Shadows Behind the Throne

I stood frozen, the letter crumpling slightly in my grip. The words burned into my mind, not just for what they said—but for what they meant.

Someone knew.

Someone had seen through this body, through the delicate noble mask I now wore.

But who?

Lord Valcrest's gaze was sharp, his fingers tapping impatiently against the arm of his chair. "Well? What do you have to say for yourself?"

I smoothed the parchment between my fingers, my mind racing through possibilities. My father was not the kind of man to concern himself with hidden threats unless they interfered with his personal ambitions. Which meant…

He wasn't asking because he was worried for me.

He was asking because he thought I was the threat.

I carefully folded the letter, setting it on the table between us. "And why do you assume I had something to do with this?"

His lips pressed into a thin line. "Because," he said, voice edged with suspicion, "you have changed."

My pulse steadied, my mind sharpening. Of course I had changed. The Elara Valcrest he had raised had been timid, naive. An obedient daughter meant to serve his ambitions. And now, the girl before him smiled too easily. Held herself with too much confidence.

He was beginning to notice.

I lowered my lashes, letting my expression slip into one of controlled disappointment. "I have changed, Father," I admitted. "Because I know my duty now. I have accepted this engagement. I have embraced the path you have laid before me."

A pause. His gaze flickered across my face, searching for deceit.

Then, slowly, he exhaled.

"Good," he murmured, rubbing his temple as if exhausted. "You should know, Cairon Everhart will not tolerate foolishness. He is a man of war. A man who—"

"Killed his enemies before they saw the blade coming?" I finished smoothly.

His eyes snapped to mine.

I smiled. "You do not have to remind me who he is."

I picked up the letter again, running my fingers over the wax seal, memorizing the shape. An ally, the sender had called themselves. But what kind of ally hides in the dark?

And why now?

I burned the letter that night, letting the flames consume the fragile parchment. If someone wanted to play this game with me, they would have to do better than cryptic warnings.

And I would find them before they found me again.

---

The next morning, I was summoned to the Everhart estate.

The carriage ride was long, the air thick with the scent of rain-soaked earth. By the time I arrived at the towering estate gates, the sky was a dull gray, as if the heavens themselves were uncertain of my fate.

I was led through grand halls lined with tapestries of past victories, chandeliers casting fractured light across the polished marble floors. This was a house built on war. Every inch of it a reminder of power seized and held with an iron grip.

And at its center stood the man who had taken everything from me.

Cairon Everhart.

He sat at the head of the chamber, reviewing documents with the ease of a man who had been raised on tactics and bloodshed. When I stepped forward, his gaze lifted—cold, unreadable.

"You came," he said simply.

I curtsied, keeping my voice light. "I was invited."

His lips quirked. "And yet, you came alone."

A test.

I met his gaze evenly. "Should I have brought an army?"

Silence stretched between us before he gestured toward the seat opposite him. "Sit."

I obeyed, my every movement measured. There was a reason he had called me here, and I needed to know why.

He studied me for a moment, then set his papers aside. "Tell me, Lady Valcrest," he said. "What do you think of this engagement?"

A dangerous question.

I tilted my head. "I think it is politically advantageous."

"And personally?"

I smiled, the kind that didn't quite reach my eyes. "I think that is not what matters."

He leaned back, his expression giving nothing away. "Your father says you were reluctant."

"I was," I admitted. "But I understand my duty."

"And what duty is that?"

I met his gaze, unflinching. "To stand beside the strongest."

Something flickered in his eyes. Amusement? Approval? I couldn't tell.

Then, to my surprise, he laughed—low, quiet, but unmistakable. "You are not what I expected, Lady Valcrest."

I kept my voice steady. "Nor are you, Lord Everhart."

For a moment, we simply watched each other, the game shifting between us. He was testing me. Measuring how far he could push. And I was doing the same.

Finally, he stood. "The wedding is in three weeks."

Three weeks.

A countdown had begun.

As I left the Everhart estate, my mind spun with calculations. If someone was working against this engagement, I needed to know who. And if I was going to survive this marriage, I needed to understand what game Cairon Everhart was truly playing.

Because one thing was clear—

I was not the only one keeping secrets.