CHAPTER 4: The Shadow Prince's Whisper

POV: Luna

The claw mark is still there. I keep looking at it. It's warm. Not hot like Jace. Just... warm. Like touching sun-warmed stone. My seal won't stop screaming.

"That mark," Jace says. "Prince's brand. Kaelene royalty."

"No Kaelene prince sets claw in Aidion." Aiden's voice is flat. "Not since the Jacyra Accord."

"Then how's it on my glass." My voice sounds too small. I hate that.

The balcony doors don't open. They just... aren't closed anymore.

He's leaning against the railing like he's been there an hour. Tall. Lean. Dark hair pulled back. His shadow is wrong. Too long. Extra angles that don't match his body. He didn't break the ward. He walked right through it.

And my chest does something new. Not the yank I get from the twins. Something slower. Like stepping into a warm bath. I hate it.

"You've got a gap," he says. "Third pillar, south face. I've been using it for two nights. Nobody noticed."

"You used my ward." Aiden's frost crackles.

"I mapped it. Big difference. One's trespass. The other's useful."

Jace steps forward. Heat rolling. "Get out, cat."

The stranger smiles. Not mean. Just amused. "Your brother's keep. Not yours. That's gotta sting, exile."

I don't know how he knows Jace is exiled. I don't know how he knows anything. He smells like flowers that only bloom at night, crushed under a boot. Nothing sharp about him. Nothing aggressive. That's what's scary.

He circles me. Not like Jace did, all wounded and snarling. More like he's studying something under glass. He stops. Tilts his head. His pupils go thin.

"You don't smell wolf. You don't smell like anything from Aidion." A pause. "You smell like the Luxlyric texts. The locked ones. The ones they don't let anyone read."

"I don't know what that means."

"No. You don't." He sounds almost sad. "And that's the problem. You should."

Aiden steps between us. "Back off."

"I'm not touching her. I'm just looking." His eyes slide to Aiden. "You grab. I observe."

Jace's knuckles catch fire. "Give me one reason."

"Because I'm the only one here who knows Kaelene just voted to send the Clawguard. Three hundred shadow-walkers. Coming this way. The Elders want her dead before anyone can claim her."

Nobody speaks. The room feels too cold and too hot at the same time.

My knees want to buckle. I lock them. I've been running from Raven's enforcers and now there's an army from the mountains. I don't know if I want to laugh or throw up.

Then I hear it. Cloth shifting above.

I look up. A figure drops from the ceiling. Black clothes. Wrapped face. Blade aimed straight at my throat. I don't scream. I just stare, like it's happening to someone else.

The stranger moves. Not fast. Just... elsewhere. His shadow stretches and suddenly he's between me and the knife. He catches the attacker's wrist, but the blade grazes his sleeve, tearing fabric. A thin line of red appears. He doesn't flinch. Drives the man's own knife back through his shoulder. Quick. Quiet. The assassin hits the floor.

The stranger looks at his arm. Frowns. Wipes blood from his thumb like he just noticed it.

"Who sent you." His voice is calm. "And don't say Raven. She's smarter than ceiling work."

The man on the ground spits blood. "Sebyph network. Kaelene silver."

The stranger's face goes still. "My own court, then." He almost looks tired. "Disappointing."

I stare at the bleeding man. Then at him. "He was aiming for me."

"Yeah." Softer now. He wipes his thumb on his coat. "And I'm not letting that happen again. You've got my word. It's about the only thing I have left tonight."

Kai. The name clicks into place. The Shadow Prince. The third howl.

I step over the assassin. Look at Aiden. At Jace. At Kai. Three men. Three kingdoms. All looking at me like I'm a math problem they can't solve. I've been a problem my whole life. To the orphanage. To the gutters. Now to them. I'm tired of it.

"I'll hear him out. The cat."

Aiden's jaw tightens. "Luna."

"You locked me in. He walked through your wards to warn me." I meet his eyes. "I'll hear him."

"You don't owe him," Jace says.

"I owe myself the truth. And right now, he's the only one offering it without making me kneel."

Aiden's frost cracks the floor. He doesn't argue. That's worse.

Kai talks fast. "My father's dying. The second the old king's heart stops…"

"Wait." I hold up a hand. "Your father's dying?"

Kai blinks. "Yes. And the lords will tear each other apart for the throne. Every one of them wants your head as proof they're loyal to tradition. The Clawguard's already moving. The Sebyph network is compromised. Someone inside the court is paying killers and calling it patriotism."

"Why tell me."

He looks away for a second. "Because the bond pulled me. I didn't choose to come. My legs just kept walking. For three days." He shrugs. "I've been a weapon for my family my whole life. I'm done with that. I'd rather be a shield for someone who didn't ask for any of it."

Jace paces. Scorching the stone. Aiden stands still. Calculating. Neither looks at Kai. Both look at me.

"One night," Jace says. "Then you walk."

"If she's alive by morning, I'll walk wherever she tells me."

"She doesn't tell you anything," Aiden says. "She's under my protection."

"I'm under my own protection." The words come out before I think. "Honestly? Right now all three of you are kind of in the way."

Jace barks a laugh. Even Aiden's mouth twitches.

Aiden moves to the south pillar. Presses his palm to the stone. His face changes. The frost turns black at the edges. Rotting. Someone's been thinning it. Night after night. Slow.

Jace doesn't gloat. Aiden doesn't argue. That silence is worse than anything.

"Then we don't have one night," I say. "We have until she finishes."

Kai reaches into his coat. Pulls out a small dark bottle. Sets it on the table. Doesn't push it toward me. Just lets it sit there.

"Shadow-walk essence. If the wards fall, pour it. Masks your scent for six minutes. Enough to run."

"And you?"

"I'll hold the door. Six minutes is a long time for me."

"You'd die for her," Jace says. "You just met her."

"I just met her." He shrugs again. "Doesn't make sense. It just is. You'll figure it out."

My chest lurches. White light leaks through my shirt. Not the push from before. A tug. Like something's reeling me in. All three of them stagger. Aiden's frost shatters. Jace's fire flickers out. Kai's shadow snaps back to his body.

"There's another one." I can barely talk. "Not close. But coming. Something heavy. Something that makes the ground move."

"Orithorne," Kai whispers.

"The Werebear King never leaves his mountains," Aiden says.

"He's coming. I can feel him. And the seal..." I claw at my chest. "It wants him too."

The floor shakes. One massive thud. Then another. Dust rains from the ceiling. The claw mark on the glass cracks. All four tines split.

Three hands grab me. Cold. Hot. Cool. Holding me steady.

"What the…" Jace starts.

"He's not coming." Kai's voice is barely there. "He's already here."

The floor bucks. A crack splits the stone from wall to wall. From below, something hums. Low. Old. Patient. Like the mountain itself took a breath.

My seal aches. Four threads now. All tugging.

The last thing I see: Kai's hand reaching. Aiden's frost meeting Jace's fire over my head. And below, in the dark, two eyes opening. Gold.

The ground swallows us whole.