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Lahat ng Kabanata ng Caged by a King: Kabanata 1 - Kabanata 10

33 Kabanata

CHAPTER 1

They raced through the hedge in a storm of teeth and snarling breath, claws ripping up the king’s private garden. Moonlight slid over their backs as guards thundered behind them, spears glinting silver.Elowen ran.His lean fox body skimmed close to the ground, paws whispering over wet grass and breath hot in his throat. Roses brushed his flank and left streaks of scent he didn’t have time to savor. His heart pounded fast and bright, although it was not with panic.This was the plan.“Cut him off from the terrace!” a guard barked.That was perfect for him.He veered toward the center fountain, where a carved lion spat moonlit water. Beyond it, the palace rose in black, jagged lines against the sky. Valdris, the empire built on fear, loomed over everything. The air tasted of torch-smoke and polished stone, heavy with the weight of old power.Somewhere in the wildlands, his people would be holding their breath.A fox in the king’s garden was a death sentence.A fox too intelligent to be

CHAPTER 2

The throne room emptied slowly, like water draining around a stone. Nobles retreated in stiff-backed clusters, whispering behind their jeweled hands, throwing sharp, nervous glances toward the shifter standing bare and unbound at their king’s side.Corvin didn’t spare them a look.His hand remained hooked loosely in the leather collar at Elowen’s throat, a quiet, unyielding claim. When the last courtier finally fled and the hall doors boomed shut, the silence that followed was vast and taut, humming with something Elowen had felt from the moment he saw the king.He felt it as interest, danger, and possibility tangled together.Corvin let go of the collar only to step in front of him, hands clasped behind his back, posture deceptively relaxed.“Walk,” he said.His voice was not loud nor harsh. It was simply a command.Elowen raised an eyebrow. “Does your palace bite if I step wrong?”Corvin’s eyes, pale, clear, and ice-sharp, slid down and then up his bare body again. A slow, precise i

CHAPTER 3

When Elowen woke, the king’s heartbeat was the first thing he heard.It was a slow, steady human rhythm beneath stone walls and distant armour. Far too calm for a man who had dragged a shifter into his rooms and locked the world out.He lay on a narrow couch by the balcony, a folded cloak thrown over his bare hips. It wasn’t his cloak. It was black, heavy, and lined with a faint trace of spice and smoke.It had King Corvin’s scent.Elowen turned his head.The king sat in a high-backed chair near the fire, still in his dark shirt and trousers, cloakless now. Jet-black hair fell loose around his face, no longer braided into strict war-lines. He leaned over a table strewn with letters, one hand braced at his temple, the other resting on a dagger that lay idle but close.Corvin’s pale eyes were open. They watched Elowen through lashes that could almost be considered pretty, if they had not belonged to a man who ordered deaths before breakfast.“How long have you been awake?” Elowen asked.

CHAPTER 4

The throne room looked different when you walked into it clean and clothed instead of wrapped in net and rope.The banners still hung heavy. The torches still burned, the nobles clustered in neat little knots of silk and metal. But now their eyes didn’t simply widen. They tracked him like a storm crossing the stone floor.Corvin was already on the throne when Elowen entered, wearing black and gold, cloak draped effortlessly, posture perfect. He hadn’t braided his hair again. It fell loose, dark around his pale, unreadable face.Their gazes met.For a heartbeat, the world narrowed to that single line between fox and king, predator to predator.Then the whispers started.“That’s him!”“In the king’s own colors?”“Unacceptable...”Elowen let the sound wash over him like music. He walked down the center of the hall with lazy, unhurried strides, every inch of him radiating the truth: he did not belong to these people, no matter what collar he wore.He stopped at the base of the dais.Corvi

CHAPTER 5

The ceremonial procession formed like a storm gathering shape.The petitioners had dispersed, the nobles had reassembled in glittering clusters, and servants rushed through the hall lighting the tall gold-banded candles that marked the start of the monthly Oath Renewal, an old Valdran ritual meant to remind the court whom they served.Corvin disliked ceremony, anyone could see that. But he endured it with the same calm he used for war: steady, unflinching, impossible to read.Elowen, standing at his side like a shadow woven from silk and defiance, endured it too.The nobles’ stares speared into him like thorns.“How dare he stand there?”“Corvin has lost his mind.”“A shifter in court, shameful.”Elowen smiled at all of them sweetly. Let them choke on it.His fingers curled around the hidden crest coin in his pocket, the smooth, cold metal burning a warning against his skin.Strike soon.He watches.But who “he” meant, Elowen didn’t know, and that was the part crawling under his ribs.

