B Sinclaireの小説

The knock at the door still rang in my ears long after Caspian’s man had gone, swallowed back into the night. I sat at the table, staring at the dying candle as its flame flickered and twisted, shadows crawling across the stone walls. My chest felt tight, as though the air itself had grown heavier. Caspian had turned his back to me, his broad frame cast in gold and shadow, shoulders tense as if he carried the weight of an entire kingdom upon them.I should have spoken first, demanded answers, but silence pressed harder than words. When he finally turned, his eyes met mine with a storm I couldn’t name.“Kael has moved,” he said simply, though the words were thick with meaning. “He’s closer than we feared.”The weight of his voice sank into me. Kael—always the phantom, the shadow just beyond reach—now loomed nearer. My breath caught, and I pressed my palms against the table to steady myself.“How close?” I asked. The question scraped my throat, though I tried to make it sound steady.“C

Chapter 35 — Firelight and Strategy (Serenya’s POV)The day stretched long in the quiet manor, the air heavy with the scent of herbs drying near the window. I sat by the hearth, pulling my knees to my chest, watching as Caspian leaned over the wooden table with a map unrolled before him. His brow furrowed in thought, the firelight sharpening the edges of his features.I had grown used to studying him in silence — the way he always seemed half in the present and half in some memory, the weight of secrets resting heavy on his shoulders. But today, I couldn’t bear the silence any longer.“We can’t hide here forever,” I said softly, my voice breaking the hush of the room.His dark eyes lifted, locking with mine, and I felt that familiar ripple of tension. He didn’t answer immediately; he never did. Caspian’s silences were deliberate, thoughtful, a habit of someone who had learned long ago that words could be weapons.“No,” he agreed finally, his voice low. “We cannot. Kael won’t rest. And

Chapter 34 — Whispers of the Past (Serenya’s POV)The morning had settled into a slow rhythm, the manor quiet except for the occasional whisper of wind through the ivy and the soft hiss of the fire. I found myself lingering by the hearth, tracing the faint patterns of warmth across the wooden floorboards, and watching Caspian move with that same careful deliberation that had drawn me in yesterday. There was a patience to him, a quiet command that seemed to exist even in this secluded corner of the world. And, though I tried to ignore it, it made my pulse quicken in ways I had not felt in a long time.I caught him glancing at me from the corner of his eye, and I realized that something had shifted overnight. There was less restraint now, a subtle tension in his shoulders, as if he were weighing the distance between us. It reminded me painfully of those stolen moments at the palace — moments that had been both tantalizing and forbidden, where every glance, every touch, was laced with da

Chapter 33 — The Quiet Manor (Serenya’s POV)The morning light crept lazily through the narrow window of the small manor, painting long, thin stripes across the wooden floor. Serenya blinked against the soft brightness, the ropes around her wrists now gone but the faint marks on her skin a constant reminder of the night before. The quiet was almost foreign — no music, no clatter of servants, no the distant echo of the palace. Just the low crackle of the fire and the rhythmic sound of Caspian moving across the room.Her heart jumped slightly as she watched him, not from fear, but from curiosity. He was bending over the hearth, sharpening a dagger with a focus that made her stomach twist. She couldn’t help but notice the careful precision in his movements, the way his dark hair fell over his eyes, and the faint scars along his knuckles. Even in this small, secluded space, he carried himself like a predator who knew exactly what he wanted — and she had to admit, that part of him fascinat

Chapter 32 – The Scarlet Prince’s WrathThe grand hall of the palace trembled with the force of Kael’s fury. Guards lined the walls, standing rigid as the prince paced before the throne. His crimson cloak swept across the marble floor like a trail of blood, and the light from the sconces flickered with each slam of his boots.Serenya was gone.His mind replayed the words over and over, each echo worse than the last. Taken. By him.A captain of the guard knelt at his feet, head bowed low. “My prince… the men combed the gardens, the courtyards, even the forest’s edge. She was seen near the rose arbor at dusk… then nothing. Only a black-feathered arrow lodged into the hedge.”Kael’s fist tightened until the leather of his gloves creaked. “Blackthorn.” He spat the name like venom.He seized the captain by the collar and dragged him up until their faces were nearly touching. “How many times have I told you—her safety is paramount? And yet you let him slither in under your very nose?”The m

Chapter 31The cold night air bit at my skin as I stumbled through the garden, my hands bound behind me and a rough gag muffling my protests. My heart hammered so violently I was certain the entire palace could hear it. The cloaked figure moved silently beside me, guiding me toward a hidden carriage tucked between the hedges. Every instinct screamed at me to run, but the ropes at my wrists made even the simplest movements agonizingly slow.I swallowed nervously against the gag and tried to steady my breathing. My mind raced. Who could this be? My first thought was Kael, but no — this was different. Kael never would have approached me alone in the garden under cover of night. Could it be a rogue guard? Someone sent by the prince?The figure’s grip tightened on my arm when I hesitated near a twisting vine path. I swallowed again and muttered, “Please…” but the muffled sound barely carried. The voice that responded was deep, calm, and measured — almost familiar, yet shrouded in mystery.