Chapter 14
272 Words
Chapter 14: Whispers of War
The war drums hadn’t begun to sound, but their rhythm echoed through the palace halls in whispers and restless glances. Ivory noticed it in the way the guards stood stiffer, the way the servants exchanged hushed words in corners, and how the council chamber door was always closed, voices rising and falling behind thick walls.
She sat at the edge of the long dining table, untouched wine before her, watching Vichen study a scroll filled with red-marked maps and coded messages.
“You knew all along,” she said quietly. “You knew this was more than a marriage.”
He didn’t look up. “Everything is more than it seems.”
“My father sold me for the war,” she pressed. “But you… you married me to win it.”
This time, his eyes met hers—cold, calculating, but not cruel. “I needed leverage. An alliance with your kingdom meant resources, soldiers, access to the eastern pass. But more than that, it meant I could keep an eye on the snake who’s ruled in shadows too long.”
“Meaning… my father.”
He didn’t deny it.
Ivory’s blood went cold. She had been caught between two kings, and both had used her to gain power. But one of them now shared her bed—and perhaps, unknowingly, her loyalty was shifting.
“War is coming,” Vichen said, standing. “And when it does, you’ll have to choose which crown you protect.”
She stared at him, a strange calm settling into her bones. Maybe it was time she chose herself.
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