Chapter 2 The Man in the Corridor
797 Words
The masked man moved first.
Not fast.
Not rushing.
Certain.
Like a hunter who knew his prey had nowhere left to run.
"Run," Seraphina whispered.
Elara didn't hesitate.
Together they spun toward the opposite end of the corridor.
Their footsteps pounded against marble floors while darkness swallowed the palace around them. Somewhere above, more shouting erupted. Steel clashed. Glass shattered.
The royal palace was under attack.
And no alarm bells were ringing.
That realization hit Seraphina like a punch.
The alarm towers should have been sounding already.
Every guard in the kingdom should have been mobilizing.
Instead—
Nothing.
Which meant whoever was behind this had help from inside.
"Left!" Elara shouted.
They rounded a corner just as a figure appeared ahead.
A guard.
Relief surged through Seraphina.
Until she saw the blood.
The man collapsed before reaching them.
A crossbow bolt protruded from his throat.
Dead.
Elara stumbled backward with a cry.
Seraphina grabbed her arm and pulled her forward.
"Keep moving!"
Neither woman looked back.
The palace had become a maze of shadows and death.
Servants fled through corridors.
Nobles screamed.
Guards raced toward fighting that seemed to erupt from every direction at once.
Confusion.
Chaos.
Exactly the kind of environment an assassin wanted.
A hand suddenly grabbed Seraphina's wrist.
She reacted instantly.
The dagger hidden inside her sleeve flashed outward.
The blade stopped a breath from the attacker's throat.
"Princess!"
Captain Rowan.
Commander of the royal guard.
Seraphina lowered the dagger.
Barely.
The captain's eyes widened slightly.
"Remind me never to sneak up on you again."
"What's happening?"
His expression darkened.
"We don't know."
A lie.
Not a complete one.
But still a lie.
Seraphina recognized it immediately.
Captain Rowan was frightened.
And men like him did not frighten easily.
"Someone breached the palace," he continued. "I've been ordered to escort you to safety."
"By whom?"
The question came instantly.
The captain hesitated.
Too long.
"Cedric."
Of course.
Her fiancé.
The future king.
The man responsible for palace security tonight.
A strange feeling twisted in her chest.
Not fear.
Suspicion.
The same suspicion she'd felt for months.
The same suspicion that had driven her into the archives night after night.
The same suspicion she'd never been able to prove.
Until now.
"Where is he?"
"Waiting for you."
Something about the answer felt wrong.
Elara stepped closer.
"We should go."
Maybe.
Maybe not.
The masked assassin still hadn't caught them.
Why?
If the attacker's goal was truly Seraphina, he had already had opportunities.
Instead, he'd been herding her.
Pushing her.
Guiding her movement through the palace.
Toward something.
Or someone.
A cold realization slid down her spine.
The assassin wasn't chasing her.
He was driving her.
Like prey.
Toward a trap.
Captain Rowan reached for her arm.
"Your Highness—"
A crossbow bolt exploded through his chest.
Everything stopped.
For one impossible second, Captain Rowan simply stared down at the shaft protruding from his armor.
Then he collapsed.
Dead before he hit the floor.
Elara screamed.
Seraphina spun.
The masked assassin stood at the far end of the hallway.
Closer now.
Much closer.
And no longer alone.
Three more figures emerged from the darkness behind him.
All dressed in black.
All armed.
The lead assassin tilted his head slightly.
Almost curious.
Almost amused.
Then he pointed directly at Seraphina.
"Alive."
The single word echoed through the corridor.
Alive.
Not dead.
Not kill her.
Take her alive.
A hundred pieces suddenly clicked together.
The palace attack.
The missing alarms.
The assassins.
The archives.
Someone had discovered what she knew.
Someone wanted the evidence she carried.
And someone powerful enough to infiltrate the royal palace had decided the safest place for Princess Seraphina Valen was in chains.
"Run!" she shouted.
Again.
This time they sprinted for their lives.
The assassins followed.
No longer walking.
Hunting.
The distance closed rapidly.
Seraphina's lungs burned as she raced through the eastern wing.
Ahead, moonlight spilled through enormous glass doors leading to the royal gardens.
An exit.
A chance.
She burst through them into the storm.
Rain slammed into her instantly.
Lightning illuminated the sprawling gardens beyond.
And waiting at the center of the courtyard—
A black carriage.
Unmarked.
No royal crest.
No guards.
Just a carriage.
Waiting.
The realization hit her instantly.
This was the destination.
The trap.
The assassins weren't trying to catch her.
They were delivering her.
A slow clap echoed through the rain.
Seraphina froze.
A figure stepped from the shadows beside the carriage.
Tall.
Elegant.
Familiar.
Her heart stopped.
"No."
Prince Cedric smiled.
Not warmly.
Not lovingly.
Not like a future husband.
Like a man finally done pretending.
For the first time since she'd known him, every mask fell away.
And what remained was far more frightening than any rogue story she'd ever heard.
- Writer
