Proof for the Palace

The guards stepped into the chamber, their boots crunching over broken glass and dried blood. Torchlight from the corridor spilled in behind them, making the room feel colder.

Darius stayed positioned over me, his body a solid wall between me and the intruders. His bleeding arm left fresh drops on the silk sheets, dark red against white.

“Get out,” he growled, voice low and dangerous. “This is our wedding chamber. You have no right.”

The taller guard didn’t lower his sword. “Emperor’s orders, Prince Darius. Lady Seraphina reported strange noises. We must confirm the marriage is properly sealed. For the alliance.”

Seraphina lingered in the doorway, her emerald gown glowing in the low light. She tilted her head, that sweet smile still fixed on her face. “Don’t be shy, brother. We’ve all heard the stories about your… temper. Father just wants to make sure the Voss girl isn’t already broken.”

I felt my face burn with humiliation. My hands clutched the sheets. Darius’s weight pressed me down just enough to look real. His free hand rested near my shoulder, shielding most of my body from their eyes.

“Confirm it from the doorway,” Darius said sharply. “You’ve seen enough. Blood on the sheets. My wife in my bed. That’s all the proof you need.”

The second guard shifted uncomfortably, but the first one stepped closer, eyes narrowing at the splintered balcony doors and the mess on the floor. “Looks like more than passion happened here. What really went on tonight?”

Seraphina laughed softly from the door. “Oh, come now. Maybe the little bride fought back. Or maybe something more interesting crawled in through the balcony. We all know how careful we must be with devils in the family.”

Darius’s muscles tensed above me. I could feel the heat of his skin through his open tunic, the rapid beat of his heart against my chest. “Call me devil one more time, Seraphina, and I’ll make sure Father hears how you enjoy spreading poison in his own house.”

Her smile faltered for half a second, but she recovered fast. “Threats already? On your wedding night? How romantic.”

I couldn’t stay silent anymore. My voice came out shaky but clear. “Leave us alone. We’ve done what was required. The alliance stands.”

The taller guard looked between us, then at the blood staining the sheets and my gown. “The Emperor will want a full report. Including any… visitors.”

Darius moved then, sitting up slowly but keeping one arm across me like a barrier. “There were no visitors. Only a clumsy accident with the doors in the wind. Now take your men and go before I lose what little patience I have left.”

Seraphina’s eyes gleamed as she studied the scene. “Such a protective husband. How sweet. Sleep well, dear sister. We’ll talk more in the morning. About family secrets… and mothers who send messages at odd hours.”

My stomach twisted. She knew something. Or suspected enough to dig.

The guards finally backed toward the door, swords still drawn but lowered. “We’ll report to the Emperor,” the tall one said. “He expects both of you at breakfast. No excuses.”

They left. Seraphina gave one last lingering look, her smile widening as if she could taste our fear, then pulled the door shut behind her with a soft, final click.

The chamber fell quiet again, except for the crackle of the dying fire and our breathing.

Darius stayed sitting on the edge of the bed for a long moment, staring at the closed door. Blood still trickled slowly from the cut on his arm.

I sat up beside him, my gown twisted and ruined. “She knows. About the man. About my mother.”

“Not everything,” he muttered. “But enough to make trouble.” He stood and crossed to the washstand, pouring water into a basin. He cleaned his arm roughly, wincing once but making no sound.

I watched him, the scars on his back shifting with every movement. “Why did you shield me like that? You could have let them see everything and blame me.”

He glanced over his shoulder. “Because if they think you’re weak, they’ll come for you harder. And if they think I’m soft, my father will strip me of what little power I have left.” He dried his arm and tossed the cloth aside. “We give them just enough truth to satisfy them. The rest stays between us.”

I slid off the bed and moved closer, my bare feet cold on the stone floor. “The intruder said my father made a side deal. That he’d sacrifice my mother to prove loyalty if this fails.”

Darius turned fully to face me. In the low firelight, his eyes looked almost black. “Then we make sure it doesn’t fail. My men are already moving toward the border tower. Quietly. If your mother is there, they’ll bring her under my protection by dawn.”

Relief hit me so hard my eyes stung. I blinked it back fast. “Thank you.”

“Don’t thank me yet,” he said, voice rough. “Nothing in this palace comes free. Protecting her means tying her to me too. To us.”

I nodded, understanding the weight of it. “I know.”

