The words hung in the air like the smell of blood.
The royal armory was breached. My ARMORY WAS BREACHED.
I didn't ask how. I didn't ask who. I just moved. My feet carried me. The guards fell into step behind me as I cut down the corridor toward the west wing, Leyla at my heels. Her bare feet were silent on the marble, but I could feel her presence like a second heartbeat, out of breath trying to keep up.
"Stay here, i don't want you in the middle of men, anything can happen" i stopped her at the doors of the royal chambers.
"But-" she started. "No buts- This is an order!" i barked, i couldn't stand anything happening to her, not right now, not when i've finally felt comfort for the first time.
The armory doors were shattered. Not forced from the outside, splintered inward, being a soldier,i immediately recognized it. The racks of ceremonial swords and armor still stood, untouched, but the wall of steel-tipped spears and the case of palace guard crossbows… empty.
I crouched, running my hand over the splintered wood. "They didn't take anything valuable in gold," I said. "Just weapons." my voice now low. "That means they're not thieves. They're soldiers. Traitors"
The System chimed:
[Quest Updated: Identify the traitors before the coup reaches critical stage.][Time Limit: 3 days.]
Captain Jorven , a stocky man with scars like rope burns on his forearms, approached me with a bow."No sign of forced entry on the outer gates, Majesty. Whoever did this certainly had access."
Valric's name rose in my mind immediately, but too obviously, too soon. If this was him, he'd cover his tracks better He's sharper than this.
Leyla stepped past me, now dressed in a more modest manner, scanning the racks like she knew what she was looking for."Missing twelve spears, eight crossbows. Enough to arm… twenty men?"
"I told you to stay inside!"
"your majesty-" she bowed her head.
"Twenty-five," Jorven corrected. "And not just regular men, trained palace guard."
Her eyes flicked to mine. "That's not a riot. That's a strike team."
We left the armory under heavy guard. My council chamber felt smaller than usual when we entered, its high windows throwing long shadows over the table.
The High Queen was already there. Valric too, leaning in his chair like a man who didn't have a care in the world.
" I assume you've heard, Your highness" I said flatly.
"I've heard rumors," Valric chimmed in. "Alarming, if true. But, my King, the west wing is under your own appointed watch. Perhaps you should ask yourself where your loyalty truly lies."
My teeth clenched, a bone ticked in my jaw. It was a thinly veiled accusation, and in a court like this, an accusation was almost as dangerous as proof.
"Perhaps I should ask all of you," I said, letting my gaze sweep the room, "Why a breach of this scale was only discovered after the thieves were gone."
After the council dispersed, with more polite daggers in words than I'd heard in my entire life, and no actual answers.
Leyla followed me to my private study. "You didn't accuse Valric outright," she said.
"Too easy," I replied. "If he did it, I'll catch him. If he didn't, accusing him without proof hands him a weapon to use against me in the future."
She poured herself some tea. "You know, I like that you're not rushing in blind. I hate men who think brute force solves everything. It's boring."
"And what would you do?" i huffed.
"I'd find someone who talks too much when they drink, get them alone, and ask the right questions." Her smile was all teeth. "But I'm not a queen, so no one listens to me."
"You think you could find someone?"
Her expression shifted, all the teasing gone. "I know I can. And I'll do it, if you promise me something."
I waited for her to continue.
"When this is over… you won't forget who helped you."
There it was, her fear, naked for just a moment. Not death nor pain just obscurity.
"You have my word," I said.
The System chimed again:
[New Companion Quest: 'The Whisper Hunt.'][Leyla Veyrin will attempt to extract information from the palace guard and servants.][Risk: High — Leyra's Safety May Be Compromised.]
my throat ran dry, how could i afford to compromise her safety just for an investigation.
Two hours later, Jorven returned. His face was pale.
"We found a body, Majesty. One of the night watch, face down in the koi pond. No wounds. No blood."
Leyla's tea cup stilled in her hand. "Poison," she murmured. "It leaves no trace if you know what you're doing."
I looked at Jorven. "And?"
"And… this was left in his pocket." He set a folded scrap of parchment on my desk. I opened it.
Three words.
"Before the festival."
The festival, two nights from now,when the palace gates would be thrown open for the people.
A perfect time for a coup.
The System's voice was colder than I'd ever heard it:
[Time Limit Reduced: 48 hours until coup attempt.]
Leyla set her teacup down, her eyes locking with mine. "two nights."
And in that moment, I didn't know whether I trusted her because she'd earned it, or because she was the only person who hadn't yet tried to deceive me.