When Cassie retreated to her quarters, her steps was deliberate but unhurried. The masked figure’s warning echoed in her mind, weaving through the weight of her discoveries like a poisonous thread. The bundle of documents pressed against her side, their fragile pages rustling faintly with each movement.

  Inside her room, she lit the oil lamp on her desk and unfurled the papers. Shadows flickered along the walls, stretching ominously as she scanned the cryptic contents. Most of it remained indecipherable, written in an intricate cipher she couldn’t begin to untangle. But one motif repeated itself across several pages: a jagged crown, split cleanly down the center.

  The broken crown felt like a declaration, its meaning as ominous as the words scattered around it—fractured leadership… destabilization critical. Her fingers tightened on the edges of the paper as a thought lodged itself firmly in her mind: who could she trust with this?

  A sharp knock broke the silence. Cassie straightened, hiding the documents within her shirt before crossing the room. A footman stood on the other side, his uniform neat but his expression tense.

  “Her Majesty requests your presence,” he said, his tone formal. “Immediately.”

  Cassie followed the footman through the palace’s winding corridors, her mind racing. Queen Lysandra was a name whispered reverently but sparingly within the court. She was rarely seen in public, and the weight of her summons felt as heavy as the documents she’d hidden away.

  The footman led her to a set of carved wooden doors flanked by two guards who stood stiff and silent. They stepped aside as the doors creaked open, revealing the queen’s private chambers.

  Cassie stepped inside hesitantly, her boots sinking into plush carpets that muffled her movements. The room was a serene blend of elegance and power, its walls adorned with relics from Gevaudan—delicate sculptures and intricately painted scrolls.

  Queen Lysandra stood near a low table, her figure framed by the pale light filtering through a wide arched window. She turned as Cassie entered, her expression calm but somber.

  “Thank you for coming,” Lysandra said, her voice soft but commanding. She gestured to a chair across from her. “Please, sit.”

  Cassie hesitated only briefly before obeying. The queen’s eyes lingered on her, a faint flicker of concern passing over her serene features.

  “I’ve heard much about your bravery during the hunt,” Lysandra said. “And the dangers you’ve faced since then.”

  Cassie lowered her gaze briefly. “I only did what was necessary.”

  “Necessary,” Lysandra repeated, a wry smile tugging at her lips. “It’s a word that carries a heavy burden, don’t you think?”

  The warmth in her tone was unexpected, but it did little to ease the tension in the air. Lysandra’s expression grew more serious as she leaned forward, resting her hands lightly on the table.

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  “The wards protecting the capital are weakening,” she said, her voice low. “The disruption of the hunt has left them unstable. Without the energy it provides, their power diminishes—and the risk of incursions grows.”

  Cassie’s stomach tightened. The whispers she’d overheard were true. The implications of the sabotage had seemed vast before, but this was something far worse.

  Lysandra’s gaze turned toward the window, her eyes distant. “Some within the court do not understand the wards’ significance. They see them as relics of a bygone age, their importance diminished by time. Others…” She paused, her lips pressing into a thin line. “Others would see them destroyed entirely, either out of ignorance or malice.”

  Cassie leaned forward slightly, her voice cautious. “And the attack on the hunt?”

  The queen’s gaze snapped back to her, sharp and piercing. “Part of a larger game,” she said. “One aimed not just at the wards, but at the monarchy itself. Whoever orchestrated it knew how to exploit the divisions within the royal family, using Theodoric and Dietrich as pawns.”

  Her words hung in the air, heavy with implication.

  “You have a strength I cannot quite place,” Lysandra said, her tone softer now. “But strength alone will not protect you here. Choose your allies wisely. The court is a battlefield as dangerous as any.”

  Cassie nodded, her mind churning with questions she wasn’t sure how to ask.

  The queen’s warning lingered as Cassie reached for the bundle of documents she’d hidden earlier.

  “These might help,” she said, placing them on the table. “I found them in a storeroom. Some of the symbols… they feel connected to what’s happening.”

  Lysandra’s brow furrowed as she examined the pages, her fingers brushing over the jagged crown motif. “This symbol,” she murmured. “It belongs to a faction I thought long dormant. They’ve harbored resentment toward the crown for decades—centuries, even. Their goal has always been the same: dismantle the monarchy and replace it with something… different.”

  Her voice hardened slightly. “They’ve grown bold, using the royal family’s divisions as fuel for their ambitions.”

  Cassie hesitated. “Why tell me this?”

  Lysandra met her gaze, her golden aura flickering faintly around her. “Because you’re already in their sights,” she said simply. “Your survival after the hunt has made you a threat to their plans. And I believe you may uncover truths even I cannot.”

  There was something in her tone—an unspoken acknowledgement of Cassie’s role in a much larger story.

  “If you ever find yourself without allies,” Lysandra continued, “you may come to me. I cannot protect you from everything, but I can provide sanctuary. And resources, should you need them.”

  Cassie nodded, her throat tight with the weight of the moment.

  As she left the queen’s chambers, her mind was a whirl of thoughts and possibilities. The stakes had grown far beyond what she’d imagined, the threads of conspiracy weaving through the court with a precision that felt almost impossible to untangle.

  Later that evening, as the palace grew quiet, Cassie slipped through the dimly lit corridors, her ears attuned to the faintest sound. Her footsteps stilled as voices reached her from a shadowy hallway ahead.

  “We have to move faster,” one voice said, low and tense.

  “Let the wards fail,” replied another, colder. “With the monsters at the gates, the court will have no choice but to turn to us.”

  Cassie pressed herself against the wall, her breath caught in her throat. Their plan was far worse than she’d feared—this wasn’t just about power. It was about unleashing chaos.

  Her boot shifted against the floorboard, the faint creak cutting through the silence.

  The voices stopped abruptly.

  “Who’s there?” one demanded, their tone sharp and menacing.

  Cassie froze, her pulse racing as she prepared to engage—or retreat without getting noticed. Whichever was more suitable for this situation.