The Crown's Deception

Chapter 6 - The Weight of Shadows

The silence that followed Serenya’s words was sharper than any blade.

Her eyes, dark as a raven’s wing, never wavered from mine. “Choose wisely, Princess,” she had said. “The man you trust may yet be the man who destroys you.”

My breath came shallow, unsteady. Kael shifted beside me, his hood still casting half his face in shadow, though his jaw was tense, his hand hovering near the hilt of his dagger. Not in threat—at least not toward me—but in a silent readiness, as though he expected Serenya’s words to turn to steel at any moment.

Lysa moved closer, her fingers brushing against my sleeve in a protective gesture. I could feel her trembling, though her voice was steady when she whispered, “Don’t listen to her, Elara. She’s twisting things.”

But was she?

A dozen questions clashed inside me, each one louder than the last. Kael had appeared the night I fled the palace—conveniently so. He knew the routes, the signals, the threats before they came. He had secrets in his eyes, always just out of reach. And now, here was this woman—hooded like him—claiming that I was nothing but a pawn between them.

“Speak plainly,” I forced out, though my voice cracked. “What do you know of Kael?”

Serenya’s lips curved, but it was no smile. “Enough. Enough to know that he has not told you why he was cast out of your father’s guard. Enough to know that the same lips that swore loyalty to your house once swore the same to men who would see it burn.”

I turned sharply toward Kael. He didn’t flinch, though his eyes flickered—pain, guilt, something raw flashing before he buried it again beneath that mask of control.

“Elara—” His voice was low, urgent. “This isn’t the place. She wants you to doubt me.”

“Shouldn’t I?” The words slipped out before I could stop them, and the hurt in his eyes was like a blade twisting in my chest.

Lysa clutched my arm. “Princess, she’s trying to divide us. That’s how vipers strike—they weaken before they bite.”

But the venom was already spreading.

I looked at Serenya again. “Why tell me this? Why warn me at all?”

Serenya tilted her head, her expression unreadable. “Because you deserve to know. Because the wrong choice could shatter not only your kingdom but you.” Her eyes softened, just slightly. “Not all enemies wear crowns, Princess.”

The air grew heavier, pressing against me. My thoughts whirled so violently it was all I could do to remain standing.

Could Kael truly betray me? No—he had saved me, fought for me, bled for me. Yet betrayal rarely wears a stranger’s face. And what if Serenya spoke truth? What if the man I leaned on most was the very shadow that would undo me?

Kael stepped forward, his voice low but steady. “Elara. Look at me.” His hood slipped back slightly, revealing the sharp cut of his cheekbone, the scar near his temple. His eyes, steel-gray, burned into mine. “If I wanted to betray you, you’d already be in Darius’s hands.”

My lips parted, but no words came.

Serenya’s cloak whispered as she moved closer. “And if he’s only waiting for the right moment?”

The silence between them was a battlefield, and I stood trapped in the middle, my heart pounding louder than my thoughts.

I wanted to scream, to demand truth from both of them, but a princess of Lysara could not show fear—not even in exile.

So instead, I drew myself up, forcing steel into my voice. “Enough.” My gaze swept over Kael, then Serenya. “You both claim loyalty. You both hide secrets. But I will not be broken between you.”

The flicker of respect—or was it amusement?—in Serenya’s eyes sent a shiver down my spine.

Kael’s jaw tightened, but he inclined his head, as though silently promising he’d prove himself.

But the damage was already done.

Trust, once cracked, is not easily mended.

And as the firelight guttered low, I knew one truth above all:

Whatever path I chose, danger already had its claws in me.

My hands trembled despite the strength I tried to summon. Serenya’s words clung to me like chains, tightening with every beat of silence.

Kael stood rigid, every muscle taut. I could sense it in the way his jaw clenched, in the way his hand hovered just shy of drawing his blade. He wanted to strike her down, silence her before her poison rooted deeper.

But I needed answers.

“What did he do?” I asked Serenya, my voice steadier than I felt. “What is it that he’s hiding from me?”

Her hood dipped slightly lower, shadowing her expression. “That is his secret to confess, not mine. I merely remind you that every oath has a cost. Ask him what price he paid.”

Kael’s voice cut like thunder. “Enough.” He stepped closer, placing himself between us, his presence shielding yet suffocating. “Elara, she’s a deceiver. A servant of half-truths. If you believe her, then everything we’ve endured together means nothing.”

The accusation hit harder than I expected. My chest tightened. He was right—if I doubted him now, what did that make of the trust I had begun to build?

But Serenya’s voice was silk against stone. “And if trusting him is the very thing that undoes you?”

Lysa hissed. “Leave us.” She moved in front of me, small but fierce, her braid swinging like a whip. “You come with shadows and riddles. If you were truly loyal, you would speak plainly. But instead, you stir doubt.”

Serenya tilted her head. “Sometimes, child, doubt is the truest gift one can give.”

I couldn’t take it anymore. I rose from where I sat, my pulse a storm inside me. “Stop.” My voice rang louder than I intended, cracking against the cavern walls. “Both of you. I will not be torn apart by riddles and suspicion.”

For a heartbeat, the cave fell silent.

Then Serenya’s eyes—dark, unreadable—locked on mine. “You have the fire of your mother in you. But fire can warm… or it can burn its bearer alive.”

Before I could speak again, the faintest sound cut through the stillness. A crunch of gravel. A muffled command.

Kael froze. Lysa’s hand flew to her dagger. Serenya only smiled faintly, as if expecting it all along.

Shadows moved at the mouth of the cavern—armored silhouettes creeping closer, their torches bleeding orange light across the walls.

“Throne’s men,” Kael muttered, his voice grim.

Serenya’s cloak rustled as she stepped back into the dark. “Your time is shorter than you think, Princess. Choose your allies… before they choose for you.”

And with that, she melted into the shadows, vanishing as swiftly as she’d appeared.

The echo of her words lingered long after she was gone.

Kael’s hand finally grasped the hilt of his blade. “We move. Now.”

But even as I obeyed, every step I took forward carried the weight of Serenya’s warning, pressing heavier on my heart than the footsteps of the men hunting me.

Trust would no longer be my greatest weapon.

It would be the blade forever poised against my throat.