Chapter 14

The palace had not slept the way it should that night. Even by morning, the corridors hummed with a tension I could feel in my bones. The servants moved with cautious precision, whispering behind closed doors, glancing nervously at the towering stone walls. Kael’s warning from yesterday echoed in my head: “The hounds of Veyris don’t just vanish. They circle, they wait, they test.”

I tried to keep myself busy, lingering near the windows of my chambers to watch the courtyard bathed in dawn’s pale light. The fountains gleamed, droplets sparkling like fragments of broken stars, yet even the beauty of it could not mask the unease creeping over me. My hands absentmindedly brushed the moonstone ring on my finger, feeling the cold, smooth surface. Lucien had claimed it was mine now, but the thought felt like a chain wrapped around my wrist rather than protection.

A soft tap at the door startled me.

“Astrid,” Kael’s voice called, low and commanding. “Get ready. We’re going out.”

I swallowed my rising apprehension and opened the door. Kael stood there, clad in dark leather armor that gleamed faintly under the torchlight, his amber eyes sharp and alert. He looked as if he had been pacing the palace halls all night, muscles tense, senses stretched to their limit.

“Where to this time?” I asked, adjusting my shawl.

“Outside the inner wall,” he replied. “We need to check for traces of the hounds. Veyris may have left something behind.” His jaw tightened as he added, “I won’t let him catch us off guard again.”

Before I could respond, the familiar shadow glided into the doorway—Lucien. His silver hair shimmered in the sunlight filtering through the windows, crimson eyes observing both of us like a hawk sizing up prey.

“You two look ready for a hunt,” he remarked, the corner of his lips twitching into a smirk. “Am I invited, or just the distraction?”

Kael shot him a glare sharp enough to cut steel. “You’re coming.”

Lucien inclined his head, almost lazily, and stepped beside us. The tension between the two men was palpable, and I felt it thickening the air around me. I kept my gaze straight ahead, trying not to imagine what would happen if they actually let their anger explode.

The walk to the inner wall was silent except for the soft scrape of our boots against the stone floor. Kael’s hand brushed mine once, a fleeting contact that made my stomach flutter and then freeze. Lucien’s gaze followed me the entire way, unreadable, intense, and slightly dangerous.

At the inner wall, Kael crouched, examining the stone carefully. “Look here,” he murmured, pointing at faint scratches and a patch of dried mud. “They’ve been here recently. Possibly last night, maybe even before the gate attack.”

Lucien knelt beside him, his long fingers tracing the patterns. “They’re meticulous. Trained. They leave almost nothing behind, except what they intend you to see—or find.”

“And what do you see?” I asked, leaning closer despite the tension curling in my chest.

“Nothing good,” Kael said, standing abruptly. “They’re mapping the palace. Finding our weaknesses. Waiting for the right time.”

Lucien’s eyes glinted, a mixture of curiosity and something colder. “Or testing you. Astrid.”

I flinched slightly. “Me?”

“Yes,” Lucien said softly, almost too gently. “Veyris wants to know how you respond under pressure. Fear, courage, hesitation… Every choice you make matters.”

I swallowed hard, feeling both exposed and uncomfortably scrutinized. Kael’s hand brushed against my arm again—a protective, grounding gesture—and I felt a surge of warmth that had nothing to do with the morning sun.

Hours passed as we patrolled the outer sections of the palace. The gardens, the stables, the perimeter walls—all seemed deceptively quiet. But every shadow made my pulse spike. Every rustle of leaves, every distant clatter of metal felt like a warning.

“I hate this,” I confessed during a moment when Kael and Lucien paused near the fountain. “I hate feeling like prey.”

Kael’s amber eyes softened, and he lowered his voice. “You’re not prey, Astrid. You’re strong. But you need to trust me—and trust Lucien, for now.”

I glanced at Lucien, whose crimson gaze met mine, piercing, intense, but not unkind. “For now?” I echoed.

Lucien’s lips curved faintly. “Survival isn’t forever. But in this moment, trust is a tool.”

I clenched my fists, unsure if I hated or admired the way he spoke. The tension between him and Kael simmered like a storm beneath the surface, and somehow, I felt caught in the middle, both drawn and wary.

