The Serpent in Silk

Chapter 10: The Serpent in Silk

“You have your mother’s eyes, little wolf. But you don’t have her spine. Not yet.”

The academy didn't sleep that night.

Word spread like wildfire. The Alpha of Silvermoon had been found stumbling through the eastern gates, his chest wrapped in bloody bandages, his face pale as death. He refused to speak to anyone—not the medics, not the council envoys. He simply locked himself in his private quarters and didn't emerge.

The rumors were vicious. Some said he had been attacked by a rogue pack. Others whispered that he had fallen into a trap set by the Drakon bloodline. But no one—no one—guessed the truth.

That a seventeen-year-old maid had nearly torn him apart.

I stayed in my attic room, staring at the cracked mirror. The silver wound on my palm had already begun to heal, the edges knitting together with an unnatural speed. My eyes looked different, too. The deep brown was now flecked with faint silver, like tiny stars trapped in my irises.

I couldn't sleep. Every time I closed my eyes, I saw my mother's face. Smiling. Burning. Dying.

By dawn, I had made a decision.

I wasn't going to hide anymore.

I dressed in the cleanest uniform I had—still threadbare, still grey, but pressed and mended. I tied my dark hair back, exposing the bruises on my neck. And I walked out of my room with my head held high.

The academy was in chaos.

Students scurried through the corridors, their voices hushed and frantic. The banners had been changed—the crimson and gold of the Academy replaced with deep violet and silver. The colors of the Ashford family.

My stomach dropped.

I grabbed a passing student by the arm. "What's happening?"

The girl stared at me with wide, terrified eyes. "The Council is here. Elena Ashford arrived an hour ago. She's holding an emergency assembly in the main hall."

My blood ran cold.

She came early.

I pushed through the crowd, my heart pounding against my ribs. The main hall was packed—students, teachers, guards, all crammed together like cattle. And at the front of the hall, standing on the elevated dais where the Headmaster usually stood, was a woman who stopped my breath.

Elena Ashford.

She was beautiful in the way a glacier was beautiful. Cold. Unyielding. Ancient. Her hair was a cascade of pale gold, swept back from a face that looked carved from marble. She wore a gown of violet silk, the fabric clinging to her slender frame, adorned with silver embroidery that shimmered like frozen tears. Her eyes were the same silver as Zephyr's—but where his were calculating and sharp, hers were dead. Empty. Devoid of warmth, of mercy, of life.

Standing beside her, a few steps behind, was Zephyr. His face was unreadable, his posture rigid. His silver eyes flickered toward me for the briefest moment—a warning. Be careful.

Elena raised her hand, and the hall fell silent.

"Ladies and gentlemen," she said, her voice smooth as poisoned honey. "I come to you today with heavy news. Last night, the Alpha of Silvermoon—a respected member of the Council—was brutally attacked within the walls of this very academy."

A ripple of gasps ran through the crowd.

"The assailant," Elena continued, her cold eyes sweeping across the room, "has not yet been identified. But we have reason to believe that they are still within these walls."

Her eyes stopped.

On me.

The room went silent. I felt the weight of a thousand stares boring into my skin. My heart slammed against my ribs. My wolf stirred, growling deep in my chest.

Elena smiled—a thin, predatory curl of her lips. She stepped down from the dais, her heels clicking against the marble floor. She walked through the crowd like a shark parting water, her violet gown trailing behind her.

She stopped directly in front of me.

"You must be Mira," she said softly, her silver eyes raking over my bruised face, my torn uniform, my trembling hands. "I've heard so much about you. The invisible maid. The charity case. The mutant."

The word hung in the air like poison.

I clenched my fists. "I don't know who you are."

Elena's smile widened. She reached out, her cool fingers brushing my cheek. The touch was featherlight, but it sent a violent shudder through my body. Her nails were painted a deep, blood red.

"I am your mother's oldest friend," she murmured, loud enough for the crowd to hear. "And I am here to make sure that justice is served."

My blood boiled. The hollow in my chest shattered open. My mother's photograph. The fire. The screams.

She knows. She knows exactly what she did.

Zephyr stepped forward, his hand brushing Elena's elbow. "Aunt Elena, perhaps we should discuss this in private—"

"Quiet, nephew." She didn't even look at him. Her silver eyes stayed locked on mine. "I want to hear the girl speak. After all, she was the last person to see the Alpha alive, wasn't she?"

The crowd erupted in whispers. I felt the noose tightening around my neck.

Elena leaned in, her lips brushing my ear. Her voice dropped to a whisper, so low that only I could hear.

"You have your mother's eyes, little wolf," she breathed. "But you don't have her spine. Not yet."

She pulled back, her smile triumphant.

"Perhaps we should take this conversation to the Council chambers. I have so many questions. And you, my dear, have so many answers."

She turned, gesturing for the guards to approach. But before they could reach me, a voice cut through the tension like a blade.

"Touch her, and I'll break your hand."

Kael Drakon stepped through the crowd, his obsidian eyes burning. Ronan was at his side, his massive fists clenched. And behind them, slipping through the shadows, Zephyr positioned himself between me and the guards.

Elena turned, her cold eyes narrowing. "Kael Drakon. How delightful. I see you've taken an interest in the staff."

"She's not staff," Kael said, stepping forward. He stopped in front of me, shielding me with his body. "She's under my protection."

Elena's smile didn't waver. "Under your protection? How touching. But the Council does not recognize the whims of a boy playing prince."

Ronan stepped up beside Kael. "Then maybe you'll recognize a fist to the face."

Elena laughed—a cold, brittle sound. She looked at the three Alphas, then at me, something flickering in her dead silver eyes.

Recognition.

"Ah," she murmured. "I see now. The three Apex Alphas, all circling the same wounded bird. How... predictable." She tilted her head. "Very well. I will postpone the interrogation. But when the blood moon rises, little wolf, I will be watching."

She turned, her violet gown sweeping across the marble floor. She walked back toward the dais, her guards falling in behind her.

But before she reached the steps, she paused. She glanced back over her shoulder, her silver eyes locking onto mine.

"Oh, and Mira?"

I gritted my teeth. "What?"

She smiled, cold and beautiful and utterly inhuman.

"Your mother cried when she died. She begged for mercy. And I gave her none."

The words hit me like a physical blow. The world tilted.

She admitted it. In public. In front of everyone.

My wolf erupted.

Silver light exploded from my chest, cracking the marble floor beneath my feet. The crowd screamed, scattering. Kael grabbed my arm, trying to hold me back. Ronan shouted my name.

But I was already moving.

I lunged at Elena Ashford, my claws extending, my teeth bared.

I didn't care about the consequences.

I was going to kill her.

END OF CHAPTER 10