Chapter 101

The shift in the palace was small, nearly imperceptible, but Aeliana felt it. It crept into the air like an unseen force, a silent weight pressing against her, warning her of something just beyond her reach.

It wasn't just whispers anymore.

It was in the way the servants moved, their heads ducked lower than usual, their conversations cut off the moment she passed. It was in the way the guards shifted at their posts, gripping their weapons a little too tightly, their eyes scanning the halls like they were expecting something.

And most of all, it was in the way the nobles had fallen quiet.

Aeliana had spent enough time navigating the cutthroat world of court politics to know that silence was far more dangerous than open opposition.

It was one thing for nobles to challenge Tharx. Some had done so boldly, openly questioning the idea of a half-human heir. Some had voiced their displeasure, trying to plant doubt in the court about Seraphina's place on the throne.

But now?

Now, the voices that had once been so loud had gone silent.

And that was what unsettled Aeliana the most.

She did not leave Seraphina alone anymore.

Not even for a moment.

She carried her daughter everywhere-to court, to strategy meetings, to war councils. It was a silent message to anyone who might be watching.

They would not take her child from her.

And if they tried?

They would not live long enough to regret it.

The council chamber was filled with a quiet sort of tension, the kind that settled in a room when too many people had things left unsaid.

Nobles lined the long table, dressed in their regal finery, their postures stiff, their faces composed.

Tharx sat at the head, his golden eyes scanning the room, unblinking, unreadable. He was not a patient ruler, but tonight, he was playing the game that Aeliana had taught him.

He was waiting. Watching.

And so was she.

Aeliana sat beside him, Seraphina cradled in her arms. She could feel the way some of the nobles tried not to look at the child, how their gazes flickered toward her and then away too quickly.

That was their second mistake.

The first had been underestimating her.

Seraphina stirred slightly, her tiny fingers grasping at Aeliana's cloak before settling again. Aeliana let her fingers brush over the child's soft hair, keeping her own expression neutral.

She listened as the meeting continued-talks of territories expanding, trade negotiations being reinforced. But beneath all of that, Aeliana was not listening to what was being said.

She was listening to who was saying nothing at all.

Lord Drevan, once vocal in his disapproval of Seraphina, now barely spoke.

Lady Vareth, who had once whispered about the "dilution of bloodlines," now sat in utter silence.

The ones who had argued the loudest were the ones who had now become too quiet.

And silence, Aeliana knew, was far more dangerous than noise.

That evening, after the last of the nobles had left, Aeliana stayed behind.

She stood near the grand windows of the war chamber, Seraphina still nestled in her arms, staring out at the darkened city. The lights of the festival had long since faded, but something about the night still felt wrong.

Tharx stepped up behind her, his presence unmistakable-warm and steady, even in his silence.

"You are watching them," he said finally.

Aeliana did not look at him. "I always watch them."

There was a long pause before he spoke again.

"What have you seen?"

She shifted slightly, adjusting Seraphina's weight against her. "Patterns."

His eyes flickered. "Tell me."

Aeliana exhaled. "Drevan. Vareth. Several others. They have not spoken against Seraphina since she was born. But they also have not sworn loyalty to her."

Tharx's expression darkened. "Then they are cowards. Let them cower."

She turned her head toward him, meeting his gaze. "Or they are biding their time."

Tharx's fingers curled into slow, measured fists.

She continued, her voice quieter, but sharper. "Something is coming, Tharx. I can feel it."

His jaw tightened.

For once, he didn't argue.

The next morning, Tharx ordered a quiet investigation.

He moved carefully, not drawing attention, not giving them any reason to suspect he was looking.

Agents were sent into noble households, gathering whispers, listening in on seemingly unimportant conversations.

And Aeliana?

She watched.

She listened.

She waited.

But something still wasn't right.

And that night, in the quiet of their chambers, she could not sleep.

Aeliana sat beside Seraphina's cradle, watching her daughter's tiny chest rise and fall, her fingers trailing absentmindedly over the child's blanket.

There was a feeling in her chest, a pressure she couldn't explain.

A feeling she hadn't had in years.

And the last time she had felt it

She had been taken.

Stolen.

Bound.

Torn from everything she had once known.

She had not realized it then, but her instincts had screamed at her before it happened.

And now, they were screaming at her again.

Behind her, the sound of footsteps was soft but deliberate.

Tharx.

"You are still awake," he said, his voice rough from exhaustion.

Aeliana didn't turn.

"I know this feeling," she whispered.

There was a long silence.

Then, she heard the sound of metal scraping against leather.

The soft, lethal sound of a sword being drawn.

Aeliana turned her head just enough to see him standing there-bare-chested, his golden eyes burning, his grip on the blade unshakable.

There was something terrifying about him like this.

Something unrelenting.

"No one will take from me again," he murmured.

Aeliana believed him.

Because the last time, she had been stolen from him, too.

And this time?

This time, there would be no mercy.

They were out of time.

She could feel it.

The silence in the court had grown too thick. The hesitation in the nobles' voices had turned into something else entirely-a quiet, careful calculation.

The question was no longer if something was coming.

It was when.

Tharx stayed awake that night, sitting in the shadows, his sword resting against his knee, his golden eyes never leaving the doorway.

Aeliana did not sleep either.

She remained at Seraphina's side, watching over her daughter the same way Tharx watched over them.

Neither of them spoke.

But they did not need to.

They both knew what this silence meant.

The empire was waiting.

And so were its enemies.

But Aeliana had not survived captivity, war, and betrayal just to let history repeat itself.

And Tharx had not conquered planets, crushed rebellions, and built an empire from ruin just to lose everything now.

Their daughter was their future.

And if anyone tried to take her?

The empire would burn before Aeliana and Tharx let that happen.