RAVETHORNE🐺

Chapter Eleven

Gathering Shadows

Adelaide Nightvale

"What the hell, Adel?"

Annora shrieked as she nudged a towering pile of books aside with her foot, forcing a path through the doorway.

I barely looked up.

For two days, I had buried myself beneath stacks of ancient tomes, searching for anything—anything at all—that spoke of magical conception. Every book I finished left me with the same answer.

Nothing.

The room had become a battlefield of parchment and dust.

"It looks like your problems are bigger than mine," Annora remarked before sneezing violently into her handkerchief.

She had been sneezing ever since she arrived.

"You've caught a cold," I muttered absentmindedly as I flipped another page.

"What problem could you possibly have?" I asked, trying to sound interested, though my thoughts were miles away. Gwen's deadline loomed over me like an executioner's axe, and somehow I still had to help with Annora's wedding.

She folded her arms.

"Why do you say that as if I don't have problems too?"

Another sneeze interrupted her.

"Just last week the florist said there weren't enough baby blue roses for my wedding. She wanted to replace them with purple ones." She sighed dramatically. "Thank goodness Mother's friend offered flowers from her own garden."

She continued listing every tiny disaster surrounding tomorrow's ceremony.

I finally closed the book with a dull thud.

"Annora... did you really come here to complain about flowers?" I rubbed my aching temples. "I'm sorry, but I can't do this today. My life is about to fall apart in less than three days."

She stared at me.

Then, to my astonishment, she asked,

"Are you jealous because we're the same age and I found a husband before you?"

Silence filled the room.

I simply stared at her.

Of all the things I expected Annora to say...

That was not one of them.

The realization struck her almost instantly.

"I'm sorry!" she blurted. "I shouldn't have said that. Gwen has been whispering all sorts of things lately... and you've been so distant these past few days."

She lowered her head.

She genuinely looked ashamed.

I sighed.

"Don't ever say something like that again."

I softened my voice.

"And you know Gwen. She delights in planting misunderstandings between people. She enjoys watching everyone turn against one another."

That devil...

She was already trying to poison Annora against me.

"I'm really sorry," Annora whispered.

"I've just been... sad."

My irritation melted away.

"What's wrong?"

She rested her head gently against my shoulder.

"Mother received a letter from the palace this morning."

My heart skipped.

"They said Father won't be coming home for several days."

"What?"

I pulled away to look at her.

"But your wedding is tomorrow."

Among noble families, it was customary for the head of the household to give away his daughter in marriage. Only death excused such an absence.

"They said he's occupied with royal affairs." Bitterness crept into her voice. "What does that even mean? Father knows tomorrow is my wedding. How could they refuse him leave?"

She clenched her fists.

"All because of the Crown's business... and a few coins."

"Annora..."

I gently squeezed her hand.

"You know Uncle Borron would never willingly miss your wedding. Everyone knows how much he adores you."

She nodded, though tears threatened to spill from her eyes.

I tried to smile reassuringly.

Still...

An uneasy feeling settled deep within me.

Uncle Borron was one of the Royal Beast Trainers.

What could possibly be happening inside the palace that demanded his presence so desperately that he couldn't leave for even a single day?

Annora suddenly looked up.

"What if one of the nobles put him in trouble?"

She hesitated.

"What if he's been imprisoned?"

"Don't think like that."

I forced confidence into my voice.

"He may simply be occupied. We know very little about his duties within the palace."

That was true.

Royal affairs were rarely discussed beyond the palace walls.

Even so...

The dread inside me refused to disappear.

Something was happening.

Something big enough to keep a father from his daughter's wedding.

And I feared it was only the beginning.

Lady Consort Elissa Duskmere...

Two days had passed since the horror beneath the palace.

Yet the memory refused to leave me.

Each morning I found myself wondering how Princess Nyxa fared.

Ariel, the Ravenor guard who had carried her from that dreadful place, had laid her upon one of the palace halls where the royal guards would easily discover her. He had assured me she would receive treatment soon enough.

If we're found together," he had warned, "questions will be asked. Questions that may cost lives."

Whether we knew the answers or not hardly mattered.

The Crown had little patience for inconvenient witnesses.

From the safety of a stone pillar, I had watched the palace guards rush to Nyxa's side. Though relief had washed over me as they carried her away, my heart had remained restless.

I had heard nothing since.

For the past two days, my greatest pastime had become staring through the towering windows of House Ravenor.

The fortress was magnificent.

Cold grey towers pierced the sky, banners bearing the Ravenor crest fluttered proudly against the wind, while armored knights patrolled the vast courtyards with disciplined precision.

It was a place built for power...

Not comfort.

I rested my chin against my palm and sighed.

Without meaning to, my thoughts drifted to him.

Theoren Ravenor.

