Chapter 6: A Seat Among Wolves
1817 Words
Chapter 6
A Seat Among Wolves
When the council chamber finally emptied, silence settled over the palace once more.
Kael remained where he was.
His gaze rested on the great map of the Seven Kingdoms spread across the table. Tiny carved markers marked every fortress, village, and mountain pass under Shadow Fang’s protection.
To most men, they were nothing more than names.
To Kael…
They were lives.
Children who deserved peaceful nights.
Farmers who should worry about the weather instead of war.
Families who trusted their king to keep danger far from their doors.
He would not betray that trust unless he had no other choice.
The sound of the heavy chamber doors opening pulled him from his thoughts.
Rowan entered quietly.
“The council has gone,” he said.
Kael gave a slight nod without turning.
“I expected as much.”
Rowan hesitated.
“There is… one more matter.”
Kael finally looked at him.
Rowan carried a small wooden box beneath one arm.
It was old.
Older than anything commonly found within the palace.
Its dark wood had been polished smooth by countless hands, yet time had carved faint cracks across its surface.
“There was no sender’s seal,” Rowan explained as he placed it gently upon the council table.
“It was left behind after the festival.”
Kael frowned.
“For whom?”
“You.”
Silence lingered between them.
On the lid, four words had been carefully carved into the wood.
When the Moon Calls.
Neither man spoke.
Even Rowan, who rarely believed in old legends, felt something unsettling about those words.
Kael slowly rested his hand upon the box.
The wood felt strangely cold.
“Did anyone see who left it?”
Rowan shook his head.
“The guards questioned everyone near the storyteller’s tent.”
“And?”
“No one remembers seeing him leave.”
A faint crease formed between Kael’s brows.
“A man vanishes from the busiest festival of the year…”
“…without a single witness,” Rowan finished.
“Exactly.”
Kael lifted the lid.
The old hinges groaned softly.
Inside rested only three objects.
A folded parchment.
A silver coin unlike any currency used within the Seven Kingdoms.
And a single dried white flower.
Kael picked up the coin first.
Moonlight from the tall windows caught its surface, making the silver gleam despite its age.
One side bore the image of a crescent moon.
The other…
A magnificent tree.
Its roots stretched deep beneath the earth while its branches reached toward the stars.
Tiny symbols had been engraved among its leaves.
Symbols Kael had never seen before.
Rowan leaned closer.
“That crest belongs to no kingdom.”
“No,” Kael answered quietly.
“It doesn’t.”
He turned the coin over once more before placing it carefully upon the table.
Next came the parchment.
Its edges had yellowed with age, yet the ink remained remarkably dark.
Only two sentences had been written.
A crown protects a kingdom.
The truth protects the world.
Kael read them twice.
Then a third time.
“There is no signature,” Rowan observed.
“There doesn’t need to be.”
“You understand it?”
Kael slowly folded the parchment.
“No.”
His eyes returned to the wooden box.
“But whoever wrote this expected me to.”
Finally, he reached for the flower.
Its petals were pale white, almost translucent.
Though dried by time, it remained perfectly preserved.
No crumbling.
No fading.
Almost as though time itself had refused to touch it.
Rowan narrowed his eyes.
“I’ve seen flowers like that before.”
Kael looked up.
“Where?”
“The northern forests.”
“The old forests?”
Rowan nodded.
“Near the abandoned ruins.”
Kael’s expression sharpened.
“I want every record we have concerning those forests.”
“I’ll speak with Master Aldus.”
“And quietly.”
Rowan understood immediately.
If the council learned about the strange box…
Questions would spread faster than answers.
He closed the lid once more.
“As you command.”
Far from the palace, life continued as though nothing had changed.
Lyra balanced carefully atop a wooden ladder as she replaced a loose roof tile.
A cool breeze carried the scent of wildflowers across the estate.
Below, Mara folded her arms.
“You know…”
Lyra glanced down.
“…one day you’re going to frighten me into an early grave.”
Lyra laughed.
“I’m only replacing three tiles.”
“You said that the last time.”
“And?”
“You nearly fell.”
“I didn’t.”
“You almost did.”
Their playful argument ended when a cheerful voice called from the front gate.
“Lady Lyra!”
Old Brenner hurried toward them, carrying an empty flower basket nearly as large as himself.
His gray beard bounced with every hurried step.
Lyra climbed carefully down the ladder.
“Master Brenner.”
He smiled sheepishly.
“I hope I haven’t come at a bad time.”
“Not at all.”
He rubbed the back of his neck.
“I’ve received an invitation to decorate next week’s Harvest Council Banquet.”
Lyra’s face brightened.
“That’s wonderful.”
“It would be…”
He sighed dramatically.
“…if I actually knew how to arrange flowers fit for noble tables.”
Mara laughed.
“So you came to borrow Lyra.”
“I came to beg.”
Lyra couldn’t help smiling.
