Chapter Seven: A Trap
1401 Words
The fires in the great square had long burned down to embers, yet the smell of smoke still lingered in the city air like a ghost refusing to leave. Within the palace walls, torches flickered along cold stone corridors, casting shadows that stretched and twisted across the floor.
Word of the princess's bleeding had spread quickly.
Servants whispered behind closed doors.
Guards moved with unusual tension.
And in the deepest chamber of the eastern wing, a man knelt on the floor with iron chains around his wrists.
Captain Rethan kept his head lowered.
Blood from his split lip had dried along his chin, but he dared not wipe it away. Every muscle in his body trembled.
Across the room stood the most dangerous woman in the kingdom.
Queen Zara.
She leaned lightly against the edge of a long oak table, her dark crown catching the glow of the torches. Her expression was calm—almost bored—but her eyes were sharp as blades.
Beside her stood Prince Kael.
His arms were folded behind his back, his posture rigid. His gaze never left the kneeling soldier.
Neither ruler spoke for a long moment.
The silence itself was punishment.
Finally Zara stepped forward.
The soft sound of her boots echoed through the chamber.
"Captain Rethan," she said quietly.
The soldier flinched.
"Yes… Your Majesty."
Her voice was almost gentle.
"You were discovered outside the princess's chambers tonight."
"Yes, Your Majesty."
"With a dagger."
Rethan swallowed.
"Yes."
Zara tilted her head slightly.
"That is curious."
She walked slowly around him, studying him like a hunter circling wounded prey.
"Tell me," she continued softly, "why a soldier assigned to the eastern guard would be hiding near the chambers of Princess Elira."
Rethan's breathing quickened.
"I… I was not hiding."
Zara stopped behind him.
"No?"
"I was sent there."
Those words hung in the air like a spark near dry wood.
Prince Kael's jaw tightened.
"By whom?" Zara asked calmly.
Rethan hesitated.
Too long.
Zara moved again, stepping around until she stood directly in front of him. She crouched slightly so their eyes met.
"Captain," she said quietly, "this is the part where you answer carefully."
The soldier's eyes flicked toward Prince Kael.
"My prince…"
Kael did not move.
"Speak," he said coldly.
Rethan's voice trembled.
"I was told the princess might be in danger."
Zara raised an eyebrow.
"How noble of you."
The soldier lowered his gaze again.
"I went to check the corridor."
"And the dagger?"
"For protection."
Zara's lips curved faintly.
"Protection," she repeated.
She straightened slowly and glanced toward Kael.
"How loyal your soldiers are."
Kael's voice was sharp.
"He still hasn't answered your question."
Zara nodded.
"True."
She turned back to the prisoner.
"You were told the princess might be in danger," she said. "Who told you that?"
The soldier's hands clenched against the chains.
"My prince warned us."
The words fell into the chamber like thunder.
Every guard in the room stiffened.
Zara looked slowly toward Kael.
The prince did not react immediately.
Then he stepped forward.
"You will choose your next words very carefully, Captain."
Rethan's voice cracked.
"You sent a message to the eastern guard this evening, my prince."
Kael's eyes narrowed.
"What message?"
"That we should double the watch near the princess's chambers."
A quiet murmur passed among the guards.
Zara watched Kael closely.
"Did you send such an order?" she asked.
Kael answered without hesitation.
"Yes."
Rethan exhaled shakily, as if relieved.
"I thought… I thought there had been a threat."
Zara folded her arms.
"And what made you believe that?"
Rethan shook his head.
"I do not know."
"You do not know," Zara repeated.
"No, Your Majesty."
Her gaze sharpened.
"So you armed yourself, hid near the princess's door, and waited… for a threat you cannot name."
"Yes."
Zara's smile returned slowly.
"Interesting."
Kael spoke before she could continue.
"I ordered extra guards because the palace is unstable tonight," he said firmly. "My wife is carrying the heir to the throne. That makes her a target."
Zara considered him.
"That is a reasonable concern."
Kael's voice hardened.
"Then why am I standing in an interrogation chamber?"
Zara stepped closer to him.
"Because your soldier was discovered sneaking through the corridor."
"He was following my instructions."
"Was he?" Zara asked quietly.