Though he was said to be somewhere within Yorkhaven, there had been no sign of him anywhere inside his family's fortress.

Where was the devil?

Was he displeased by our engagement?

The memory of our first meeting surfaced uninvited.

He had scarcely spared me a glance.

"My Lady."

Yena entered with a graceful bow, carrying a plain wooden box.

"Princess Nyxa has returned your dress."

A smile found my lips.

"That is so like Nyxa."

Always so wonderfully...

Plain.

At least it meant she had recovered.

"Leave it."

Yena bowed once more before quietly taking her leave.

The moment the door closed, I lifted the lid.

Just as I expected.

Folded neatly between the fabric lay a small piece of parchment.

I unfolded it.

Meet me at Shires tomorrow at noon.

Shires.

One of Yorkhaven's most beloved eateries.

I turned the note over.

Another line had been hastily written on the back.

My messenger will come. Wait.

A grin tugged at my lips.

So...

She had already planned everything.

That only left one important matter.

Choosing the perfect dress.

A gentle knock interrupted my thoughts.

The door opened once more.

"Lady Consort," Leela announced with a respectful bow.

"The Grand General requests your presence."

My smile faded.

A summons?

I straightened instinctively.

I could only hope I wasn't about to find myself in trouble.

Princess Nyxa..

A dull ache pulsed through my skull.

It spread to my ribs with every breath I took, sharp enough to make me wince.

The bull...

The memory returned in fragments.

The underground tunnel.

The broken cages.

The blood.

Elissa.

Then darkness.

I slowly opened my eyes.

The familiar silk canopy above my bed greeted me.

My chambers.

I was home.

"Pearly," I called weakly.

The door opened almost immediately.

"My Princess."

She bowed respectfully before hurrying to my bedside.

"How did I get here?"

"The palace guards found you unconscious in one of the eastern halls," she replied. "No one knew what had happened. You were already badly injured when they found you."

Good.

I wondered what happened after I was knocked out by the bull.

"What about Lady Consort Elissa?"

Pearly smiled faintly.

"She returned safely with the other guests who attended Princess Uzela's birthday celebration."

Relief washed over me.

At least she was safe.

But my thoughts refused to settle.

The cages...

The mangled beasts...

The dead trainers...

And that strange woman with snow-white hair.

Something had escaped.

Something capable of slaughtering beasts and men alike.

What was it?

And why had that dying woman entrusted the book to Elissa?

Perhaps it held the answers.

"Pearly."

"Yes, My Princess?"

"The gown belonging to Lady Consort Elissa... have it cleaned and returned to her."

I folded a small note and carefully tucked it between the layers of fabric.

If anyone searched the box, they would find nothing unusual.

Only Elissa would know where to look.

"Where is Father?"

"Th King is in his study."

I wrapped a coat around my shoulders and left my chambers.

Each step sent a sharp pain through my ribs, but I ignored it.

Curiosity hurt far worse.

The palace corridors buzzed with unusual activity.

Servants hurried past with lowered heads.

Guards stood at every entrance.

Even the air felt heavier.

Something was terribly wrong.

I stopped before the carved oak doors of Father's study.

After a deep breath, I entered.

"Greetings, Father."

He barely looked up from the mountain of scrolls covering his desk.

"Not now, Nyxa."

His voice was weary.

"I have far too much to deal with."

Normally, I would have obeyed.

Today...

I could not.

"I was at the Crown Beast Dungeon two nights ago."

Silence.

His quill slipped from his fingers.

Slowly...

Very slowly...

He lifted his head.

His face had gone pale.

"What... did you just say?"

"I was there," I repeated.

"I saw Sir Orion disappear through the hidden passage, so I followed him."

In an instant, he was standing before me.

His eyes searched mine frantically.

"Were you alone?"

His voice was low.

Dangerously low.

"Yes."

His shoulders stiffened.

"You foolish child."

The words were barely above a whisper, yet they struck harder than a shout.

"Do you have any idea what you've done?"

"I only wanted to know what was happening."

"What happened?" I demanded. "What escaped? Why were there dead trainers and torn cages?"

He turned away, both hands gripping the edge of his desk so tightly his knuckles turned white.

For several long moments, he said nothing.

When he finally spoke, his voice carried the weight of a man standing on the edge of disaster.

"Something unspeakable escaped that dungeon."

His jaw tightened.

"We are doing everything within our power to bury this catastrophe before it buries us."

He looked at me then, his expression harder than I had ever seen.

"If word of what happened beneath the palace reaches the kingdoms..."

"...the Crown will lose more than its honor."

"I might lose the throne."

The room fell silent.

My heart pounded against my ribs.

What kind of creature...

Could threaten an entire kingdom?

The question lingered in my mind.

And Father's silence told me the answer was far more terrifying than anything he was willing to speak.