The Warning
1509 Words
I didn’t open the door.
Not immediately.
I stood perfectly still, my fingers clenched around the folded note.
RUN WHILE YOU STILL CAN.
The words seemed darker now than they had a moment ago.
Not because the ink had changed.
Because I had.
Someone had been inside my room.
Someone had known exactly where I would be.
Someone had left a warning… or a trap.
Another knock echoed through the suite.
Three measured taps.
Not impatient.
Not forceful.
Controlled.
Just like the man standing on the other side.
“Lyra.”
Kael’s voice was calm.
Too calm.
I looked from the note to the door.
If I opened it, I might be stepping into another cage.
If I didn’t…
I had nowhere else to go.
I slipped the note into the pocket of my jacket.
Then crossed the room.
The door slid open.
Kael stood alone.
No guards.
No officials.
No weapons visible.
His eyes swept over my face for the briefest second.
Taking in every tiny detail.
“You took longer than expected.”
“I was deciding whether opening the door was a mistake.”
Something flickered across his face.
It disappeared before I could name it.
“May I come in?”
The question caught me off guard.
He was asking.
Not ordering.
Not assuming.
Asking.
I hesitated.
Then stepped aside without saying a word.
Kael entered.
The doors closed behind him.
Silence settled over the room.
He didn’t wander around.
Didn’t inspect anything.
He simply stood a respectful distance away.
As if he knew getting too close would send me running.
“What do you want?” I asked.
“I wanted to make sure you arrived safely.”
I almost laughed.
“I’ve been escorted by soldiers since yesterday.”
“I know.”
“So why ask?”
His gaze remained steady.
“Because soldiers don’t stop every danger.”
A chill crawled down my spine.
Did he know?
Did he already know about the note?
My fingers instinctively brushed against my pocket.
His eyes followed the movement.
Only for a second.
Then I returned to my face.
Nothing escaped this man.
Nothing.
“You look frightened,” he said quietly.
“I wonder why.”
There was enough bitterness in my voice to cut steel.
He accepted it without reacting.
“I know this isn’t easy.”
“Stop saying that.”
His brow lifted slightly.
“You keep acting like this is an inconvenience.”
I shook my head.
“This isn’t difficult.”
I took a slow step toward him.
“This is my life.”
The words landed between us.
Heavy.
Unavoidable.
“You arrived on my world without warning.”
Another step.
“You announced a marriage I never agreed to.”
Another.
“You brought me across the galaxy.”
I stopped only when a few feet separated us.
“And now someone is sneaking into my room.”
Silence.
I searched his face.
Anything.
Any reaction.
Instead, he asked one question.
“What did they leave?”
Every muscle in my body locked.
He knew.
He knew.
“Who?”
“The person who entered your room.”
He hadn’t denied it.
He didn't look surprised.
He simply asked what they’d left behind.
“How did you know someone was here?”
His jaw tightened.
Barely.
“The security system detected an unauthorized entry.”
My heartbeat slowed.
That sounded reasonable.
Almost.
“Then why wasn’t anyone arrested?”
No answer.
I folded my arms.
“That’s what I thought.”
Kael looked toward the large windows overlooking the city.
“The Palace isn’t as secure as people believe.”
I frowned.
“You’re telling me someone broke into the Emperor’s private residence?”
“Yes.”
“And you’re… calm about it?”
“I’m not calm.”
His voice remained even.
But there was something underneath it.
Something harder.
“They wanted you to think they could reach you.”
My stomach tightened.
“So they weren’t trying to kill me?”
“Not tonight.”
The certainty in his voice made my skin crawl.
“How can you possibly know that?”
His silence answered for him.
He wasn’t guessing.
He knew.
Somehow…
He knew.
I pulled the folded note from my pocket.
His eyes dropped to it immediately.
I held it tightly.
“You came here because of this.”
He didn’t answer.
I unfolded the paper slowly.
Then held it where he could read it.
RUN WHILE YOU STILL CAN.
For the first time since I’d met him…
Kael’s expression changed.
Not dramatically.
Just enough.
