“The quietest nights are the ones that bleed the most.”
Lena
My back was screaming in pain.
Queen Astrid’s training today was a fancy kind of torture.
I had been standing with a book on my head for almost an hour while she talked about the history of the Northern Alphas.
Every time I slumped even a little bit, her voice would cut through the air fast enough to make me jump.
“The spine is the pillar of the crown, Lena,” Astrid said.
Her heels made a clicking sound as she walked around me.
“If the pillar is weak, the crown falls. Again!”
I gritted my teeth and shifted my weight.
My feet were squeezed into shoes that felt too small for me.
They throbbed with a steady ache.
“I’m trying, Your Majesty.”
“In this palace, there is no trying. There is only existing.”
I was about to complain when the heavy wooden doors of the training room opened.
I didn’t move my head because I didn’t want the book to fall, but I moved my eyes as much as I could.
Kira walked in.
She didn’t wait to be invited.
She moved with a fast, hurried energy that made the room feel tight.
Her leather clothes were dusty, and a dark smudge on her arm.
I hoped it was only mud.
Astrid stopped walking.
The mood in the room changed instantly.
The “teacher” act was gone, replaced by the Queen Mother’s cold look.
She looked at Kira with narrowed eyes.
“Your Majesty,” Kira said.
She came forward and bowed low to the Queen Mother.
Then she looked at me and gave me a small, knowing smile.
“Your Highness,” she greeted me.
“The wind is cold for this time of year, Kira,” Astrid said.
Her voice got deeper.
It sounded like a statement, but I knew it was a question.
Kira stopped a few feet away.
Her amber eyes looked at me for a second before looking back at Astrid.
“The frost is deeper than we thought, Majesty. The garden needs pruning. It needs it tonight.”
I felt a chill that had nothing to do with the cold hall.
I knew they weren’t talking about real flowers.
Astrid’s hand went to the blue necklace at her throat.
She stayed silent for a long time.
The only sound was the clock ticking on the wall.
“Is it widespread?”
“Deep roots,” Kira replied shortly.
“But we found the source. The King is… busy.”
Astrid closed her eyes for a second.
When she opened them, she looked at me.
To my surprise, she stepped forward and put a hand on my shoulder.
Her touch felt motherly.
It was a rare moment of kindness in this strict place.
“We will stop for today, Lena,” Astrid said softly. This chapter is updated first at g.com.
“You have worked hard.”
“Is something wrong?” I asked.
The book finally slid off my head and hit the rug with a thud.
This was the 10th time it had fallen off, but this time, I didn’t care.
“Where is Kael?”
Astrid didn’t answer me directly.
She looked at Kira, then back at me.
“His Majesty is with the Council. It is a difficult meeting. But even while he is busy, he is thinking about your safety. He gave orders that you must not be left alone.”
She squeezed my shoulder gently.
“Kira will stay with you for the rest of the evening. Listen to her.”
With one last serious look at Kira, the Queen Mother left the room.
Her silk dress hissed across the floor like a warning.
I stood there, feeling small in the big room.
Kira waited until the doors closed before she let out a long, rough breath.
“Come on,” she said, pointing toward the door.
“Let’s get you back to your room.”
As we walked, the palace felt different.
The servants were gone.
A heavy, suffocating silence replaced the usual busy sounds.
Even the guards looked more stiff, their hands staying close to their swords.
Kira walked at a steady pace.
Her eyes were always looking at the shadows on the ceiling.
I felt like I needed to check behind me every few seconds.
“You’ve been looking for him,” Kira said suddenly.
I jumped, and my heart raced.
“What?”
She looked at me from the side with a small smirk.
“You can stop. He’s not behind the curtains. But I think you’ve been staring at his study door long enough to burn a hole through the wood.”
I felt my face get hot, but I didn’t look away.
“I haven’t seen him in days, Kira. He just… disappeared after that night.” I don’t know why I said it so fast, or why I was telling Kira, maybe because she was the only one who knew what I was feeling inside.
“He’s an Alpha, Lena. And right now, he’s a King at war,” Kira said.
Her voice got lower as we walked past some guards.
“You don’t even realise how you react to him, do you? Every time someone says his name, your scent spikes. It’s like a signal.”
“I don’t have a ‘scent,'” I whispered, feeling embarrassed.
“I’m human.”
“You have a mate,” Kira said back.
“And he is Kael. Your body knows it even if your head is still confused. When he’s away, you can’t rest. When he’s near, you’re… loud.”
She saw I was confused and lowered her voice.
“Riven didn’t speak to me for three days when we first met. I thought he was a statue. I thought I was stuck with a man who forgot how to breathe. But I learned that Alphas hide just before attacking. They go quiet so they can hear the heartbeat of their enemies.”
I shivered.
“Is that what Kael is doing? Like… hunting?”
“He’s protecting what belongs to him,” she said firmly.
We turned the corner toward my wing.
I thought about the corridor from a few days ago and how Seraphina was standing so close to the Kael.
My mouth moved before I could stop it, like my body had a mind of its own.
“Seraphina is with him, isn’t she?” I asked.
I tried to sound like I didn’t care, but I failed.
“She seems to be his right hand in all of this.”
She looked at me with her sharp eyes and a smile that looked like a smirk.
“Seraphina is on the Council, and she is useful,” she said after a pause.
“She knows the books, the rules, and she has been part of this palace since she could walk.”
She stepped closer and whispered.
“But she’s not… necessary. Don’t mistake a tool for the hand that holds it, Lena.”
That should have made me feel better, but it didn’t.
You keep a tool close, and you use it every day.
We reached the heavy doors of my room.
Rosie was already inside, lighting the lamps.
I could see her shadow through the glass.
Kira didn’t leave.
She stood in the doorway, and her smile was gone.
She looked like a serious soldier again.
The joking was over.
“Lena,” she said.
Her voice was hard.
I turned back to her.
“Yes?”
“Don’t wander tonight. I mean it. Stay in this room and lock the door.”
The look in her eyes made it hard to breathe.
“What is going to happen?” I was confused and scared.
She looked down the long, dark hallway.
The shadows seemed to be moving toward us.
“The garden is being pruned,” she said again.
The words sounded much scarier now.
“If you hear anything in the halls… a fight, a cry, or the sound of something heavy falling… do not open that door. Not for anyone except me, Astrid, or Kael.”
She reached out and squeezed my arm quickly.
She was acting like a guard, making sure I understood.
“Get some sleep, Lena,” she whispered.
She paused and looked into my eyes.
“You’ll need it tomorrow.”
She didn’t wait for me to answer.
She turned and disappeared into the dark hallway without making a sound.
I stepped into my room and locked the door.
Rosie looked up, and her face was pale.
She didn’t ask what was wrong.
She just gave me a warm robe and started fixing my bed.
I lay down, but I didn’t close my eyes.
I watched the shadows of the trees on the ceiling.
The palace felt like a big animal holding its breath, waiting for something to happen.
I told myself it was nothing.
I tried to believe that whatever was happening had nothing to do with me.
But deep down, my heart felt heavy.
Tomorrow…
something in this palace was going to break.
Thank you for riding with me.
The silence in the palace is about to be broken.
Chapter 24 is next, and the “monster” is coming out.