The First Crack

Kaelith stood at the edge of the palace gardens, watching as the first light of dawn painted the sky.

He was not alone.

A cloaked figure knelt before him, their head bowed. One of his spies.

"She left her chambers last night."

Kaelith's fingers curled around the hilt of his sword. "Where did she go?"

The spy hesitated. "Through the servant's passage. She was careful, but we traced her to the eastern wing. She signaled someone."

Kaelith's jaw tightened. So. She was moving against him after all.

"Did you see who she met?"

"No, my prince. The passage was dark, and the contact was cloaked. But it was brief."

Kaelith exhaled slowly, his mind calculating.

Seraphine had always been careful. Too careful. But now, for the first time, she had slipped.

She had risked herself.

Which meant—whatever she was hiding, it was worth exposing herself for.

A New Strategy

Kaelith turned to his spy. "Pull back. I don't want her to know we saw her."

The man nodded. "Do you want us to follow her closer?"

"No." Kaelith's voice was quiet, but firm. "She will only grow more cautious."

Instead, he would set the trap differently.

If she had met with someone, then there was a trail to follow—not through her, but through them.

Kaelith's smirk was cold.

Seraphine thought she had control of the game.

But soon… he would watch her entire web unravel.