Chapter 40: Shadow That Remembers
664 Words
The palace did not feel the same after that day.
Even the air seemed different.
Heavier.
As though something unseen had settled over the kingdom—quiet, patient, waiting.
Diana stood by the balcony of her chambers, arms resting lightly against the railing as she stared out into the distance. The sky stretched endlessly, calm and clear, but it did nothing to settle the unease sitting in her chest.
Too much had changed.
Too quickly.
A soft knock broke the silence.
“Enter,” she said.
The door opened, and Theon stepped in.
Diana glanced over her shoulder. “You knock now?”
“I adapt when necessary,” he replied calmly.
That earned the faintest hint of a smile from her.
Theon walked further into the room, his expression more serious than usual. “There’s been a development.”
Diana straightened slightly. “What kind?”
“The kind that concerns you.”
Her chest tightened. “Just say it.”
Theon didn’t delay.
“We’ve identified them.”
Diana frowned. “Identified who?”
“The ones who targeted you.”
A pause.
“Percy,” Theon continued. “And his sister… Camilla.”
The name meant nothing at first.
Then—
A faint, distant unease stirred inside her.
“…What about them?” Diana asked quietly.
Theon’s gaze sharpened slightly. “They are not ordinary enemies.”
“That much was obvious.”
“No,” he said. “You don’t understand.”
Silence settled.
Then—
“Camilla is older than she appears.”
Diana’s brows furrowed. “How old?”
Theon held her gaze.
“She was alive during Tatiana’s era.”
The words landed heavily.
Diana’s breath stilled.
“That’s not possible,” she said.
“It is,” Theon replied. “She was very young then—but she lived through it.”
Diana turned fully now, her mind racing. “Then why—”
“She holds a grudge,” Theon said.
“Against me?” Diana asked.
“No.”
A pause.
“Against Tatiana.”
That made something shift.
Deep.
Unsettling.
Diana frowned. “Why would she hate her?”
“That,” Theon said, “is what we are trying to understand.”
Before Diana could respond, another presence filled the room.
Kaelen.
He didn’t knock.
Of course he didn’t.
“So it’s confirmed,” he said, arms crossed. “Not just random attacks.”
Diana glanced between them. “You both knew?”
“Not everything,” Kaelen replied. “But enough to know this isn’t over.”
The tension in the room thickened.
Diana’s voice dropped slightly. “…If this is about Tatiana… then why come after me?”
Theon answered this time.
“Because you are connected to her.”
Diana’s fingers tightened slightly against her arm.
“That doesn’t mean I’m responsible for whatever happened back then.”
“No,” Theon agreed. “But it makes you a target.”
Silence followed.
Heavy.
Then Kaelen stepped closer, his tone softer—but no less serious.
“Which means you don’t get to take risks anymore.”
Diana exhaled sharply. “I wasn’t planning to.”
“Good,” he said. “Because next time, we might not get there in time.”
The words lingered.
Not as a threat.
As a truth.
Diana turned back toward the balcony slowly, her thoughts spiraling in directions she couldn’t fully control.
Tatiana.
A name she barely understood.
A past she wasn’t part of.
And yet—
It was reaching for her anyway.
From somewhere far behind.
From someone who had been waiting long enough to turn memory into hatred.
Her voice came quieter this time.
“…What did she do?”
Neither of her brothers answered immediately.
Because they didn’t know.
And somehow—
That made it worse.
Far beyond the palace walls, hidden beneath shadow and silence—
Something stirred.
Not new.
Not recent.
Old.
Patient.
And very much awake.
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