Chapter2
1119 Words
The Blade in the Dark
The grand hall erupted into chaos.
Guards unsheathed their swords with a metallic scrape, their eyes flashing yellow as their wolf instincts flared. Snarls echoed through the stone chamber. King Leo Gideon shot up from his blackened throne, his presence commanding even amidst the panic.
Lucy’s heart pounded in her chest. An assassin. After me.
She barely had time to process the words before Leo barked orders.
“Seal the gates! No one leaves!” His voice was sharp, deadly.
The guard who had brought the warning staggered forward, blood seeping through his side. “They—they came from the tunnels. Slipped past the sentries. They’re inside the fortress!”
Lucy’s stomach twisted. She had heard of the infamous tunnels beneath Shadowfang—the labyrinthine passages rumored to be older than the kingdom itself. Only those desperate or suicidal dared to enter. And now, someone had risked their life to come for her.
Before she could speak, a hand gripped her arm—iron-strong, unyielding.
Leo.
He pulled her to her feet with ease, his golden eyes blazing. “You stay with me.”
His tone left no room for argument, but Lucy’s instincts screamed otherwise. She was not a child to be shielded. If someone wanted her dead, she needed to understand why—and fast.
“Who sent them?” she demanded, her voice low but firm. “Was it my father?”
Leo’s jaw tightened, but he didn’t answer.
Lady Seraphina stepped closer, her silk gown trailing behind her like shadows. “Wouldn’t be surprised,” she purred. “Humans are good at stabbing backs. Especially their own kin.”
Lucy glared at her, but Seraphina’s eyes only gleamed with amusement. There was no fear in her. If anything, she looked pleased.
Does she know more than she’s letting on?
Before Lucy could push the thought further, the doors burst open again. A second guard stumbled inside, his throat slashed open—gurgling his last breath before collapsing onto the stone.
Then came the assassin.
Dressed in black, face masked, moving with the grace of a shadow. Twin daggers gleamed in his hands, still wet with blood. His eyes—piercing and human—locked onto Lucy.
Time slowed.
Lucy didn’t think. She acted.
She lunged backward, breaking free of Leo’s grip. The dagger meant for her heart grazed her shoulder instead, slicing fabric and flesh. Pain flared, but adrenaline drowned it out.
Leo roared—a sound more beast than man. His transformation was swift. Bones cracked, muscles bulged, and claws replaced fingers. In mere seconds, the king was no longer a man but a monstrous wolf—standing on two legs, towering over them all.
The assassin hesitated—a fatal mistake.
Leo pounced.
The impact sent both men crashing to the ground. Claws raked across the assassin’s chest, blood spraying the stone floor. But the killer was trained—he twisted beneath Leo, driving his dagger into the king’s side.
Leo snarled in pain.
Guards swarmed in, weapons drawn. The assassin was trapped. He knew it. Yet his gaze flicked once more to Lucy.
And he smiled.
A suicide mission.
Before anyone could stop him, the assassin tilted his head back and bit down—hard. The crack of glass. Poison.
Lucy’s breath caught as his body convulsed—then went still.
Dead.
Silence fell over the hall, broken only by Leo’s ragged breathing. He shifted back into human form, his side bleeding but his face stone-hard.
Lucy met his gaze, her chest rising and falling rapidly. “He was here to die. For me.”
Leo wiped blood from his mouth. “Yes.”
“Why?”
“That’s what we’re going to find out.”
Later That Night:
Lucy sat in a guarded chamber—her temporary quarters in the fortress. It was cold, barely furnished, with only a narrow window overlooking the dark forest below. Her wounded shoulder had been bandaged, but the ache lingered—a constant reminder of how close she had come to death.
Leo entered without knocking.
He looked different now—clad in a dark tunic, his armor stripped away. His wound had been stitched, but weariness clung to him. Still, his presence filled the room like a storm cloud.
“You could have died,” he said bluntly.
Lucy lifted her chin. “I didn’t.”
A flicker of something—admiration, perhaps—crossed his face, but it was gone in an instant.
“We interrogated the body,” he continued. “A human mercenary. Paid in Avaniran gold.”
Lucy stiffened. “My father—”
“Maybe. Maybe not.” Leo leaned against the wall, arms crossed. “Your kingdom isn’t as united as you think. There are factions—those who would prefer you dead rather than married to me.”
Lucy’s stomach knotted. She had suspected the court back home was full of vipers, but this? Assassination?
Leo stepped closer. “Who gains from your death, Princess?”
She searched her memories—the political alliances, the whispered rumors. Lord Darrion, perhaps? He had always coveted her father’s favor. Or Duchess Elira, whose son had been rejected as a suitor?
Too many names. Too many motives.
“I don’t know,” she admitted. “But I will find out.”
Leo’s gaze softened—just slightly. “Good.”
She dared to ask, “Why did you save me?”
For a moment, he said nothing. Then, with surprising honesty, he replied:
“Because I need you alive. For now.”
Lucy sensed there was more beneath his words, but she let it rest. This was not trust—not yet. But it was something.
Hours Later:
Lucy lay on the cold bed, staring at the ceiling. Sleep eluded her. Her mind raced with questions.
Who sent the assassin?
How deep did the betrayal run in Avanira?
And why did Leo’s gaze linger on her just a moment too long when he thought she wasn’t watching?
Her thoughts were interrupted by a faint sound—a whisper of movement beyond her door.
Her heart leapt. Another assassin?
She crept to the door, ear pressed against the wood.
A voice—low and sharp.
Lady Seraphina.
“…the princess won’t survive long. Not with what’s coming.”
Lucy’s blood ran cold.
Seraphina’s voice dropped to a dangerous whisper. “Leo is blind. But I’m not. The girl will break, one way or another.”
Footsteps faded into the corridor.
Lucy retreated into the shadows of her room, her heart hammering.
Seraphina wanted her dead.
The danger wasn’t over—it had only just begun.
- Writer