CHAPTER 6

Corvin’s chambers shut out the noise of the palace the moment the doors closed behind them. The guards remained outside as ordered, their spears grounded and unmoving. Inside, the air felt heavier, as though the room itself understood what had just happened in the hall.Elowen took stock of the space as he stepped farther in. The king’s rooms were larger than he expected, but not excessive. Dark hangings embroidered with silver softened deep stone walls. A wide bed rested against the far wall beneath a carved raven crest. A blackwood desk stood near tall windows, covered with maps, letters, and a few scattered daggers that seemed placed more out of habit than intention. A couch waited near the fireplace, which burned low and warm.Corvin moved through the room with deliberate calm, unbuckling his sword belt and setting it on a stand. He glanced back at Elowen, who still stood near the center of the room.“You will sleep here,” Corvin said. His voice carried no strain from the recent a

CHAPTER 7

Corvin had not truly slept. Light edged the stone floor in a pale grey line, and he watched it climb toward the couch where Elowen lay. When the shifter woke, it happened in an instant. His breath caught, his eyes opened, and he stared at the ceiling before turning his head toward the bed.“So you do sleep,” Elowen said. His voice carried the roughness of dreams.“Occasionally,” Corvin replied.He rose and moved to the washstand where a servant had left fresh water and a folded shirt. Corvin washed his face, changed, and glanced into the mirror. Elowen sat up slowly on the couch and pushed hair away from his eyes. The faint golden sigils on his shoulder glowed for a moment before his shirt slid to cover them.Elowen watched him without shame or hesitation. “How often does the Sight come to you while you sleep?”“Often enough,” Corvin said.“Did it come last night?”“Yes.”Elowen waited for more information. When none came, he sighed. “You are skilled at saying only what you choose to

CHAPTER 8

The palace corridors were quieter as Corvin led Elowen away from the throne room. Their footsteps echoed against polished stone, and the chandeliers overhead cast long patterns of gold across the floor. Elowen followed with an unhurried stride, although his senses remained sharp. He did not trust any hallway in this place, especially after the puppet assassin.Corvin walked with focused purpose. The energy in his shoulders had the hard tension of a man with too many enemies and not enough time to hunt them all. Elowen studied the broad line of his back as they moved. The king had been carved by war, not privilege. Every step reflected that.“You did not answer my earlier question,” Elowen said. “Where are we going?”“To the inner gardens,” Corvin replied. “There are no crowds there. We can speak without half the court listening.”“Speak about what?”“About last night. And about whoever is trying to kill me.”Elowen’s smile sharpened. “You assume I did not arrive with the same goal.”“

CHAPTER 9

The trail carried the same sharp metallic bitterness that had clung to the puppet assassin’s skin. Elowen followed it through the palace corridors with Corvin close behind him. Two guards kept a respectful distance several steps back. Their silence felt heavy, as if they knew better than to disturb whatever the king and the fox were hunting.Elowen paused at a fork in the corridor. The scent seemed to gather in the air like a thin strand of smoke.“Here,” he murmured.Corvin stepped closer. “Which way?”Elowen lifted his nose slightly. “Right.”They continued down a narrower hallway that held little foot traffic. The light dimmed. Tapestries hung heavy and undisturbed. Dust lingered on the edges of the floor, as if this wing had fallen out of use long before Corvin’s reign.“Who comes here?” Elowen asked.“Few,” Corvin said. “It is mostly old storage rooms, and some council chambers from my grandfather’s time. Most corridors here remain locked unless a servant needs them.”“So someone

CHAPTER 10

The mage tower loomed above the palace like a stone spine. Even in daylight, it carried an air of old secrets. Elowen followed Corvin through the archway and up the narrow stairs that spiraled toward Theon’s work chambers.“Do I have to attend this?” Elowen asked.“You do,” Corvin replied. “You do not leave my sight until we settle what happened last night.”Elowen gave him a sideways glance. “You sound possessive.”Corvin did not look at him. “I sound practical.”They climbed several more steps in silence. The air grew warmer as they neared the upper floors. Elowen could smell herbs burning somewhere above. The scent mingled with candle wax and something sharper, like metal reacting to heat.When they reached the landing, Theon stood waiting near a tall window that filled the tower with pale afternoon light. Shelves crowded the walls, packed with scrolls, vials, stone fragments, and tools Elowen did not recognize.“The king tells me you found traces of an old spellwork,” Theon said.

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