 2)
The chamber erupted like a struck beehive.“Assassination in the palace itself “Branded, no less an omen!”“Who dares such blasphemyVoices clashed, fear sharpening into anger. Elias forced himself to remain still upon the throne, even as his pulse thundered in his ears. To stand, to shout, would make him appear desperate. No he had to hold the room, or Alaric would claim it.“Silence!” Elias’s voice cracked through the din. He rose slowly, letting his cloak sweep the marble like fire across snow. The nobles quieted, though unease lingered in their darting eyes.“Lord Farrow’s death will not go unanswered,” Elias said. “Guards will seal the palace until we find the one responsible. No one enters, no one leaves.”A few faces blanched.Alaric’s smile returned, serpent-smooth. “Majesty, a wise precaution… unless the killer already sits among us.”Every noble stiffened. Elias felt the chamber tilt against him, suspicion curdling like spoiled wine.Mara’s voice rang clear, sharp as glass.
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