Chapter 9: An Overheard Secret
1078 Words
In the days that followed, Lirael began to notice every small thing.
The medicine Kael gave her—she did not drink it right away. She held the bottle in her palm, waited until she returned to her room, then poured out one dose, wrapped it in cloth, and tucked it deep into the straw pile.
The food he gave her—she ate less than before. Not because she was not hungry, but because every time she chewed, she remembered the words she had overheard outside the study that day—*her bloodline still needs time.*
She did not know what those words meant. But she knew one thing: she could not keep believing everything like a fool.
On the seventh night, she found her chance.
Kael sat at his desk working through documents. Lirael stood beside him, pretending to watch the moon outside the window. Her heart raced, but her voice stayed calm.
"Kael."
"Yes."
"Why did you mark me?"
Kael's hand stopped. He looked up, his gray eyes fixed on her.
Lirael did not look away. She met his gaze, even managing a small smile, as if asking something unimportant.
"Because you are worth it," Kael said. His voice was flat, as if he were commenting on the weather.
"Worth what?"
Kael's brow furrowed. Not anger—something she could not read.
"What is wrong with you tonight?" he asked.
Lirael shrugged. "Nothing. Just curious."
She smiled, turned, and looked back at the moon. Her fingers tightened inside her sleeves, but her expression did not change.
Kael was quiet for a long time. So long that Lirael thought he would not answer.
"Worth being seen," he said at last.
Lirael's heart skipped a beat. She turned her head and met his gaze.
"What do you mean?"
Kael did not answer. He lowered his head and went back to his documents, as if the words had meant nothing.
Lirael stood there, watching his profile. Firelight flickered across his face. His lashes were long, casting shadows beneath his eyes.
She did not ask again.
But she committed those words to memory.
---
Deep night.
When the moon reached its highest point, Lirael sat up in the straw pile.
She had not slept. She was waiting—waiting for the entire palace to fall silent.
The hallway had no sound. Outside, only the wind.
She threw the cloak over her shoulders, pushed open the door, and walked the corridor toward Kael's study.
Her heart pounded. Her fingers trembled. But she did not stop.
The study door was unlocked.
She pushed it open and slipped inside. The hearth fire had died, leaving only moonlight pouring through the window, painting everything silver-white.
Lirael went to the desk and began searching through the documents.
Most were administrative—border patrol reports, supply lists, Alpha training schedules. She flipped through them quickly and found nothing.
She moved to the bookshelves, scanning each volume one by one. Genealogies. Laws. War records. All public documents of the wolf clan. Nothing about her.
Her heart sank.
Maybe there was nothing. Maybe she was imagining things.
She turned to leave—
And then she saw it.
Top shelf. The farthest corner. A notebook bound in black leather. No label, no marking. It stood apart from everything around it.
Lirael rose on her toes and pulled it down.
The notebook was locked.
A small brass clasp held it shut. The key was nowhere in sight.
Lirael turned the notebook over, searching for a gap in the pages. There was none. The lock was tight—not something she could open with her hands.
She put the notebook back where she had found it. Her heart pounded so hard she thought it might burst from her chest.
What was he hiding?
She turned—
Kael stood in the doorway.
Moonlight fell behind him, stretching his shadow long across the floor. He wore a white shirt, no coat, the collar slightly open. His gray eyes glowed in the darkness, like a winter lake.
"What are you doing?"
His voice was calm. Too calm. The calm before a storm.
Lirael's breath stopped.
"I…" Her voice trembled. "I came to find something to read."
Kael stepped inside. Each step was slow, steady—a wolf closing in.
"Something to read?" he repeated, his voice flat.
"Yes." Lirael clenched her fingers. "I could not sleep. I thought I might find a book."
Kael stood before her. Close. Close enough that she could smell the cedar on him.
"Did you find one?" he asked.
"No." Lirael lifted her head to meet his gaze. "Your shelves are all administrative documents. I could not understand them."
Kael stared at her for a long time.
So long that Lirael thought her heart might leap out of her throat.
Then he smiled.
Not a cold smile. Not a mocking smile. Something faint—barely there.
"There is nothing here for you to read," he said, turning toward his desk. "Go back to sleep."
Lirael stood there, her legs too weak to move.
"Still here?" Kael sat at his desk and picked up a document without looking up.
"Going." She turned and hurried toward the door.
"Lirael."
She stopped.
"Next time you cannot sleep, come find me. Do not go through my things."
She nodded, pushed open the door, and walked out.
The hallway was cold. She leaned against the wall and gasped for air.
He had seen. He must have seen.
But he had not questioned her. Had not shown anger. Had not punished her.
What was he hiding?
Lirael closed her eyes. The black notebook lingered in her mind.
What was inside it?
She did not know. But she would find out.
---
The study.
Kael sat at his desk. He had not read a single word of the document before him.
He looked up at the top shelf. The black notebook sat in the corner.
She had almost found it.
His fingers pressed against his temples. He closed his eyes.
"What are you doing?" he asked himself in a whisper.
He should send her away. He should keep his distance. She was only a pawn. He needed her bloodline. He needed her trust.
But when he saw her standing before the shelves, rising on her toes, moonlight falling across her face—
He had not wanted to frighten her.
Kael opened his eyes and looked at the moon outside the window.
"Damn it," he muttered.
- Writer
