Sera's POV
I'm not supposed to be here.
But I press myself against the gallery wall anyway, hidden in the shadows above the Great Hall where Kael's war council meets. I need to hear what they're saying about the rebel attacks. I need to know if Duke Ravon the traitor I suspect will reveal himself.
Below, Kael sits at the head of a long table. Duke Ravon is on his right, looking calm and reasonable. Lycan, Kael's best friend, sits on his left. Generals and advisors fill the other seats.
One chair sits empty. The Queen's chair. My chair.
The Southern rebels are better armed than we thought, Lycan reports. Someone is funding them. Supplying weapons. This isn't random violence it's organized war.
I believe I know the source. Duke Ravon's voice is smooth as silk. The Ashwood Pack has been moving gold South for months. My spies have proof.
My breath catches. He's talking about my father's pack.
That makes no sense, a general argues. Ashwood just allied with us through the marriage. Why would they fund rebels?
Unless the marriage was a cover. Ravon leans back, his eyes calculating. Plant a spy in our midst. Weaken us from within while the rebels attack from without.
My blood runs cold. He's talking about me.
All eyes turn to my empty chair.
You think my wife is a spy? Kael's voice is deadly quiet. The kind of quiet that comes before an explosion.
I think we must consider all possibilities, my King. Ravon spreads his hands innocently. She appears conveniently during rising tensions. She has mysterious powers nobody can explain. Her family has been funding our enemies. The evidence speaks for itself.
Sera didn't even know about her powers until a week ago, Tessa speaks up from her spot against the wall. She was attacked by assassins. She's a victim, not a traitor.
Or so she claims, Ravon says smoothly. But Moon Blessed are known for their deception. Their ability to manipulate. Perhaps she's been playing us all along.
My hands clench on the gallery railing. I want to scream the truth that Ravon is the real traitor, that he's been planning this from the start. But I have no proof. Just a dark voice in my head and a feeling in my gut.
Kael stands slowly. The temperature in the room drops ten degrees instantly. His power radiates out in waves, making even the generals flinch.
You're suggesting I execute my wife for treason, Kael says softly, based on your suspicions?
I'm suggesting we investigate
Investigate my wife? Kael's voice rises. She was nearly murdered in my own garden. She's been training every day to defend herself because someone in this Keep wants her dead. And you think she's the threat?
My King, I only
Enough. The command cracks like thunder. Sera stays under my protection. If anyone has actual evidence of treason, bring it to me. Otherwise, we focus on the real enemies. The rebels. This council is dismissed.
Ravon's expression never changes, but I see something flash in his eyes. Anger. Calculation.
He's planning something worse.
The council members file out. I wait until the hall is nearly empty before climbing down from the gallery on shaking legs.
Kael stands alone at the table, his back to me.
You defended me, I say quietly.
He doesn't turn around. Did you doubt I would?
Yes.
Now he turns, and his storm-gray eyes lock onto mine. Why?
Because you don't trust anyone. My voice cracks slightly. You've made that clear.
Kael crosses to me in three long strides. I don't trust easily. But I know a real threat when I see one. And you're not it.
How can you be sure? I need to hear him say it.
Because if you wanted to destroy me, you could have done it the night your power awakened. Instead, you asked for help. For training. For justice. His eyes search mine. A spy wouldn't do that.
What would a spy do?
Seduce me. Manipulate me. Make me weak.
The words hang between us, charged with something dangerous.
And I haven't? I whisper.
Kael's smile is sharp, predatory. You've made me many things, Sera. Weak isn't one of them.
My heart pounds so hard I can't breathe. The space between us feels electric, like lightning about to strike.
How touching.
The voice shatters the moment like glass.
Lady Morgana sweeps into the hall, her smile cold and cruel. The King and his broken little Queen. So sweet it makes me sick.
Lady Morgana, Kael says, his voice turning to ice. You weren't summoned.
I heard about the accusations. Morgana's eyes fix on me like a predator. Must be terrible, being suspected of treason in your own home. Oh wait this isn't your home, is it? You're just a guest. A guest who's overstayed her welcome.
That's enough, Kael warns.
But Morgana steps closer to me, her smile vicious. Tell me, little Queen, when he finally tires of you and he will where will you go? Back to the father who sold you like garbage? Oh, that's right. You have nowhere. You're nothing.
The word nothing echoes in my head.
Nothing. Broken. Worthless. Weak.
All my life, people have called me these things.
Something inside me snaps.
Silver light explodes around my hands. The candles in the hall flare so bright they nearly blind us, then dim to flickering shadows. The temperature drops until our breath mists in the air.
Power pours from me controlled this time, focused like a blade.
I am Moon Blessed, I say quietly, and my voice carries through the hall like thunder. I am descended from the ancient bloodlines that ruled before your ancestors crawled from caves. I am equal to the Alpha King by law and by right.
I step closer to Morgana, and she stumbles backward, fear finally breaking through her mask.
And if you ever speak to me like that again, I continue, power crackling around me like a storm, I will show you exactly what 'nothing' looks like.
Morgana's face goes white as snow. She backs toward the door, nearly tripping over her own feet.
You're dismissed, Lady Morgana, Kael says, and there's satisfaction in his voice. And if I hear you've disrespected my Queen again, you'll answer to me personally. After she's done with you.
Morgana flees like her dress is on fire.
The moment she's gone, my power fades. I'm left shaking, surprised by my own strength.
Well done, Kael says.
I almost lost control, I admit.
But you didn't. He touches my shoulder, and the contact sends electricity through my skin. You're learning to use your power. To embrace what you are.
I look up at him, and something passes between us. Something warm and terrifying and inevitable.
The mate bond. Growing stronger every second.
Then I hear footsteps. We both turn.
A guard rushes in, his face pale with fear. My King, my Queen there's been an attack. In the dungeons. The prisoners from the garden assault the Shadow Brotherhood members they're all dead. Murdered in their cells.
Kael's expression goes deadly. Who had access to the dungeons?
Only your most trusted advisors, my King. The guard swallows hard. Duke Ravon was the last one to visit them. An hour ago.
The world tilts.
Ravon just eliminated the only witnesses who could testify about who hired them to kill me.
Find him, Kael orders. Now.
But I already know what we'll discover.
Duke Ravon is gone.
And he's taken something with him something that makes my blood run cold.
Because when I look at the empty council table, I see it.
The maps. The troop movements. The defensive plans.
All of Kael's military secrets.
The traitor just made his move.