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Chapter 14: The Weight of What’s Coming

last update Tanggal publikasi: 2026-04-13 06:47:05
By the time Selene woke, the palace was already awake with her. She could hear it before she even opened her eyes: the distant rhythm of footsteps, the murmur of servants in motion, the soft clang of doors opening and closing. This place never truly slept. It only shifted. She lay still for a moment, one hand resting on the heavy curve of her belly. Eight months. Nearly nine. The realization sat differently now, it was no longer distant, but immediate. Her body reminded her of it constantly. The
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  • Mate In The Shadows    Chapter 54: First Days

    The silence woke Selene. Not because it was loud. Because it wasn't. For several moments she remained where she was, staring at the ceiling and trying to identify exactly what felt wrong. The room was warm. The fire had burned low during the night. Snowlight filtered softly through the curtains. Everything appeared perfectly normal. Which was suspicious. Camille was nowhere to be heard. Selene sat up immediately. The cradle beside the bed was empty. She stared. Then blinked. Then stared harder. "...Orion?" No answer. The other side of the bed was empty. Selene narrowed her eyes. That explained absolutely nothing. She pushed aside the blankets and stood. The palace was not in danger. She knew that. If something serious had happened, she would have known already. This felt different. This felt like baby-related trouble. Which was somehow its own category. Selene wrapped a robe around herself and stepped into the adjoining sitting room. Then stopped. Orion occupied one of the armchai

  • Mate In The Shadows    Chapter 53: The Turning Year

    A few days later, the palace found itself preparing for the final evening of the year. Not with urgency or endless ceremonies. Simply with tradition. The sort of traditions people followed because their parents had followed them. And their grandparents before that. Traditions nobody questioned anymore because they had become part of life itself. Throughout the city below, lanterns already appeared outside homes. Small lights. Warm lights. Families would leave them burning through the night to welcome the coming year and guide good fortune toward their doors. Children ran through snowy streets carrying paper lanterns nearly as large as their heads. Shopkeepers decorated windows. Bakers prepared special breads. And somewhere, inevitably, somebody was already arguing about the proper way to celebrate. As tradition demanded.Inside the palace, things were not much different. Camille sat in the middle of a blanket on the floor. Looking offended. Very offended. The cause of this inj

  • Mate In The Shadows    Chapter 52: Among Familiar Faces

    Breakfast had already been underway for several minutes when Evangeline finally decided she could not ignore it any longer. The dining room felt comfortably alive that morning. Snow drifted lazily beyond the tall windows while servants moved quietly between tables carrying fresh bread, tea, and warm dishes. Camille occupied Selene's lap. Or rather, half of Selene's lap. The five-month-old had recently discovered that sitting upright offered significantly better opportunities to observe the world. She now took that responsibility very seriously. At present she was watching a spoon. Watching it with deep suspicion.Across the table, Orion appeared entirely invested in a discussion with Quilan regarding winter supply routes. Sable read. Or pretended to. Elira drank tea. Theron looked like he had already disagreed with somebody at least twice. Everything felt normal. Which was exactly why Evangeline finally spoke. "Can I ask something?" Selene glanced up. Evangeline pointed her fork light

  • Mate In The Shadows    Chapter 51: Between Snowfalls

    The palace remained quiet for all of thirty minutes. Then Orion returned. Fresh winter air followed him into the royal chambers as he stepped through the door, brushing a few lingering snowflakes from his shoulders. He had spent part of the morning checking on the training grounds and speaking with a few of the guards rotating through the outer walls. Nothing urgent. Just life continuing. The sort of responsibilities that never truly disappeared.The fire still burned steadily in the hearth. Selene slept peacefully beneath the blankets. And Camille was awake now. The five-month-old laid beside her mother, entirely occupied with a lock of chestnut hair she had somehow claimed as her own. Orion stepped into the chambers and stopped. Orion watched the scene for a moment. Then chuckled softly. Camille looked up immediately at the familiar sound. Her eyes brightened. The hair remained firmly in her grasp. "That doesn't belong to you," he informed her. Camille ignored him. Orion

  • Mate In The Shadows    Chapter 50: Five Months

    A little over a week later, winter settled more deeply over the kingdom. Snow covered rooftops in soft white layers. Frost decorated palace windows each morning. The northern winds still arrived sharp enough to remind everyone exactly where they lived, though the palace itself remained warm beneath roaring fireplaces and thick stone walls. Five months had passed. Five months since Camille's arrival. Five months since an impossibly small child had somehow managed to reorganize the lives of everyone around her. Selene discovered this fact at dawn. At first she thought she was dreaming. Voices drifted softly through the room. Someons talking. Whispering.She opened one eye. Then blinked. Then stared. Orion sat cross-legged on the floor near the fireplace. Camille sat propped carefully against several pillows in front of him. They appeared to be having a conversation. A very serious conversation. Unfortunately only one of them spoke a recognizable language. "Ba." Orion nodded.."I

  • Mate In The Shadows    Chapter 49: Before Us

    By the time they returned from the older sections beneath the palace, night had already settled across the kingdom. Snow drifted steadily beyond the windows of the royal chambers while firelight flickered softly against stone walls warmed by winter hearths. Dinner had come and gone. The dishes had been cleared away. The palace itself seemed quieter than usual, as though the discovery beneath its foundations had somehow encouraged even the corridors to lower their voices. Camille slept peacefully nearby in her crib, wrapped securely beneath a blanket she had spent most of the evening attempting to escape from. Selene sat near the fire with a cup of tea cradled between her hands. Across from her, Orion reviewed a stack of reports with the stubborn determination of someone convinced paperwork would eventually surrender if glared at long enough. For several minutes neither spoke. Though the silence wasn't uncomfortable. Eventually Selene glanced toward him. "Do you think it means somet

  • Mate In The Shadows    Chapter 44: The Rhythm Of Morning

    Winter mornings arrived quietly inside the palace now. Not silent. It was never silent. Just softer than they once had been. Before dawn fully broke across the mountains, servants already moved through the upper corridors carrying fresh wood for the fireplaces while warm golden light flickered aw

  • Mate In The Shadows    Chapter 43: The Shape Of Winter

    A few months had passed. Winter arrived quietly. Not all at once. Just slowly enough for the palace to wake one morning beneath pale silver skies and realize the world had changed around it. Snow dusted the outer walls in soft layers while lanternlight glowed warmly against stone pathways below

  • Mate In The Shadows    Chapter 42: What Remains After Survival

    Dusk settled slowly across the palace, washing the stone corridors in gold and amber while lanterns flickered awake one by one beneath the deepening sky. Below the upper balconies, the courtyards remained alive with movement; servants carrying trays toward the dining halls, musicians tuning instr

  • Mate In The Shadows    Chapter 41: The Shape of Peace

    Morning arrived to the sound of tiny violence. Orion woke to something aggressively small grabbing a fistful of his hair. His eyes opened slowly. Camille stared down at him from where she had somehow rotated halfway across the bed, one tiny hand still tangled triumphantly in dark strands while th

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