Chapter 4
1214 Words
Alera
The moment I stepped out of the corridor, I pressed my hat tight against my chest and bent forward, breathing hard.
Moon above what had I just done?
My heart slammed so loud I was sure the walls could hear it. I stayed there for a second, back against the stone, forcing myself to breathe slower. In. Out. In. Out. I had just bumped into a prince.
Thank the moon he hadn't noticed anything wrong. My stance. My voice. My disguise. I checked myself quickly, shoulders squared, chest bound tight beneath the rough guard tunic. Nothing out of place. Nothing to give me away.
Still, my hands shook. I straightened and adjusted my cap, lowering my head the way guards did. No panic. Panic gets you killed.
Getting into the palace hadn't been easy. It had taken days of small talk, laughter, and pretending to be someone I wasn't. If not for Callahan the talkative guard who loved stories and strong ale I wouldn't be here at all. I had befriended him for a purpose and when an emergency came, his mother fell sick back at his hometown, I got the perfect opportunity. And fill in for him.
Tonight, I became Aler. A quiet, young guard from nowhere important. And it had worked.
Until I ran into him. I pushed away from the wall and walked slowly, blending back into the flow of the palace. Music echoed through the halls. Laughter followed. Nobles passed in fine clothes, their perfumes heavy in the air. Everything glittered. Everything lied.
The prince hadn't looked like the others. No bright colors. No jewels. Just dark fabric, a long cape, his hood pulled low like he wanted to disappear into it. His face had been pale, sharp, tired. And his eyes...
I frowned. Why hadn't I heard of him?
For three years, I'd listened to traders, guards, travelers. Everyone spoke of King Rhyland. His alliances. His rule.
No one ever mentioned another prince. Yet the servant had bowed. Had called him by name.
Prince Kearan. The thought made my skin prickle.
I shook my head and focused. I wasn't here to stare at mysterious men in black. I was here for answers. I slipped near a doorway where two guards stood talking in low voices.
"...heard they're tightening patrols after tonight," one said.
"About time," the other muttered. "Too many strangers lately."
I slowed my steps, pretending to adjust my belt.
"King doesn't trust the new alliance fully," the first continued. "That's why this celebration matters."
Alliance. My fingers curled.
"What about the outer villages?" the second asked. "More clearings planned?"
The first guard shrugged. "Orders come from above. We just follow."
Follow orders. That was always the answer.
I moved on before they noticed me lingering. My thoughts tangled as I walked. Clearings. Orders. Alliances. None of it explained why Elderwood had burned. Why my parents had died with terror frozen on their faces.
I swallowed hard and forced my feet to keep moving.
I slowed pretending to watch the crowd. King Rhyland stood at the center of it all, smiling, charming, his new wife at his side. He looked every bit the ruler people described. The man behind my parents death. A new formed hatred bubbled inside of me. Reminding me why I needed to do whatever to uncover the truth.
I glanced back toward the corridor once more, half-expecting to see the prince still standing there.
Nothing. I exhaled slowly. Enough.
I had what I could get for tonight. Pushing further would be foolish. Ada would skin me alive if she knew how close I'd come.
I turned toward the exit path guards used, keeping my head down. One last look over my shoulder showed the palace still glowing, still loud, still pretending nothing ugly lived beneath its stones.
But I knew better. This place held secrets. And this is just the beginning.
By the time I made it back home, my body felt like it was stitched together with thread ready to snap.
Being a guard even a fake one was not easy. Standing straight for hours. Watching every step. Keeping my voice low. Keeping my hands steady. Keeping my fear hidden. Pretending to be someone I wasn't.
I slipped through the door quietly. Ada sat near the hearth, knitting in silence. She took one look at me and shook her head.
"I thought you wouldn't come back."
I dropped my boots by the door. My shoulders sagged. "I don't have anywhere else to go," I muttered. "If I don't come back here, where would I sleep?"
She stared at me like she wanted to argue... then stopped. Her lips pressed together.
I went straight into the small room, pulled off the guard jacket, the stiff trousers, the belt that bruised my ribs. I let everything fall to the floor like I couldn't carry it anymore. My hands were shaking, my legs weak.
I lay down for a moment, just breathing. Then I pushed myself up and walked back out to where Ada sat.
She glanced at me again, noticing the way I moved more slowly now. I dropped onto the edge of the bed nearby and let out a long breath. One that felt like it came from deep inside my chest.
Ada paused her knitting. "What's with the heavy sigh?" she asked. "Did you get into trouble again?"
"If only," I said quietly.
She turned fully toward me now.
"I didn't know," I said after a moment, staring at the floor, "that the Vale Kingdom had another prince."
The needles in her hands stopped. Ada's face changed. Just a little. Enough for me to notice.
"So you saw him," she said carefully.
"I didn't see him," I corrected. Lied. "I just... heard things. That there's more than just King Rhyland."
Ada set the knitting aside and leaned back. "There is."
I waited.
"There's Prince Kearan," she said. "Rhyland's younger brother."
"Why doesn't anyone talk about him?" I asked.
Ada hesitated, then sighed. "Because he's cursed."
The word settled heavy in the room.
"They say he lost his wolf," she continued. "That the sickness in his blood ties him to the moon but gives him no release. No shift. No relief. When the black veins show, people get scared. So the palace hides him."
I swallowed.
"Rhyland became king," Ada said. "Kearan stayed in the shadows."
Something twisted inside me. A cursed prince. Hidden. Forgotten.
Questions started rising faster than I could stop them.
If he was cursed... did that mean he knew things others didn't? Did he know about the villages that were burned? Was he part of it?
Ada watched my face carefully. "Why are you asking?"
I shook my head. "Just... didn't know."
She studied me for a long second, then reached for her knitting again. "Be careful, Alera. Not every shadow hides answers."
But my thoughts were already racing.
If there was another prince one no one spoke about
then there were secrets buried deeper than I thought.
And somewhere in those secrets... was the truth I'd been chasing for three years.
I lay back, staring at the ceiling, my body exhausted but my mind wide awake. The palace. The prince in black. The curse. Nothing felt accidental anymore.
- Writer
