Chapter 105

The realization came slowly at first. Aeliana had spent weeks watching, listening, and waiting for the pieces to fall into place. She had uncovered whispers, uneasy glances, servants who vanished without a trace. But the real horror-the true threat-did not reveal itself until Vaelkor brought her the newest report.

She had been in her study, reviewing the list of names, when he entered. His face was unreadable, his usual calm exterior betraying nothing, but Aeliana had learned to read him. There was something different in the way he moved, in the way he hesitated before speaking.

"I think I've found something," Vaelkor said, setting a parchment down in front of her.

Aeliana's stomach tightened as she scanned the page. "This name" She frowned. "This is one of the palace guards. Why is he-"

"He's gone," Vaelkor interrupted, voice low. "But not just gone, Aeliana. Erased."

Her breath caught.

She read the name again. Taren Vale.

A name she had never heard before.

"Who is he?" she asked.

Vaelkor exhaled sharply. "That's the problem. He was one of Tharx's personal guards. Assigned to the outer palace walls. He's been here for years. But no one remembers the last time they saw him."

Aeliana's fingers curled into a fist. "That's impossible. The palace runs on structure-on records. The guards have rotations, schedules. Someone should know where he went."

Vaelkor nodded grimly. "They don't. His name has been removed from the records. There is no documentation of his entry, his exit, or his reassignment. It's as if he simply disappeared."

Aeliana's mind raced. This wasn't normal. This wasn't someone simply leaving their post.

This was intentional.

Someone had erased him.

And if someone was erasing guards from records, it meant only one thing.

The threat was inside the palace.

She wasted no time.

Aeliana found Tharx immediately.

He was in the war chamber, speaking with his generals, his voice low and commanding, his golden eyes sharp as he listened to reports of trade expansions and military movements.

She did not wait for permission to speak.

She did not need permission.

"Leave us," she ordered the generals.

The room fell silent.

Tharx's gaze snapped to her. He studied her face-noted the urgency in her voice.

The generals hesitated, looking to Tharx for confirmation.

He didn't question her.

"Go," he commanded.

They left.

The doors slammed shut behind them.

Only then did Tharx turn back to her. "What is it?"

Aeliana stepped forward, setting the parchment down in front of him. "One of your guards is missing."

Tharx didn't react immediately. His golden eyes flickered down to the name.

His jaw tightened.

"Taren Vale," he murmured. His fingers tapped the edge of the parchment, his gaze narrowing. "I know this name."

Aeliana inhaled. "Vaelkor checked the records. He's gone, Tharx. Not just missing-erased. His name has been removed from every rotation, every report. No one remembers the last time they saw him. No one even knows if he's alive."

Tharx's fingers curled into a fist.

"That is not possible," he growled.

"It is," she said quietly. "And it means someone inside the palace is controlling this."

The firelight flickered across his sharp features, anger creeping into his expression.

Aeliana watched as his entire demeanor changed.

There were very few moments in their time together when she had seen him truly unsettled.

This was one of them.

Tharx was not afraid of war. He was not afraid of a known enemy. But this?

This was not a battle he could fight with brute strength.

He needed control.

And right now, he had none.

"We go on lockdown," he said finally.

Aeliana nodded. "Agreed."

Tharx's jaw clenched. "Seraphina is not to leave the private wing of the palace."

"She hasn't already," Aeliana murmured. "But now, we need to be more careful."

Tharx exhaled through his nose, his grip tightening on the map table. "Whoever is planning this they're inside these walls. Watching us. Waiting."

Aeliana's gaze hardened. "Then we watch back."

The lockdown happened immediately.

Guards were repositioned. The palace staff was restricted. No one entered or exited without clearance from Aeliana or Tharx.

The noble court took notice.

Murmurs spread through the halls, whispers about why the Emperor and Empress had suddenly tightened security.

But Tharx gave no explanations.

He did not owe them one.

And neither did Aeliana.

She could feel it.

The tension in the air.

Whoever was behind this knew they were getting closer.

And they were growing bolder.

It started with small things.

Doors left slightly ajar when she swore she had locked them.

A candle in the hallway snuffed out, its wick still smoking when she passed.

A feeling-**an instinct-**that she was being watched.

Aeliana did not ignore it.

She listened.

She waited.

And then, it happened.

It was late.

The palace was silent, save for the occasional footsteps of patrolling guards.

Aeliana sat in the nursery, Seraphina asleep in her crib.

She had been dozing lightly in the chair beside her daughter's bed when something stirred her awake.

At first, she didn't know what it was.

Then she heard it.

A soft creak.

A shift in the air.

A presence that did not belong.

Her fingers curled around the dagger beneath her robe.

She did not move.

She listened.

Another sound-softer this time. A whisper of movement near the shadows of the far wall.

Aeliana's breath remained steady, controlled.

Then-footsteps.

She moved before she had time to think.

In one swift motion, she rose, her dagger flashing in the dim candlelight.

The figure moved.

A blur of motion-someone darting toward the door.

Aeliana lunged, catching the hem of their cloak.

The intruder wrenched free.

The door slammed open.

Footsteps pounded down the corridor.

Aeliana bolted after them, her heart racing.

She barely had time to register the shouting of guards, the heavy sound of boots rushing toward them.

Then-Tharx.

He appeared from the opposite end of the hall, his golden eyes blazing as he intercepted the intruder in a single, brutal movement.

A sickening crack echoed through the corridor as Tharx's arm slammed into the man's throat, knocking him against the stone wall.

Aeliana reached them seconds later, her chest heaving.

The intruder coughed, struggling beneath Tharx's grip.

His hood fell back, revealing a face Aeliana did not recognize.

A palace guard.

Or at least, he had been.

Tharx's voice was lethal, cold as death.

"Who sent you?"

The man coughed, his face turning red beneath Tharx's hold.

He did not speak.

Aeliana stepped forward.

She did not hesitate.

She **dragged the dagger across the man's forearm-**not deep enough to kill, but enough to make him scream.

He gasped in pain, his head snapping back against the stone.

Aeliana leaned in, her voice a whisper of steel.

"If you do not speak, I will let him do worse," she murmured.

The man's breathing hitched.

Tharx's grip tightened.

The man's lips trembled.

Then, finally, he choked out:

"It's already too late."

Aeliana stilled.

The palace guard grinned.

And the real horror set in.

This wasn't just a threat.

It was a promise.