The Mistake He Couldn't Explain
848 Words
Prince Nikolai did not sleep.
By dawn, he had replayed the encounter at least a hundred times.
Every word.
Every expression.
Every opportunity he should have taken.
And every mistake he had made.
He stood alone inside his command tent overlooking the Hollow while pale morning light filtered through the canvas walls.
The princess was alive.
That much he had expected.
What he had not expected was her.
The reports described a threat.
A symbol.
A rebellion waiting to happen.
Instead, he found a woman standing beneath moonlight with a dagger at his throat and enough courage to use it.
A dangerous combination.
And for reasons he couldn't explain, it unsettled him.
A knock sounded.
"Enter."
The tent flap opened.
Captain Roran stepped inside.
"My prince."
Nikolai remained facing the map spread across the table.
"Report."
"The Hollow remains sealed."
"No movement?"
"None."
Nikolai frowned.
Interesting.
Rebels rarely sat still when surrounded.
Unless they believed they had an advantage.
Or a plan.
"What about the princess?"
Roran hesitated.
"We haven't seen her."
Because she'd been busy holding a knife to his neck.
The thought almost made him smile.
Almost.
Instead, he dismissed it immediately.
The girl was irrelevant.
His mission wasn't.
The Crown wanted her captured.
The queen wanted her dead.
And Nikolai had never failed an assignment.
Never.
So why did the idea suddenly bother him?
Inside the Hollow, Elira wasn't sleeping either.
She paced her room for what felt like the hundredth time.
Prince Nikolai.
The name alone irritated her.
Not because he had threatened her.
Not because he represented the Crown.
Not even because he was hunting her.
Because she couldn't stop thinking about him.
Which was ridiculous.
Completely ridiculous.
She had known him for all of five minutes.
Five infuriating minutes.
A knock interrupted her thoughts.
"Come in."
Adrian entered.
One look at her face and his expression changed immediately.
"What happened?"
Elira froze.
Nothing.
Everything.
A prince had snuck into a rebel fortress and somehow left alive.
How exactly was she supposed to explain that?
"Nothing."
Adrian crossed his arms.
"That's a lie."
She glared.
"Why ask if you already know?"
His eyes narrowed.
Something dangerous entered his expression.
"Who was in the fortress last night?"
Elira's stomach dropped.
Gods.
They knew.
"Nobody."
Another lie.
A terrible one.
Adrian sighed heavily.
"Elira."
The tone warned her.
She ignored it.
"You're being dramatic."
"Am I?"
He tossed something onto the table beside her.
A silver signet ring.
The royal crest gleamed in the morning light.
Her blood turned cold.
Nikolai's ring.
The one she'd noticed beneath the moonlight.
The one he'd apparently lost.
Or left.
Intentionally?
No.
Surely not.
Adrian's face darkened.
"Want to explain why the Crown Prince was inside the Hollow?"
Silence.
Absolute silence.
Then—
"What?"
Adrian stared at her.
"You didn't know?"
Elira slowly sat down.
Because suddenly her legs no longer worked properly.
"The Crown Prince?"
"The adopted son of Queen Seraphina."
The words settled heavily.
The Queen's Blade.
The Crown Prince.
The man sent to hunt her.
Wonderful.
Absolutely wonderful.
Several miles away, Queen Seraphina stood before the throne as a messenger finished delivering his report.
"He entered the Hollow personally."
The queen's expression hardened instantly.
"He what?"
The messenger lowered his eyes.
"Prince Nikolai bypassed direct orders and approached the fortress alone."
For the first time all morning, genuine anger flashed across Seraphina's face.
Fool.
Reckless fool.
Nikolai was many things.
Impulsive had never been one of them.
Which made this worse.
Much worse.
Because it meant something had changed.
Something she couldn't see.
And that frightened her.
The queen slowly descended the throne steps.
"Prepare my carriage."
The messenger blinked.
"Your Majesty?"
"I am done waiting."
The room fell silent.
Because everyone understood what those words meant.
Queen Seraphina was leaving the palace.
And when queens left their thrones...
Kingdoms usually bled.
That evening, the rebel council gathered once more.
The atmosphere felt different.
Heavier.
More dangerous.
Adrian stood before the room holding Nikolai's signet ring.
"The prince knows where we are."
Nobody looked surprised.
"We expected that."
"Perhaps."
Adrian's eyes shifted toward Elira.
"But now he knows her."
The room fell silent.
Several council members immediately exchanged worried glances.
Because everyone understood the difference.
A princess could be hunted.
A person could become complicated.
Cassian's jaw tightened.
"How much danger are we in?"
Adrian looked toward the fortress walls.
Toward the forests beyond.
Toward the army waiting outside.
Then answered honestly.
"More than yesterday."
The doors suddenly burst open.
A scout stumbled inside, breathless.
Panic filled his face.
Everyone stood immediately.
"What happened?" Adrian demanded.
The scout struggled to catch his breath.
Then finally managed:
"The Queen."
Silence.
"The Queen is coming."
Every face in the room went pale.
Including Cassian's.
Including Adrian's.
Even Elira felt her stomach twist.
Because for eighteen years, the kingdom's most feared woman had remained behind palace walls.
Now she was coming personally.
Not as a queen.
Not as a ruler.
But as a mother chasing the daughter she once tried to kill.
And somehow...
That was far more terrifying.
- Writer
