ELARA'S POV
The music stopped.
I froze mid-spin, my hand still clasped in old merchant Theo's weathered palm. Around us, a thousand dancers halted like puppets with cut strings. The courtyard fell silent except for the fountain's babbling—too loud now, almost mocking.
"Your Majesty?" Theo whispered. "What's wrong?"
Everything, my instincts screamed. But I couldn't explain the sudden ice in my veins or why my starlight crown felt heavier than usual.
"Nothing," I lied, forcing my brightest smile. "Just catching my breath."
The musicians started again, and I spun away from Theo's concerned face. I was Queen Elara of Luminveil, and tonight was the Harvest Moon Festival. My people needed to see me happy, dancing, celebrating our prosperity. They didn't need to see their queen jumping at shadows.
I wove through the crowd, accepting congratulations and well-wishes, but I couldn't shake the wrongness crawling up my spine. The festival lanterns glowed too bright. The laughter sounded too forced. Even the magic in the air felt strange—crackling and sharp instead of warm and welcoming.
"Elara!" My best friend Mira appeared at my elbow, breathless and grinning. "You're missing the best part. The children are acting out the legend of the Moon Goddess, and little Sara is—"
"Have you seen Captain Theron?" I interrupted.
Mira's smile faltered. "Your guard captain? No, why?"
Because he promised to stay close tonight. Because he never breaks promises. Because something is wrong.
"Never mind." I squeezed her hand. "Go enjoy the play."
I slipped away from the main celebration, my silk dress whispering against the cobblestones. The outer courtyard was quieter, with only a few couples strolling beneath the flowering trees. I climbed the stairs to the eastern wall, where I could see beyond the city.
The mountains looked different.
Dark clouds gathered over the peaks like bruises, spreading across the sky faster than any natural storm. Lightning flickered inside them, but there was no thunder. Just silence. Heavy, waiting silence.
"Your Majesty shouldn't be up here alone."
I spun around. Captain Theron emerged from the shadows, his hand on his sword hilt. Relief flooded through me.
"Thank the stars. I thought something happened to you."
"I was checking the outer gates." His jaw tightened. "We received a strange report from the eastern watchtower. They claim they saw—"
"What? What did they see?"
He hesitated. "Nothing. They saw nothing. No traders on the road, no travelers, no merchants. The entire eastern approach is empty."
My heart started pounding. "On festival night? That's impossible. We have visitors from every province."
"I know." Theron moved closer, lowering his voice. "I sent runners to check on our outlying villages. None have returned."
The ice in my veins turned to frost. "How long ago?"
"Two hours."
Two hours. A runner could reach the nearest village and back in ninety minutes. They should have returned by now.
I gripped the wall, staring at those unnatural clouds. "We need to sound the alarm. Close the gates. Get everyone inside the—"
"My Queen." Theron's voice gentled. "If I sound the alarm during the Harvest Festival based on a feeling, the council will have my head. They'll say I'm paranoid. They'll say I'm ruining the celebration over nothing."
"Then let them say it!" I whirled to face him. "You're the captain. You protect this city. If something feels wrong—"
A horn blasted from the eastern wall.
Not the cheerful festival horns. The war horns. The ones that hadn't sounded in three generations.
Theron's face went white. "Get to the throne room. Now."
"What's happening?"
The second horn joined the first, then a third, then a fourth. They blared across the city in a pattern I'd only read about in history books. The pattern that meant one thing.
Enemy at the gates.
The festival music died. Screams rose to replace it.
"ELARA, RUN!" Theron shoved me toward the stairs.
I ran.
My dress tangled around my legs. My crown slipped sideways. I kicked off my dancing slippers and sprinted barefoot down the stone steps, Theron's armored footsteps thundering behind me.
The courtyard had transformed into chaos. People scattered in every direction. Parents clutched children. Elderly citizens stumbled and fell. The beautiful lanterns swung wildly, casting crazy shadows.
"TO THE PALACE!" Theron roared. "EVERYONE TO THE PALACE!"
A massive boom shook the ground.
I stumbled, catching myself against a pillar. The eastern gate—our beautiful gate decorated with carved moons and stars—exploded inward. Wood and metal flew through the air like deadly rain.
Through the smoke and dust, I saw them.
Soldiers. Hundreds of them, pouring through the ruined gate like a dark flood. Their armor was black as midnight. Their weapons gleamed red in the firelight.
And leading them, mounted on a massive warhorse, was a man whose very presence made the air feel colder.
He wore no crown, but I knew. Every instinct in my body screamed the truth.
This was a king. A conquering king. And he'd come for my city.
Our eyes met across the courtyard—his storm-gray and merciless, mine wide with the terrible understanding of what was about to happen.
He smiled. Not a happy smile. A hunter's smile.
Then he raised his sword, and his army charged.