Kael held her gaze.
"Yes."
The room grew tense again.
Then Zara sighed softly.
"How unfortunate."
She turned back to the guards.
"Take him away."
Rethan blinked in surprise.
"My queen—?"
"Your answers are unsatisfying," Zara said calmly. "But killing you would solve nothing tonight."
The guards pulled him to his feet and dragged him toward the door.
Rethan looked desperately at Kael.
"My prince…"
But Kael said nothing.
The door closed behind the prisoner with a heavy thud.
Silence returned.
Zara walked slowly toward the window overlooking the dark palace gardens.
"You are protective of your wife," she said without turning.
Kael's expression remained guarded.
"I protect what belongs to me."
Zara glanced back over her shoulder.
"How admirable."
Kael stepped closer.
"You still believe I orchestrated an attack."
"I believe many things," Zara replied.
"And which one is true?"
Zara smiled faintly.
"That depends on what I discover next."
Before Kael could respond, the chamber door burst open.
A young guard rushed inside, breathless.
"My queen!"
Zara turned calmly.
"Yes?"
"There's… there's been another incident."
Kael's eyes narrowed.
"What kind of incident?"
The guard hesitated.
"A body has been found."
Zara's voice remained steady.
"Where?"
"In the eastern wing."
Kael's stomach tightened.
"Whose body?"
The guard swallowed.
"A maid, Your Majesty."
Zara and Kael exchanged a brief glance.
"From the princess's chambers," the guard added.
The room went completely silent.
"Show us," Zara said.
Minutes later they stood in a narrow servant corridor lit only by two trembling torches.
A small group of guards had gathered around something on the floor.
They stepped aside as the queen approached.
The body of a young maid lay against the wall.
Her eyes were wide open.
Frozen in fear.
A thin line of blood marked her throat.
Prince Kael frowned.
"This is not poison."
One of the guards nodded.
"Her throat was cut."
Zara crouched beside the body.
The girl's hand was clenched tightly around something.
"Open it," Zara ordered.
A guard carefully pried her fingers apart.
Inside was a torn strip of black cloth.
Embroidered with a silver rose.
Kael recognized the symbol instantly.
"So," Zara murmured.
The guard looked confused.
"My queen?"
Zara stood slowly.
"That symbol belongs to a noble house."
Kael spoke quietly.
"House Velmora."
A murmur rippled through the guards.
The wealthiest house in Valerith.
Masters of trade.
Masters of secrets.
Zara studied the cloth thoughtfully.
"Interesting timing."
Kael folded his arms.
"You think they're involved."
"I think," Zara replied calmly, "someone wants us to think they are."
Kael looked down at the dead maid again.
"She served my wife for years."
Zara's eyes darkened slightly.
"Then she likely saw something tonight."
"And someone made sure she could never speak."
The torches crackled softly in the silence.
Finally Zara turned toward the guards.
"Double the watch around the princess."
The guards bowed.
"Yes, Your Majesty."
Zara handed the cloth to one of them.
"And send a message to House Velmora."
"What message, my queen?"
Zara's expression became dangerously calm.
"Tell them their name has appeared in a murder investigation."
The guard paled slightly.
"Yes, Your Majesty."
As the guards carried the body away, Kael looked toward Zara again.
"You're making a powerful enemy."
Zara met his gaze.
"In this palace, Prince Kael…"
Her voice lowered.
"Everyone is already my enemy."
The wind rustled through the corridor windows.
Somewhere deeper in the palace, a bell began to ring.
An alarm.
Kael turned toward the sound.
"What now?"
A distant guard shouted down the hall.
"Another breach!"
Zara's eyes narrowed.
"What happened?"
The guard's voice echoed back through the corridor.
"The prisoner!"
Kael's heart sank.
"What about him?"
The answer came a moment later.
"Captain Rethan is dead!"
Silence fell once again.
Zara's expression hardened.
"How?"
The guard appeared at the end of the corridor, breathing heavily.
"He was stabbed in the holding cells."
Kael's voice dropped.
"By whom?"
The guard shook his head.
"We don't know."
Zara's eyes darkened.
"Of course not."
Because whoever had killed him…
Had just erased the only man who might have told the truth..
- Writer