By late afternoon, we returned to the castle’s inner courtyard, only to find the guards on edge, whispering urgently among themselves. One of the sentries approached, bowing low.

“My lords, Lady Astrid,” he stammered. “There… there’s been movement at the eastern gate. Someone tried to scale it, but they fled when they saw patrols.”

Kael’s jaw tightened. “Show me.”

We moved quickly to the eastern gate. My pulse quickened as I saw the faint marks left on the stone—a clear indication someone had tried to climb. And beneath the marks, a small, black-feathered token rested on the ground, a calling card of some kind.

Lucien bent down to examine it. “Veyris’s signature,” he murmured. “He wants you to know he’s here. Watching.”

I shivered, both at the thought and at the way Lucien’s gaze lingered on me, unreadable, dangerous.

Kael’s hand found mine again, holding me close as he inspected the mark. “You’re going to stay near me tonight,” he said firmly. “No exceptions.”

I nodded, torn between relief and frustration. I wanted to argue, but the seriousness in his tone left no room for it.

Night fell, thick and heavy, bringing with it a tense, almost suffocating silence. The palace guards had been doubled, tripled, stationed at every gate and hallway. Yet I couldn’t shake the feeling of eyes on me—watching, waiting.

I wandered the balcony under Kael’s watchful gaze. “I can’t help but feel we’re being toyed with,” I admitted, my voice barely a whisper. “Like they’re testing us to see how we’ll respond.”

Kael stepped closer, his hand brushing against mine. “Maybe we are. But they’ve underestimated one thing—you. You respond in ways no one expects.”

Lucien appeared behind us, leaning on the railing, his crimson eyes catching the moonlight. “Yes, unpredictable,” he said softly. “That makes you dangerous… and desirable.”

I frowned, unsure whether to be flustered or angry. Kael’s jaw tightened, and for a moment, I thought a confrontation would erupt between them. Instead, Lucien’s smile vanished, replaced by a sharp, calculating gaze.

“Tonight, they’ll come again,” he said. “And this time, it won’t just be a test.”

Kael’s hand found mine, squeezing gently. “Stay close,” he said. “Don’t leave me for a second.”

Hours later, just past midnight, the shadows outside shifted. From the darkness, figures emerged—tall, cloaked, moving with the predatory grace of hunters.

“Get down!” Kael shouted, pulling me behind the stone parapet.

Lucien moved like liquid shadow, slipping past the attackers with precision, his dagger slicing through the air with deadly accuracy. The intruders didn’t expect him—none of them did—but Kael was there, unyielding, his sword a blur of molten gold.

I watched, heart hammering, as the fight unfolded. Every movement was a heartbeat, every strike a pulse of danger. One of the cloaked figures lunged toward me, but instinct kicked in—I grabbed a loose brick and hurled it. It connected with a sickening thud, and the figure staggered, giving Kael the opening he needed to end the attack.

Breathing heavily, Kael stood before me, his body bruised but unbroken. Lucien appeared beside him, calm, unscathed, yet every inch of him radiated lethal intent.

“Veyris’s warning,” Lucien murmured. “He knows you’re learning to fight, to survive. That makes you a threat.”

I glanced between them, heart pounding, mind spinning. “And if he comes himself?”

Kael’s eyes darkened. “Then I’ll deal with him. But we’ll be ready.”

Lucien’s gaze softened, just for a fraction of a second, and I saw something in it that made my chest tighten—recognition, respect, and maybe… something else.

By dawn, the intruders were gone. The palace seemed impossibly quiet again, the echoes of the night’s chaos lingering in every shadow.

Kael guided me back to my chambers, fingers brushing mine with a protective insistence that made my stomach flutter. “You’re safe now,” he said, voice low. “For now.”

I nodded, unable to meet his eyes, unsure what I felt—fear, relief, or the dangerous pull of something I shouldn’t.

Lucien lingered in the doorway, a faint smirk on his lips. “The game continues, Astrid,” he said softly. “And you… are the prize in more ways than one.”

I watched him disappear into the corridor, and for the first time, I wondered not just if I could survive Veyris—but if I could survive the storm of Kael and Lucien’s attention, and the dangerous, intoxicating pull they both held over me.

Because the truth was undeniable: I wasn’t just caught in their world. I was at the center of it.

And everyone wanted a piece of me.

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