Chapter ten:Snakes Among the Roses
702 Words
Listen, if you ever think palace gardens are just for roses and lazy strolls, think again. Evelyn Anthena knew better she’d learned to smell trouble behind every blossom, and today, the air was thick with it. The place looked like paradise, sure, but the only thing blooming harder than those damn roses were secrets sharp enough to draw blood.
Evelyn moved, quiet as a rumor, her cloak pulled tight. Alden sent her here, and he wasn’t exactly subtle about it. The king and his cronies were deep in some meeting, and Evelyn was “invited” to hang around and eavesdrop like a cat at a dog show. Nothing in this place happened by accident, not even the way the sunlight hit the ivy.
And, yeah, the garden was dangerous. Ask anyone who still had the scars.
She couldn’t help thinking about Thomas sold off, vanished, but always haunting her. Their bond? Built in fire and chains. Was he even alive? Still an ally, or had he turned? It gnawed at her, sharper than the knife she kept tucked away.
She turned a corner and boom there stood trouble. Green silk, veiled face, smile like a snake. The woman oozed charm but her eyes said, “Go ahead, trust me, I dare you.”
“Lady Evelyn,” she purred. “What an unexpected pleasure.”
Evelyn’s hand drifted to her dagger. “Funny, I was just thinking the same thing.”
You could cut the tension with a spoon. They circled each other, all smiles and venom.
“The queen’s a little jumpy with you around,” the woman whispered. “She’s worried the past is about to bite her.”
Evelyn’s jaw locked. “Isadora’s whole rule is a lie. And lies unravel.”
The woman’s laugh? Pure ice. “Watch your step. Gardens have teeth.”
And just then, the breeze shifted, and Evelyn’s world spun. Her knees wobbled, vision blurred like she’d been sucker punched by a bouquet. Poison. Of course.
She grabbed a bench, trying to steady herself, but the woman’s smile only grew. “Not every flower is your friend, Lady Evelyn.”
Panic flared, but Evelyn ground it down. No way was this an accident. Someone wanted her rattled or dead.
She dropped to her knees, voice barely a rasp. “Who sent you?”
The woman’s eyes glinted. “The queen’s got a long reach. And it’s deadly.”
Darkness clawed at her, but stubbornness flared hotter. She was done being anyone’s victim.
Footsteps thundered in Alden, finally. He caught her before she hit the ground, shoved a vial to her lips.
“Drink. Now.”
Poison and willpower duked it out inside her. Slowly, the fog lifted. Colors snapped back. Her heart felt like it wanted to rip out of her chest, but she wasn’t dead yet.
“I’m not done,” she spat, voice ragged.
Alden’s eyes softened. “And you won’t be. I’ve got you.”
One thing was crystal clear the stakes just got higher, and her enemies were watching. No more shadows. Next time, she’d be the storm.
Later that night, Evelyn huddled with Alden and Sir Gareth in a candlelit hideaway. Maps everywhere, secrets thick in the air.
“We’ve got friends,” Alden whispered. “People who remember the real queen. Who want justice.”
Gareth scowled. “But the queen’s spies are crawling all over this place. One slip and we’re done.”
Evelyn leaned in, eyes hard. “So we don’t slip. We strike first.”
Meanwhile, in her gilded cage, Queen Isadora paced like a caged wolf. An attack this bold? She knew what it meant the rebellion was real. And Evelyn was more dangerous than she’d ever guessed.
Prince Dorian lingered in the doorway, torn to pieces. “Mother... will this war destroy everything?”
Isadora’s eyes flashed. “I’ll burn the world before I lose this throne.”
Back in the shadows, Evelyn’s heart hammered. The poison in the garden was a warning, sure but it was also a spark. This wasn’t just survival anymore.
It was war.
And Evelyn Anthena was ready to burn it all down if she had to.
- Writer
