The warning before dawn
887 Words
## Chapter Four: The Warning Before Dawn
Aria sat upright in bed.
The note trembled slightly in her hands.
“Leave before sunrise.”
Four words.
No signature.
Only the royal seal—burned black, as if it had been deliberately destroyed.
Her heart pounded loudly in the silence of the room.
She looked around quickly.
The palace room was too quiet.
Too perfect.
Too controlled.
Even the air felt watched.
Aria swung her legs off the bed and stood up.
“This is ridiculous,” she whispered. “I’m being threatened in a palace?”
She walked to the door and tried the handle.
Locked.
Of course.
Her frustration rose instantly.
She turned back toward the window.
The curtains were half-drawn.
Outside, the palace gardens stretched endlessly under moonlight.
Beautiful.
Peaceful.
Fake.
Aria’s fingers tightened around the note.
Who would leave this?
Kael?
Alexander?
Or someone else entirely?
A soft knock interrupted her thoughts.
She froze.
The knock came again.
Slow.
Controlled.
Not urgent.
Not fearful.
Aria hesitated.
“Who is it?” she called out.
Silence.
Then—
“The prince.”
Alexander’s voice.
She exhaled slowly and walked to the door.
It unlocked immediately the moment she reached it.
Of course it did.
She opened it.
Alexander stood there in a dark robe, his expression unreadable.
His eyes dropped instantly to the note in her hand.
“…You saw it,” he said quietly.
Aria lifted it.
“Someone just left this in my room like it’s normal,” she said sharply. “Do you people get threats delivered with breakfast here too?”
Alexander didn’t react to her sarcasm.
That only made her more annoyed.
“Who left it?” she demanded.
He stepped inside without asking.
“Someone who wants you gone before morning,” he said.
Aria stared at him.
“That’s not an answer.”
“It’s the only one I can give you right now.”
She scoffed.
“So I’m just supposed to accept anonymous threats in a royal palace?”
Alexander finally looked at her properly.
And for a moment, something shifted in his expression.
Tension.
Not anger.
Concern.
“You’re not safe outside this wing,” he said.
Aria crossed her arms.
“I’m not safe inside it either, apparently.”
A pause.
Then Alexander spoke more quietly.
“That seal belongs to an old faction inside the palace.”
Aria frowned.
“A faction?”
“A group that believes the betrothal should never be fulfilled.”
She blinked.
“So they want me gone… because I exist?”
Alexander didn’t deny it.
That silence again.
Aria stepped back slightly.
“This is insane,” she muttered. “I came here because of some ridiculous agreement, and now people are threatening my life?”
“You shouldn’t have been brought here so soon,” Alexander said.
That made her stop.
“What does that mean?”
He hesitated.
Just briefly.
Then:
“Your arrival was accelerated.”
“By who?”
Before he could answer, another voice cut through the hallway.
Slow clapping.
Mocking.
“Impressive.”
Kael Vale stepped into view.
Leaning casually against the corridor wall like he had been there the entire time.
“First night and she’s already receiving secret warnings,” he said. “The palace really is welcoming you properly.”
Aria narrowed her eyes.
“You knew about this.”
Kael smiled.
“Of course I did.”
Alexander’s voice turned sharp.
“Kael.”
But Kael ignored him.
He pushed off the wall and walked closer.
“You should listen to the note,” Kael said to Aria. “It might be the smartest advice you get in this place.”
Aria’s jaw tightened.
“So you’re telling me to run?”
Kael tilted his head.
“I’m telling you to survive.”
A chill passed through the hallway.
Even Alexander went silent.
Aria looked between them.
“I don’t understand any of this,” she said quietly. “Why am I so important?”
Kael smiled faintly.
“Because,” he said, “you are the key to whether this throne stays in Alexander’s hands…”
He paused.
Then added:
“…or falls into mine.”
Silence.
Heavy.
Final.
Aria felt her chest tighten.
So that was it.
Not just a marriage.
Not just a contract.
A war for the crown.
And she was standing in the center of it.
Alexander stepped closer to her.
“Don’t listen to him,” he said firmly.
Kael laughed softly.
“She’s already part of it, brother.”
Aria stepped back again.
Her mind raced.
Every answer only created more questions.
Then suddenly—
A loud alarm echoed through the palace.
Red lights flashed in the distance.
Guards shouting.
Footsteps rushing.
Aria turned sharply.
“What now?!”
Alexander’s expression changed instantly.
Serious.
Alert.
Dangerous.
“Someone breached the west gate,” he said.
Kael’s smile faded slightly.
“…That’s impossible.”
Another explosion echoed faintly outside.
The palace shook.
Aria grabbed the door frame for balance.
“What is happening?!” she shouted.
Alexander turned to her.
And for the first time since she arrived—
He looked urgent.
“Stay behind me.”
Aria’s heart dropped.
Because this time…
It wasn’t a request.
It was a warning.
- Writer
