CHAPTER 23: WHISPERS IN THE DARK

 The tension in the chamber was thick enough to choke on. The flickering candlelight cast long, restless shadows on the stone walls, stretching and twisting like silent specters of doubt. Evelynn's fingers twitched at her side as she studied Selene, searching for any hint of deception in her emerald gaze.

Darius sat up, wincing as pain lanced through his side. Despite the weakness in his body, his voice carried authority. "Speak plainly, Selene. Who has betrayed us?"

Selene hesitated, her gaze flickering toward Lucien for the briefest moment. The silence stretched, winding tighter and tighter around them until it threatened to snap. Finally, she spoke.

"They have intercepted messages," she said, her voice measured. "Coded missives sent from within the castle's walls to Kael's forces. The pattern is obvious. Someone in your court—someone close—has been feeding them information for months."

Lucien shot to his feet, knocking his chair back with a sharp scrape. "And you expect us to take your word for it?" he challenged. "You arrive here, shrouded in secrecy, and demand trust without proof?"

Selene met his glare with an unshaken stare. "I expected skepticism. That's why I brought this." She reached into the folds of her cloak and pulled out a small, crumpled piece of parchment. With slow, deliberate movements, she unfolded it and handed it to Darius.

Evelynn leaned in as his eyes scanned the page. A sharp intake of breath. His hands tightened around the paper. Without a word, he passed it to her.

The handwriting was unmistakable.

Lucien's.

For a moment, Evelynn's mind refused to process what she was seeing. The letters blurred, the ink shifting and twisting, but there was no mistaking the elegant strokes of Lucien's script. Words of strategy, of locations, of weakness—sent straight to their enemy.

Lucien took a step back. "This… this is a lie." His voice was sharp, but there was something else beneath it. Not anger. Something closer to fear.

Darius's golden eyes locked onto his. "Then explain this." His voice was eerily calm, but Evelynn knew him too well. A storm was brewing beneath the surface.

Lucien's mouth opened and closed. "It's a forgery."

"Is it?" Selene's tone was unreadable. "Or did they simply catch you?""

A long silence fell between them. Evelynn's heart pounded so hard it hurt. This was Lucien. Beside them stood the man who had fought. The most trusted man by Darius. The man she had called a friend.

But the evidence was undeniable.

"Darius, you know me," Lucien said, his voice raw. "I would die for this kingdom."

"Then why did you sell it to our enemy?" Darius's voice was sharp as a blade.

Lucien took another step back, his gaze darting between them. His face twisted into something Evelynn had never seen before—panic. His hands clenched into fists. "You're making a mistake," he ground out. "Selene brings one piece of paper, and suddenly, I'm a traitor?"

Selene countered, "We intercepted more than one message." "Your name appears again and again."

Lucien turned to Evelynn, desperation creeping into his expression. "You don't believe this, do you?"

Evelynn's throat tightened. She wanted to deny it. She wanted to call it impossible.

But she couldn't.

"Lucien," she whispered, pain lacing her voice. "Tell me it isn't true."

For a moment, something in his face wavered. Then, his jaw clenched.

"I did what I had to," he said at last.

The words rang through the chamber like the final toll of a funeral bell.

Darius inhaled sharply. "You admit it?"

Lucien's eyes darkened. "You don't understand," he said. "None of you do. I never wanted this war, Darius. I warned you. I told you we couldn't win by brute force. But you wouldn't listen."

"Selling us out to Kael was your solution?" Evelynn's voice shook with betrayal.

Lucien's expression hardened. "Kael offered peace. He wanted a truce, not bloodshed."

Darius's grip on the sheets tightened. "He wanted submission."

Lucien exhaled sharply. "And what's so wrong with that? Is it so much worse than watching our people die for your pride?"

Something inside Darius snapped. He swung his legs over the side of the bed, ignoring the pain that tore through him. "You call it pride," he hissed. "I call it freedom."

Lucien's face twisted. "And what good is freedom if there's no one left to enjoy it?"

Evelynn stepped between them, heart pounding. "Stop," she pleaded. "Lucien, if there's any part of you that regrets this, help us now. Tell us everything Kael knows."

For a moment, she saw something flicker in his eyes. Guilt. Regret.

But then, it was gone.

"I can't," he said softly.

Darius's voice was ice. "Then you leave me no choice."

Lucien's stance shifted, his muscles coiling. He wasn't going to surrender.

Evelynn barely had time to react before he moved. A flash of steel. A sudden, sharp gust of wind as he bolted for the door. The guards outside barely had time to register what was happening before Lucien struck, knocking one off balance and twisting past the other.

"Stop him!" Darius roared, forcing himself to stand.

Evelynn sprinted after Lucien, her heart hammering. She reached the corridor just in time to see him disappear into the shadows.

Selene cursed under her breath. "If he escapes the castle, Kael will know everything."

Evelynn didn't hesitate. She ran.

The hallways blurred past her as she chased Lucien through the twisting corridors of the castle. Footsteps echoed behind her—guards, Selene, Darius, all giving chase.

She burst onto the outer walls just as Lucien reached the stables. He swung onto a waiting horse, his cloak billowing behind him.

"Lucien, don't do this!" she shouted. "There's still a way back!"

His eyes met hers. And for just a moment, she saw the friend she had once known.

Then, he kicked the horse into motion, disappearing into the night.

Evelynn stood frozen, breathless, her heart shattered into a thousand pieces.

Darius's voice was grim behind her. "There's no turning back now."

Evelynn swallowed hard, the taste of betrayal bitter on her tongue. She had thought they had won the war.

But the real battle had only just begun.