He stepped closer, his hand came up again, this time brushing a strand of hair from my face. The touch lingered longer than before. “You’re not what I expected, Elara Voss. Most women sent to me would have screamed or fainted by now.”

I met his gaze without flinching. “I’ve spent my life locked away because they called me cursed. Screaming won’t change anything here.”

A small, rare sound escaped him, almost a huff of acknowledgment. “Good. Because tomorrow the real tests begin. Breakfast with the family. They’ll pick at every word, every look between us.”

I glanced down at my ruined gown, the blood and wine stains. “Then I need to look the part of a proper wife. Not like I’ve been fighting assassins.”

Darius’s mouth twitched, not quite a smile, but close. “I’ll have new clothes brought. And someone to clean this mess before the servants gossip.”

He moved to the cord by the door and pulled it sharply. A bell rang somewhere distant.

While we waited, the silence settled again. I sat on the edge of the bed, watching him pace once, then stop by the broken balcony. The night wind slipped through the cracks, carrying the faint smell of the river below.

“You risked a lot tonight,” I said quietly. “Shielding me from the guards. Lying about the intruder.”

He didn’t turn around. “We both did.”

The door opened softly. Two silent maids entered, eyes downcast. They didn’t ask questions about the blood or the broken doors. One started cleaning the floor while the other laid out a fresh nightgown and robe for me behind a screen.

Darius spoke to them in low tones. “Clean everything. Speak of nothing you see. Understood?”

They nodded quickly and worked faster.

I changed behind the screen, peeling off the stained wedding gown with shaking hands. The new fabric felt soft against my skin, but it didn’t erase the memory of the intruder’s dying words or Seraphina’s smile.

When I stepped out, Darius had pulled on a clean black shirt. The maids finished and bowed out without a word.

We were alone again.

He looked at me across the room. “Try to sleep. Dawn comes early.”

I climbed back into the bed, pulling the covers up. My body ached with exhaustion, but my mind wouldn’t quiet. “Darius?”

He settled into the chair by the fire once more. “What?”

“If your men find my mother… what then? Will the Emperor let her stay here?”

He stared into the flames. “He’ll use her as leverage. Just like your father did. But at least she’ll be under my watch, not his.”

I turned on my side, facing him. “And us? How long do we keep pretending this marriage is real in every way?”

His gaze shifted to me. The firelight softened the hard lines of his face for a moment. “As long as it keeps us both alive.”

The words hung between us. I closed my eyes, but sleep stayed far away. Every creak in the palace sounded like footsteps. Every shadow on the wall looked like Seraphina or Ronan waiting to strike.

Hours must have passed. The fire burned lower.

A new sound broke the quiet, not from the door this time, but from outside the broken balcony. A faint whistle, like a signal.

Darius stood instantly, moving silent as a shadow to the edge.

I sat up. “What is it?”

He listened, then turned back to me, his expression tight. “My men. They returned faster than expected.”

He stepped onto the damaged balcony carefully. I followed, wrapping the robe tighter around myself against the cold night air.

Below, in the shadows near the river, a figure waited, one of Darius’s trusted guards, barely visible.

The man looked up and spoke in a hushed urgent tone that carried just enough. “My prince. We reached the tower. The queen was there… but not alone.”

Darius leaned over the railing. “What do you mean?”

The guard’s voice rose slightly, tense. “Your father’s men got there first. They took her. She’s being brought back here under heavy guard. But there’s more.”

My hands gripped the stone railing until it hurt.

The guard continued. “She sent one last message before they took her. She said tell the princess… the roses were never wilting because of her. They were poisoned from the start. By someone inside Eldoria.”

Darius cursed softly.

The guard added the final blow. “And the Emperor knows about the intruder already. Seraphina made sure of it. He’s calling an emergency council at first light. With both of you.”

I felt the ground tilt under me. My mother taken. The Emperor already suspicious. Seraphina moving faster than we thought.

Darius turned to me, his face shadowed but his eyes burning with something fierce. “We have until dawn to decide how we play this.”

Before I could answer, another whistle sounded, closer this time, from inside the palace corridors.

Footsteps approached our chamber door again. Heavier. More of them.

Darius pulled me back inside quickly, his hand tight on my arm. “They’re coming back. Stay behind me. Whatever they ask, let me speak first.”

The door rattled under a heavy fist.

“Prince Darius! Open up by order of the Emperor. We have questions about a dead man found in the river… and a missing queen from Voss.”