Two: Shadows at the Court
694 Words
The east wing of the palace was colder than she remembered.
Evelyn stood in the narrow courtyard just outside her quarters, silver moonlight pooling over the stone tiles. The scent of damp ivy clung to the air. She could hear the faint hum of guards changing shifts—boots scraping, armor rattling—yet no one came near her. Word of the Silver Viper spread fast.
She was meant to be feared.
A rustle behind her made her turn, dagger already in hand. But the figure who emerged from the shadows didn’t flinch.
“You move like someone who expects to be attacked,” the man said.
He wore the uniform of a royal commander—dark crimson with gold-trimmed edges, polished boots, and the silver sun of the royal seal on his chest. His voice was cool, his posture military-perfect.
“And you approach like someone who should be,” she replied.
He smiled faintly. “General Caelan Thorne. King’s Guard. I’m here to introduce myself, not die.”
She lowered the blade a fraction. “Then choose your next words carefully.”
Caelan stepped closer, gaze sharp. “Lucien trusts you. That means I have to. But I know mercenaries, and you don’t act like one.”
“And you don’t act like a man who minds his own business.”
“I mind the king’s business,” he said. “Which includes you now.”
She met his stare. He didn’t flinch.
“Noted, General,” she said finally. “Now get out of my courtyard.”
Caelan gave a half-bow, then vanished the way he came.
He would be trouble.
The next morning, Evelyn accompanied Lucien to the High Court chamber.
She stood at his right, an honored position, but one that kept her in the crosshairs of a dozen watching nobles.
Lucien spoke with clipped precision. Orders about grain. Rumors of border unrest. The council murmured, nodded, postured.
And then she saw her.
Lady Serina Marlowe.
A vision in ivory silk, red hair pinned like a crown, and eyes that flicked to Evelyn like she was a rat in the ballroom.
She approached during recess, fan fluttering delicately.
“Your Majesty,” Serina purred, “you’ve chosen your new guard well. She’s… striking.”
Lucien’s mouth twitched, but he said nothing.
Evelyn offered a cold smile. “I bite too.”
Serina’s eyes narrowed. “How lovely. I do enjoy watching wild things be tamed.”
Evelyn said nothing. She didn’t need to. Her silence was louder than any threat.
Lucien stepped between them. “Lady Serina, we’ll continue this conversation later.”
“Of course,” Serina said, smiling sweetly. “Some of us are always watching.”
She turned and walked away, hips swaying, nobles parting like waves.
Evelyn’s jaw clenched. “I remember her.”
Lucien arched a brow. “From where?”
She hesitated. “From stories. She’s exactly how I imagined.”
That evening, Evelyn climbed the western tower—the same one she used to sneak up as a child. It overlooked the garden and gave her a full view of the court.
Someone was already there.
An old man, hunched in a black cloak, stood at the railing.
“You’re not supposed to be here,” Evelyn said.
“Neither are you,” he said, without turning. “And yet… here we both are.”
He faced her then, and she recognized him.
Master Talin Ravos. The King’s Spymaster.
He was older now, hair thinner, but his eyes were sharper than ever. Eyes that missed nothing.
“You look familiar,” he said. “And not in the usual way.”
“That’s not a compliment.”
“No,” he said softly. “It’s a warning.”
He limped past her, stopped briefly beside her ear. “Careful, Viper. Some of us bite back.”
That night, Evelyn wrote three names on parchment:
General Caelan Thorne: watchful. Too clever.
Lady Serina Marlowe: venom in lace. Dangerous.
Talin Ravos: too close to the truth.
She burned the paper. No proof left behind.
The game had started.
And she wasn’t the only player.
- Writer
