A Promise Across Time

Chapter 17: A Promise Across Time

My heart lurched.

General Cassian.

The guards outside my chamber immediately drew their swords.

"Step away from the door!" one of them barked.

Silence answered him.

I climbed out of bed before either guard could stop me.

"My Lady," one of them protested. "Please stay back."

I ignored him.

Instead, I slowly approached the door.

"General Cassian?" I called cautiously.

"Yes."

His voice remained calm.

Not demanding.

Not threatening.

Simply... patient.

"You shouldn't be here."

"I know."

"Then why come?"

There was a brief pause.

"Because I gave my word."

The answer only deepened my confusion.

I exchanged a glance with the guards.

One of them shook his head almost imperceptibly, silently begging me not to continue.

But curiosity had already taken hold.

"What promise?"

Again, a pause.

"A promise to someone who loved you long before you were born."

A chill spread through me.

Queen Lyra.

It had to be.

The guards looked at one another.

"My Lady," the older one said quietly, "His Majesty ordered that no one be allowed near you."

"I know."

"But he's not forcing his way inside."

I turned back toward the door.

"If he wanted to harm me, wouldn't he have attacked already?"

Neither guard answered.

Outside, Cassian spoke again.

"I have no wish to dishonor the Alpha King's hospitality."

"I merely ask for five minutes."

"Five minutes?"

"So that I may leave in peace."

His words sounded sincere.

Too sincere.

I rested my hand against the wooden door.

There was only a slab of oak separating us.

"Why are you calling me the Blood Heir?"

"Because it is what you are."

"I've been Ayla my entire life."

"And you always will be."

His answer surprised me.

"So you don't expect me to become... whoever you think I am?"

"I expect nothing."

His voice softened.

"My duty is to protect your choices."

Those words caught me off guard.

Protect your choices.

They sounded strangely familiar.

Almost like something Kael would say.

Before I could ask another question, hurried footsteps echoed down the corridor.

"Move aside."

Kael.

The guards immediately bowed.

"Your Majesty."

I opened the door before anyone else could speak.

Kael stood in the corridor wearing a dark cloak thrown hastily over his shoulders.

Several royal knights surrounded him.

His silver eyes immediately searched my face.

"Are you alright?"

I nodded.

"I'm fine."

Only then did he look beyond me.

The corridor...

Was empty.

No General Cassian.

No soldiers.

No sign that anyone had ever been there.

The younger guard frowned.

"He was just here."

"I heard him myself."

"So did I," the older guard added.

Kael walked to the spot directly outside my door.

He crouched slightly, studying the polished stone floor.

Then he picked up something small.

A single white lily.

Fresh.

Its petals were still covered with tiny drops of dew.

He held it in silence before handing it to me.

"This belongs to you."

I accepted the flower carefully.

Its fragrance was delicate.

Sweet.

Almost comforting.

"He left this?"

Kael nodded.

"It appears so."

I looked down at the lily.

"Why?"

"I don't know."

For several moments, neither of us spoke.

Finally, I looked back at him.

"I wanted to talk to him."

"I know."

"You would've let me."

"I would have."

His answer came without hesitation.

"But not alone."

A small smile tugged at my lips.

"I figured."

The corner of his mouth lifted ever so slightly.

"I've become predictable."

"A little."

One of the knights suddenly approached.

"Your Majesty."

"The eastern corridor has been searched."

"No trace of the intruder."

Kael frowned.

"Continue."

"Yes, sire."

The knight hurried away.

I glanced back at the white lily still resting in my hands.

"It doesn't make sense."

"He was here."

"He spoke to us."

"Then he disappeared."

Kael looked thoughtfully down the corridor.

"There are old passages beneath this palace."

"Older than the kingdom itself."

"Very few people know they exist."

"You think he used one?"

"It's possible."

His gaze shifted to me again.

"But that's a question for tomorrow."

"You need rest."

I laughed softly.

"You really won't stop reminding me, will you?"

"Not while you're carrying two children."

"And if I weren't?"

He looked genuinely thoughtful.

"I would probably still remind you to sleep."

I couldn't help smiling.

There was something comforting about the way he cared for me without making it feel suffocating.

As if noticing the smile, Kael cleared his throat.

"I'll increase the guard outside your chambers."

"Will that make you worry less?"

"It might."

His honesty made me laugh again.

Lady Miriam often said that actions revealed a person's heart more clearly than words.

If that was true...

Kael's heart was kinder than he realized.

He turned to leave before stopping once more.

"Oh."

"I almost forgot."

I tilted my head.

"The royal gardens are usually quiet at sunrise."

"They help me think."

He hesitated for a moment.

"If you'd like..."

"...I could show them to you tomorrow."

It wasn't an order.

Nor was it a royal invitation.

It sounded almost...

Shy.

"I'd like that."

For the first time that night, Kael smiled without restraint.

It was brief.

But it transformed his entire face.

"Then I'll come after breakfast."

After he disappeared down the corridor, I closed the chamber door gently behind me.

I looked once more at the white lily in my hand.

Tucked carefully around its stem...

Almost hidden beneath the petals...

Was a narrow strip of aged parchment tied with silver thread.

I was certain it hadn't been there a moment ago.

With trembling fingers, I untied it.

Only four words were written upon the faded paper.

Trust the Alpha King.

My breath caught.

Cassian hadn't come to turn me against Kael.

He had come...

To warn me that someone else could not be trusted.