“What do you need?”
“You.”
He answered so quickly that all three burst into laughter.
“I’ll help,” Lyra said.
Relief flooded the old florist’s face.
“I knew you would.”
As they discussed roses, lilies, and moon blossoms…
Neither of them noticed the lone rider watching quietly from beneath the shade of an old oak tree across the road.
Lady Serena Ashcroft.
Elegant.
Composed.
Observant.
She had expected to find an ambitious noblewoman desperate to gain the King’s attention.
Instead…
She found Lyra balancing on rooftops.
Laughing with an elderly florist.
Living a life so simple it seemed almost impossible.
Serena’s eyes narrowed thoughtfully.
“So…”
She murmured beneath her breath.
“This is Lyra Elaris.”
Without revealing herself…
She turned her white horse around.
And quietly rode back toward the palace.
A seat among the wolves pt2
The afternoon passed quietly.
Golden sunlight spilled across the palace gardens as servants hurried through the corridors, preparing for the Harvest Council Banquet. Everywhere, fresh flowers arrived in woven baskets, their sweet fragrance drifting through the open windows.
Inside his private study, Kael stood before the tall window overlooking the capital.
His thoughts refused to leave the wooden box.
The silver coin.
The strange flower.
The message.
“A crown protects a kingdom. The truth protects the world.”
The words lingered in his mind like an unfinished puzzle.
A knock interrupted his thoughts.
Three quick knocks.
Urgent.
“Enter.”
The door swung open.
A royal messenger stumbled inside, breathing heavily from his hurried run through the palace.
He dropped to one knee.
“Your Majesty.”
Kael turned immediately.
“What is it?”
The young messenger swallowed hard before holding out a sealed scroll.
“The northern watchtower… sent this only moments ago.”
Kael accepted the message.
The wax seal carried the mark of Shadow Fang’s northern garrison.
He broke it without hesitation.
As his eyes moved across the page, the calm expression on his face slowly hardened.
Rowan, who had entered behind the messenger, noticed the change immediately.
“What happened?”
Kael lowered the letter.
“Our scouts were right.”
“The Ironclaw forces have crossed the river.”
Rowan’s expression darkened.
“They’ve invaded?”
“No.”
Kael folded the scroll carefully.
“They stopped just beyond our border.”
Rowan frowned.
“A warning.”
“Or a test.”
Silence settled over the room.
“They’re waiting to see how we respond,” Rowan said quietly.
Kael nodded.
“They want us to make the first mistake.”
Another knock echoed through the chamber.
This time, it was Master Aldus.
The elderly royal archivist stepped inside with unusual urgency.
“Forgive the interruption, Your Majesty.”
Kael gestured for him to continue.
“I found something.”
Aldus held out a weathered parchment.
“I searched our oldest records after Commander Rowan described the symbol on the silver coin.”
Kael accepted it.
His heartbeat quickened.
At the top of the faded page was the very same crescent moon surrounding the ancient tree.
Below it, written in ink faded by centuries, were only a few surviving lines.
“When the Moon remembers…”
“The hidden kingdom shall awaken…”
“And the Guardian will return.”
The final words had been torn away.
Kael looked up slowly.
“What kingdom?”
Aldus’s face was unusually pale.
“I don’t know.”
He hesitated.
“Because every record that should answer that question… has been erased.”
A cold silence filled the room.
Someone…
Had deliberately removed an entire kingdom from history.
Across the city, Lyra and Old Brenner finished arranging the last basket of moon lilies.
The old florist smiled proudly.
“They’re beautiful.”
Lyra brushed a loose strand of hair behind her ear.
“The flowers did most of the work.”
“No.”
Brenner chuckled.
“You simply know how to listen to them.”
Lyra laughed softly.
As she gathered her basket, something caught her eye.
One white flower rested among the moon lilies.
It wasn’t one she had picked.
Its petals shimmered faintly beneath the evening light.
She frowned.
“That’s strange…”
The flower looked almost identical to the dried blossom resting inside the mysterious wooden box miles away in the palace.
Without knowing why…
She reached out and touched it.
A sudden warmth spread through her fingertips.
For the briefest moment—
She heard a whisper.
Not words.
Not a voice.
Only the feeling of someone calling from very far away.
Then it was gone.
Lyra blinked.
The flower lay perfectly still.
“…Did you say something?” Brenner asked.
She slowly shook her head.
“No…”
But deep inside…
She knew something had changed.
Far beyond Shadow Fang…
High among the forgotten mountains…
A hooded figure stood before the broken ruins of an ancient temple.
A raven landed upon his shoulder.
The man untied a tiny scroll fastened to its leg.
He smiled as he read the message.
“So…”
He whispered.
“The King has received the first sign.”
His gaze lifted toward the distant kingdom.
“And…”
“The girl has heard the call.”
He folded the message and released the raven back into the darkening sky.
“The game has finally begun.”
- Writer
