“In that moment, I stopped being invisible.”
Lena
The doors were already waiting for us.
They were tall, dark, and carved from timber so old it looked like petrified bone.
Two guards stood like statues on either side, their eyes tracking our approach with a focus that felt more like a countdown than protection.
They bowed and opened the gigantic doors before we reached them.
Warmth spilt out first as I stepped in.
I could see the golden candlelight, I could hear the low hum of voices, and the quiet, rhythmic clink of silver against porcelain.
It was the kind of sound that belonged to a place where people knew the rules, where they belonged.
I know I didn’t.
I tightened my hold on Kael’s arm.
Through the heavy fabric of his formal jacket, I could feel the heat radiating from him, the steady, unbothered pulse of someone who owned the air everyone else breathed.
The room was enormous.
A long table ran almost from one end to the other, with candles placed along the middle.
Their light flickered softly, casting moving shadows over the dark purple, almost black flowers that spread across the table like a winding vine.
And then there were so many people.
They all stood up the moment we entered, certainly for him and not for me.
I felt it right away.
The room changed.
People straightened slightly, and their attention quietly focused.
It wasn’t just respect.
It was awareness, like they could feel where the power was coming from.
I almost stopped walking.
The weight of everyone looking at me felt like hitting a wall.
Kael didn’t look at me, but I felt his arm tighten a little under my hand, like a quiet way of telling me to stay steady.
Then he turned and gave me a small nod.
That I know conveyed, “You’re fine.”
I don’t know how, but that was the reassurance I wanted.
I instantly felt safe.
I held onto that tiny reassurance and kept moving.
I saw faces come into focus as we walked.
I didn’t know any of them.
That was the honest reality of it.
I was walking into a room full of people who all knew each other, knew this place and knew what everything meant, and I knew none of it, but I could feel it in their eyes, the curiosity, and something cold underneath it all.
My gaze searched for anything familiar.
I found Riven across the table.
Beside him stood a woman with eyes that didn’t hold the same predatory sharpness as the others.
She looked open.
When our eyes met, she offered a genuine smile.
It’s like a welcoming smile, soft and sincere.
I smiled back.
My eyes moved farther to the others, and it was the lady in red I had seen earlier.
She still had that same perfect smile curved on her lips.
She looked like she had been born sitting at this table.
I looked away first.
We almost reached the table when my eyes met the queen’s.
She gave me a very warm, welcoming smile like earlier and nodded.
We moved forward, reached the head of the table, and all I did was follow Kael, my hand still tucked in his arm.
Then he pulled away, and before I could even think about where to go, Kael pulled out the high-backed chair beside him.
The king pulls out a chair for the human girl.
Why was he behaving like a perfect gentleman?
I could feel gazes on me, and I really had to be prepared to get lots of these, because this is my life now, I thought, my heart hammering against the stays of my corset.
I smiled at him and muttered thanks before I sat.
He took his seat beside me, and like a single, choreographed machine, everyone else sat at the same moment.
Across from me, the woman beside Riven leaned forward.
“Welcome to Erevon,” she said, her voice warm and direct.
“I’m Kira, and I’m glad you made it here safely.”
“Thank you,” I said, surprised into a genuine smile.
“I’m glad I did, too.”
Then, from my left.
“You look beautiful tonight.”
I turned.
It was the lady.
She was leaning towards me, her posture so graceful it made me feel clumsy just by existing near her.
“Thank you,” I said.
She tilted her head, her gaze lingering on the dark stones Rosie had pinned into my hair.
“I’m Seraphina, and I must say it suits you,” she added lightly.
“Better than I expected.”
The words were sweet, but the delivery was a needle.
A small pause followed, just long enough for the insult to land.
I kept my smile polite, masking the sudden heat in my cheeks.
“Thank you,” I repeated.
Then the food arrived, and I realised I was starving.
Adrenaline had been my only fuel since crossing the boundary.
The dishes were rich and dark.
Meat glazed in honey and herbs I didn’t recognise, but I kept my head down.
I ate, focused on my breathing, trying to ignore the hundred pairs of eyes, all pointing in different directions, assessing my every move.
Halfway through the meal, a voice broke the silence.
“Your Majesty.”
I didn’t look up, but the table went still.
“The council would appreciate clarity on the timeline,” an older man several seats down continued.
“Given the circumstances, it would be wise to begin formal proceedings regarding the human’s status sooner rather than…
“Soon.”
Kael’s voice didn’t rise.
It was a door slamming shut.
Then there came a beat of silence.
The man tried again, his voice thinner now.
“Of course, but there are concerns regarding the bloodline and…
“This is dinner.”
This time, his tone wasn’t firm but rigid.
I felt a little fear.
I looked up, and Kael hadn’t moved.
He hadn’t even looked at the man.
But the air in the room suddenly felt heavy.
“We eat,” Kael said, his tone as steady as a heartbeat.
The man lowered his head, his shoulders curling inward.
The silence that followed was absolute.
I looked at Kael.
He was not the man who had stood at the boundary or the one who complimented my look, but this was the Alpha.
The kind of king who didn’t need to shout because the world obeyed his silence.
What exactly have I walked into?
Everyone ate in silence.
As dinner dissolved into smaller, quieter exchanges, a hand touched my arm.
It was a gentle touch.
I looked up to see Queen Astrid.
She offered me her hand.
“Would you like to walk with me?” she said.
I stood immediately, nodded and followed her out of the hall.
The noise of the cutlery and voices faded, replaced by the soft echo of our footsteps against the cold stone.
“You handled tonight well,” she said at last.
“I’m not sure about that,” I admitted, my voice small in the vast corridor.
She glanced at me, a faint, knowing smile on her face.
“Most people in your position would have crumbled. This place is overwhelming, even for those born into the fur.”
She stopped and turned to me, her eyes searching mine.
“You are safe here, Lena. Do not let the way they looked at you tonight make you feel small. This world is not something you understand all at once… it is something you grow into.”
I nodded, feeling a lump form in my throat.
For the first time, I didn’t feel like a captive.
I felt like a student.
“Rest,” she said softly.
“Tomorrow will come soon enough.”
I nodded and said, “Thank you.” She then left.
Rosie found me a moment later, looking relieved.
“My Lady! You did so well.”
I smiled at her, and we started back towards my chambers, the corridors feeling colder now that the queen had left.
We turned a corner, and I stopped dead.
Ahead of us, Kael and Seraphina were standing close.
Seraphina tilted her head as she spoke to him, her voice low.
Kael was listening in that quiet, focused way he had, as everything around him had faded except her words.
Then she laughed softly.
Something in my chest tightened before I could stop it.
I told myself it meant nothing.
Just two people talking.
But then Seraphina smiled again, and this time it didn’t feel warm.
It felt like she understood him in a way I didn’t.
The bond in my chest reacted immediately.
I felt a slow, uncomfortable pull I didn’t know what to do with.
Rosie shifted beside me, unaware of the war happening under my ribs.
Then Seraphina’s eyes lifted.
She looked straight at me, and her smile didn’t change.
Then I watched Kael turn slightly after that, his gaze following hers, and for a brief moment, he saw me.
I really enjoyed writing the contrast in this chapter, from the warmth of Queen Astrid’s advice to the coldness of that corridor at the end.
Lena is finally realizing that Erevon isn’t just a palace; it’s a chessboard, and she’s the most important piece.
Thank you for all the support