Chapter 27

The following days passed like a blade suspended over my head—close enough to feel its shadow, far enough that I couldn’t predict when it would fall.

Rumors bloomed in every corner of the castle: whispers of alliances being forged in shadowed rooms, of border patrols between vampire and wolf territories doubling overnight, of assassins moving unseen.

And in the middle of it all… me.

Kael and I had been careful in public, but the court was sharper than any predator. Every glance was dissected, every word weighed, and every step tracked. It was exhausting to exist here—like breathing in a room full of smoke.

That morning, the council chamber felt colder than usual. The long, crescent-shaped table gleamed under torchlight, its edges lined with vampire lords and ladies whose expressions were carved from stone.

I sat beside Lucien, who had been ordered to “represent the queen’s interests.” Kael stood across from us, flanked by two of his own kind—broad-shouldered wolves with the air of men who’d rather be anywhere else.

“This is no longer about isolated incidents,” one of the vampire lords was saying. “Wolves are testing our borders. Entire caravans have gone missing.”

“We’ve lost hunters too,” Kael replied, voice low but steady. “Don’t pretend this is one-sided.”

The argument was old—so old it felt like a dance both sides knew by heart. Accusations, counterclaims, offers of “compromise” that were really demands for surrender.

I stayed quiet, watching the undercurrent instead of the words. Lucien’s fingers drummed a slow rhythm against the table—a sign he was calculating something. Kael’s eyes flicked to me more than once, like he was gauging my reaction.

It wasn’t until the queen spoke that the entire room fell silent.

“Peace is… possible,” she said slowly. “But peace requires proof of loyalty.”

Her gaze slid to me like a blade. “Astrid. You’ve been close to both sides. Tell me—who do you trust?”

Every head turned. The silence was so thick I could hear the faint crackle of the torches.

I thought of what Kael had said before—that the wrong word could be used against me. But I also thought of the way his hand had closed around mine outside my door.

“I trust actions,” I said finally. “Words are easy. Show me who’s willing to bleed for peace, and I’ll show you who I trust.”

The queen’s smile was small but sharp. “How very… diplomatic.”

The meeting dragged on, but by the time it ended, Kael was waiting just outside the chamber doors.

“You could have just said my name,” he said as we walked.

“And have the entire vampire court accusing me of betrayal?” I shook my head. “No, thank you.”

“You think they don’t already?”

I stopped. “Do you want me to say I trust you? Fine. I do. But that’s not going to stop them from twisting it.”

He studied me for a long moment, something unreadable in his eyes. “I don’t care what they say,” he said finally. “I care what you think.”

Which was unfair, because he knew exactly what he was doing to me when he said things like that.

That night, the rain returned—harder than before, drumming against the castle windows like a warning. I couldn’t sleep, so I wandered the halls until I found myself in the east wing.

Kael was there. Of course he was. Leaning against a window frame, watching the storm with the kind of stillness that was almost predatory.

“You’re stalking me now,” I said.

“You walked into my hall,” he replied without looking away from the rain.

I joined him at the window. The storm outside swallowed the world in shadows and silver flashes of lightning.

“You’re too calm,” I said.

“And you’re too restless,” he countered. “Something’s wrong.”

He wasn’t asking.

I hesitated, then told him. “I heard the queen speaking to one of her advisors after the meeting. She’s pushing for a formal trial against you. Accusations of collusion with the enemy.”

“That’s not new,” Kael said.

“It’s not the same, either. She wants it public. If she convinces enough of the court, they can strip you of command.”

His jaw tightened, but his voice stayed even. “Then I’ll make sure that doesn’t happen.”

Lightning flashed, and in the brief light I saw the faintest trace of something in his expression—tiredness, maybe, or the weight of too many battles fought at once.

Without thinking, I reached out and touched his arm.

“Kael…”

His gaze snapped to mine, and whatever wall he’d been holding between us cracked just a little.

For a moment, the storm outside was nothing compared to the quiet tension between us. His eyes dropped to where my hand rested against his skin, then rose again to meet mine.

“You’re dangerous,” he murmured.

“So are you.”

Two days later, the first body was found at the border—a wolf scout, throat torn out. The queen’s council used it as fuel, declaring it an act of war.

Kael knew better. “This isn’t one of ours,” he said as we stood over the body. “Look at the wound. Too clean. Wolves tear. This was precise.”

“Vampires?” I asked.

He shook his head. “Something else.”

The thought made my skin crawl.

We didn’t have long to wonder. That night, while the castle slept, the intruder came.

I woke to the sound of breaking glass and the sudden, sharp scent of blood. By the time I reached for the dagger under my pillow, Kael was already in my room—barefoot, armed, and moving like the storm outside had sent him.

“Stay behind me,” he said.

The shadow moved fast—too fast. But Kael was faster, intercepting it in the middle of the room. Steel flashed, claws raked, and the sound of bone meeting stone filled the air.

I caught a glimpse of the attacker’s face—a pale, hollow-eyed thing, lips drawn back from razor-sharp teeth that weren’t quite vampire, weren’t quite wolf.

It snarled, lunged toward me—

Kael’s arm shot out, pulling me against him so hard I felt the impact in my ribs. His other hand drove the blade home, straight through the thing’s throat.

It collapsed without a sound.

“Are you hurt?” he asked, still holding me.

I shook my head. “You?”

“Not a scratch.”

He didn’t let go right away. And I didn’t ask him to.

We dragged the body into the courtyard under cover of darkness. Kael crouched beside it, his fingers brushing the strange, black-veined skin.

“This isn’t a random attack,” he said. “Someone sent it.”

I didn’t have to ask who he thought that someone was.

“They’ll blame you,” I said quietly.

“They always do.”

Thunder rolled above us. I should have stepped back, but instead I stayed close enough to feel the warmth radiating off him.

“What if we can’t stop this?” I asked.

“We will.”

“You sound sure.”

“I am,” he said, and then his eyes softened. “You forget—I have something to fight for now.”

It was ridiculous how fast my pulse jumped at that.

By dawn, the rain had stopped, but the tension in the castle had only grown sharper. The queen summoned the council again, this time with demands for Kael’s removal from command.

Lucien’s voice cut through the chaos. “You’re so desperate to tear him down, you can’t see what’s right in front of you. That thing last night wasn’t wolf or vampire—it was something else entirely. And while you’re all busy pointing fingers, whoever sent it is laughing.”

I almost smiled at him. Almost.

The queen’s expression didn’t change, but her eyes flicked briefly to me. And in that look, I saw something I didn’t like—calculation.

After the meeting, Kael caught up with me in the corridor.

“They’re going to push harder,” he said.

“I know.”

“We need to be ready.”

I nodded, then hesitated. “Kael… if they come for you—”

“They won’t get that far,” he said. “Not while I’m breathing.”

He stepped closer, so close I could feel the heat of him, the quiet promise in his presence.

“Besides,” he added, voice low enough for only me to hear, “I already told you. Always.”

---