Chapter 10: The Gathering Storm
741 Words
The grand hall was stifled with tension.
Dozens of nobles, draped in embroidered silks and adorned with jeweled masks, turned their gazes toward Kael and Elara as they entered. Conversations faltered. Whispered rumors slithered through the air like venomous vipers.
Elara felt the weight of their scrutiny, but she refused to flinch.
At the head of the chamber, King Aldric sat on his ornate throne, his piercing silver eyes locked onto his son. Seated beside him, Queen Ilyana remained impassive, but the way her fingers curled around the armrest betrayed her unease.
Kael straightened, his posture commanding. “Father. We need to talk.”
Aldric raised a brow. “About the assassin? Or about the fact that someone inside this palace had him executed before he could speak?”
A murmur swept through the court.
Elara caught a flicker of movement to her left—Selene, reclining lazily in her seat, twirling the stem of a wine glass between her fingers. Her crimson lips curled into a smirk as if she found the entire ordeal amusing.
“An unfortunate accident,” Selene mused. “I heard he took his own life.”
Kael’s expression darkened. “You expect me to believe that?”
Selene sighed dramatically. “Believe what you will, Prince. It hardly matters now, does it? The assassin is dead. The threat is gone.”
Elara bristled.
Gone? No.
This wasn’t over.
Kael clenched his jaw. “You would have benefitted the most from my death.”
Selene’s smirk widened. “Careful, Your Highness. Accusations without proof make you sound… desperate.”
Elara couldn’t stand her smugness.
So she stepped forward.
“Then let’s get proof.”
The hall fell silent.
Selene’s smirk faded slightly, but she tilted her head in curiosity. “Oh? And how do you propose we do that, healer girl?”
Elara’s heartbeat hammered, but she didn’t let her nerves show.
“I propose an Oath of Truth.”
The room exploded into murmurs.
Kael whipped his head toward her, his eyes widening slightly. Even the king’s expression tightened.
A Blood Oath—an ancient and binding magic. If Selene took it and lied, the spell would tear through her like flames through parchment.
Selene’s eyes narrowed.
“You must be joking.”
Elara lifted her chin. “Are you refusing?”
For the first time, Selene hesitated.
She wasn’t expecting Elara to challenge her outright.
And Elara saw it—the brief flicker of uncertainty behind those cold, calculating eyes.
The truth was simple: if Selene had nothing to hide, she could take the oath without fear.
But if she did…
She would burn for it.
---
The tension in the hall stretched tight as a bowstring.
Kael’s gaze flickered between Elara and Selene, realization dawning. Elara had forced Selene into a corner—refusing the oath would make her look guilty. Taking it and lying would kill her.
Selene laughed softly, but there was no amusement in it.
“Well played,” she murmured.
She turned toward King Aldric. “Surely, Your Majesty, you won’t allow this nonsense?”
Aldric leaned forward on his throne, steepling his fingers. His expression remained unreadable, but Elara didn’t miss the slight glint of interest in his gaze.
“Elara raises a fair point,” he mused. “If my son’s life is in danger, we must root out the truth.”
Selene’s fingers tightened around her glass.
She was trapped.
But she was too clever to let herself lose completely.
“I will take the Oath,” she said smoothly. “But if I pass, I demand something in return.”
Elara’s stomach twisted.
She should have seen this coming.
Kael’s jaw clenched. “What do you want?”
Selene’s gaze landed on Elara. Slowly. Deliberately.
“If I pass,” she said silkily, “then the healer girl leaves the palace. Forever.”
Elara’s blood ran cold.
The court erupted.
Gasps. Murmurs. The shifting of nobles as they leaned in to whisper behind their hands.
Kael went still beside her.
Elara’s heart pounded, but she forced herself to keep her expression neutral.
This was Selene’s revenge—not with daggers, but with politics.
The king turned to Elara. “Do you accept the terms?”
She had one chance.
One moment to decide whether to back down…
Or to see this through to the end.
She met Selene’s gaze.
And smiled.
“I accept.”
- Writer