His eyes darkened.
His shoulders became impossibly still.
He looked at the note the way soldiers looked at battlefields.
Calculating.
Remembering.
Fearing.
“You’ve seen this before,” I whispered.
His gaze lifted to mine.
The silence lasted too long.
“You’ve seen this before,” I repeated.
His answer came quietly.
“Yes.”
The room suddenly felt smaller.
“When?”
“I can’t tell you.”
Anger exploded inside me.
“You can’t?”
“No.”
I laughed.
A sharp, disbelieving sound.
“Every answer from you is the same.”
“I know.”
“No, you don’t.”
I threw the note onto the nearby table.
“I’m tired of hearing ‘I can’t tell you.’”
My voice cracked despite my best efforts.
“I don’t even know what I’ve done.”
“You’ve done nothing.”
“Then why is this happening?”
No answer.
Again.
Always again.
I looked away before he could see the tears threatening my eyes.
I refused to cry in front of him.
I refused.
The silence stretched between us.
Then his voice came, softer than before.
“You shouldn’t blame yourself.”
I laughed bitterly.
“I’m not blaming myself.”
I turned back toward him.
“I’m blaming you.”
Those words landed harder than I expected.
Kael didn’t defend himself.
Didn’t argue.
Didn’t deny it.
He simply accepted them.
That somehow hurt more.
A sudden chime interrupted the silence.
Kael tapped the communicator on his wrist.
“Report.”
A voice answered immediately.
“Your Majesty… Lady Selene is here.”
I frowned.
Selene?
Kael’s expression hardened.
“Send her in.”
Seconds later, the doors opened.
Selene Voss entered without hesitation.
Elegant.
Perfectly composed.
Her sharp silver eyes landed on me first.
Then the note on the table.
Then Kael.
“I see we’re already sharing secrets.”
Her tone was light.
Her eyes weren’t.
Kael’s voice cooled instantly.
“What do you want?”
Selene ignored the question.
Instead, she walked toward the table and picked up the note before I could stop her.
She read it once.
Then smiled.
Not warmly.
Not kindly.
Knowingly.
“Interesting.”
I stepped forward.
“You’ve seen it before too.”
She looked at me.
“Yes.”
I looked between the two of them.
“You both have.”
Neither answered.
My pulse hammered in my ears.
“What is this?”
Selene carefully folded the note.
Then handed it back to me.
“You should keep it.”
“Why?”
“Because whoever left it wants you frightened.”
Her eyes drifted toward Kael.
“…or wants him frightened.”
The room went deathly quiet.
For the first time, I noticed something impossible.
Kael wasn’t looking at me.
He was watching Selene.
And Selene…
Was watching him right back.
Neither spoke.
Yet something passed between them.
Not words.
Recognition.
History.
A shared understanding.
One I wasn’t part of.
I suddenly felt like the outsider in my own nightmare.
Selene finally broke the silence.
“The Council is already talking.”
Kael’s gaze never left her.
“I expected they would.”
“They think bringing her here was a mistake.”
“I don’t care what they think.”
A faint smile touched Selene’s lips.
“No.”
“You never do.”
She looked back at me.
Almost pitying.
Almost.
“You have no idea what you’ve walked into.”
“I didn’t choose this.”
“No.”
Her smile faded completely.
“You didn’t.”
She turned toward the door.
Then stopped.
Without looking back, she spoke one last sentence.
“Just remember one thing, Lyra.”
Her voice was quieter now.
Far more serious.
“In this Palace…”
“…the people smiling at you are rarely the ones you should fear.”
The doors closed behind her.
Silence swallowed the room.
I stared after her.
Then slowly turned back to Kael.
“Is she trying to help me?”
He answered without hesitation.
“I don’t know.”
It was the first honest uncertainty I’d ever heard from him.
And somehow…
That terrified me more than any lie.
Before I could ask another question, every light in the room flickered.
Once.
Twice.
Then the entire Palace went dark.
A heartbeat later…
Someone screamed.
Not nearby.
Not outside.
Inside my suite.
Right behind me.
- Writer
