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2025-07-27 09:47:13
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Shadow's Essence 2.33
Book 2: Crown of ShadowsChapter 33: The Hunt BeginsXalara followed the wagon tracks until they joined a main road that could lead anywhere. In the slums, she'd learned that predators always had a den—somewhere they felt safe, somewhere they could keep their prizes. These weren't desperate bandits. They were organized, professional. That meant a base.The nearest settlement was Millford, according to a weathered road sign. Small farming community where a pregnant woman traveling alone would draw sympathy instead of suspicion. Perfect for what she needed.First, she needed different clothes. The merchant's dress was too fine, marked her as someone with money. She found what she needed hanging behind a cottage—a worn work dress with loose fabric that would accommodate her growing belly, and a threadbare shawl. She left a silver coin in place of the clothes. More than fair.When she caught her reflection in a stream, a desperate pregnant woman looked back. Someone fleeing a bad situatio
Shadow's Essence 2.32
Book 2: Crown of ShadowsChapter 32: The TrapThe unease had been building for miles, settling in Xalara's stomach like a stone. She'd felt this way before, back in the Shadowveil when the streets got too quiet before something bad happened. The kind of quiet that meant people knew to be somewhere else."Sergeant Thorne," she called from inside the wagon, keeping her voice casual. "We haven't passed anyone for a while.""Noticed that myself," he replied, his eyes scanning the road ahead. "Could be the season, could be market day in the next settlement over."But she could hear the slight tension in his voice now. He'd picked up on it too.The road wound deeper into the pass, steep wooded slopes rising on both sides like walls. Beautiful country, but it made her skin crawl. In the slums, you avoided places like this—too easy to get cornered, too many hiding spots for trouble."Those wheel ruts," Captain Morris observed, riding closer to the wagon. "Fresh ones, but heading away from whe
Shadow's Essence 2.31
Book 2: Crown of ShadowsChapter 31: The Empty CarriageThe formal royal convoy had been traveling for three hours when Prince Rowan first began to feel uneasy about the complete silence from the queen's carriage. No requests for stops, no communications about route adjustments, no responses to his periodic status reports. The sealed compartment that protected royal privacy was maintaining that privacy more thoroughly than usual."Standard travel pattern," he told himself, guiding his horse alongside the ornate carriage that bore royal insignia and appropriate ceremony. Her Majesty had seemed tired after the kingdom-wide crystal demonstration three days earlier. Extended rest during travel would be entirely reasonable for someone in her condition.But three hours of absolute silence felt excessive even for necessary recuperation."Your Majesty?" he called toward the carriage's curtained windows, pitching his voice to carry clearly without seeming to shout. "We're approaching the midda
Shadow's Essence 2.30
Book 2: Crown of ShadowsChapter 30: Eyes and EarsRiverside looked like every farming settlement Xalara had passed through during her years in the slums—people working hard, buildings that showed both care and the wear of constant use, and the kind of quiet activity that spoke of communities managing their own affairs without much outside interference. Perfect for observing how local authority actually functioned when they believed no one important was watching."Standard merchant approach," Sergeant Thorne announced as their wagons rolled toward the settlement's center, his voice carrying the practiced authority of someone accustomed to managing commercial ventures. "We'll need fodder for the horses, provisions for the road, maybe overnight lodging if the rates are reasonable.""Check the local magistrate's office about road conditions ahead," Guard Captain Morris added, playing his role as experienced protection assessing travel risks. "Bandits, bridge tolls, anything that might af
Shadow's Essence 2.29
Book 2: Crown of ShadowsChapter 29: The Road to TruthThe pre-dawn darkness concealed Xalara's true preparations while the palace staff made their usual arrangements for what they believed would be formal royal departure. She had listened to their carefully planned itinerary, nodded appropriately at their security briefings, and said nothing about the merchant wagons waiting in the service courtyard or the hand-selected guards who had sworn personal loyalty to her rather than institutional protocol.Three days had passed since her kingdom-wide crystal demonstration, and instinct warned her that royal travel would draw unwanted attention. People who hadn't witnessed her power firsthand might see a traveling queen as opportunity rather than authority. Better to let them focus on the wrong target while she learned what her kingdom actually looked like.The men she'd chosen for this journey had been selected as much through magical intuition as practical assessment. Her enhanced abilitie
Shadow's Essence 2.28
Book 2: Crown of ShadowsChapter 28: MiscalculationsThe emergency meeting convened in a location that officially didn't exist, behind wards that had cost blood and favors to establish. The five figures who gathered in the darkness represented interests that killed to remain invisible, their faces concealed by magical shadows that made identification impossible even to each other."Well," the eldest voice said with deadly calm, "that was fucking spectacular, wasn't it?"The crude language from someone who typically spoke in diplomatic euphemisms conveyed more about the situation's severity than any formal assessment could have managed. Fifteen years of careful work, burned to ash in a single afternoon by a pregnant girl who wasn't supposed to be capable of finding her own chambers without guidance."Every crystal in the kingdom," another voice hissed with barely controlled fury. "Every. Single. One. Simultaneously. Speaking through our own governmental infrastructure like she built th
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