Cassie woke to the sharp scent of camphor and the faint, rhythmic creak of wood. Her first attempt to move sent a lance of pain through her side, and she hissed, biting back a groan. The dimly lit alcove around her was unfamiliar—narrow and cramped, with rough-hewn walls that seemed to press in from all sides.

  “Stay still,” came a low, weathered voice.

  Lila, one of the older maids who befriended her early in her career crouched beside her. Her gray-streaked hair was tied back, and her hands moved deftly as she tightened the makeshift bandage around Cassie’s ribs.

  “You’ve a stubborn streak, girl,” Lila muttered, though there was a thread of warmth in her gruff tone. “Found you bleeding out in the corridor like some fool knight in a storybook. Lucky you didn’t end up dead.”

  Cassie exhaled slowly, the sharp ache in her ribs tempering her urgency. “How long was I out?”

  “Long enough. Whatever’s happening out there, it’s not waiting for you to recover,” Lila replied. She tied off the bandage with a firm tug. “You should rest.”

  Cassie shook her head, ignoring the wave of dizziness that followed. “I can’t. The wards—Esther—”

  Lila frowned, her lined face creasing with concern, but she didn’t argue. She handed Cassie a canteen of water, watching as she drank in small, measured sips.

  “Whatever you’re planning, be quick about it,” Lila said, her tone softening. “This palace is a pot about to boil over.”

  Cassie nodded and pushed herself upright, gritting her teeth against the pain. She adjusted the dagger at her hip and slipped into the shadows of the passageway, her steps slow but deliberate.

  Cassie moved through the narrow passageways, her breaths shallow to keep from aggravating the sharp pain in her ribs. The weight of her dagger at her hip was both a comfort and a reminder of how little time she had. The palace’s once-grand halls seemed unnaturally quiet, save for the faint echoes of distant commotion—a subtle but constant hum of tension ready to erupt into chaos.

  ‘Lila’s right. The palace is a pot about to boil over.’

  She hugged the shadows, her footsteps light and precise as she wound her way through the maze of corridors. Her eyes flicked from side to side, ever watchful for any signs of movement.

  Her thoughts swirled with fragments of the noble's confession, the memory of shattered wards, and the name that hung like a dark omen in the air: Esther. She could almost feel the weight of the name pressing down on her, looming over her every step.

  Cassie didn’t know how she hadn’t seen it before—Esther’s calculated moves, her too-perfect alliances, the subtle manipulations that had steered the court into disarray. But now, the pieces were falling into place, and every second spent unraveling them brought her closer to the truth—and to the danger it posed.

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  She reached the entrance to the war room, its heavy wooden doors slightly ajar. The muted voices of advisors reached her ears, their nervous tones weaving a chorus of uncertainty. Cassie pushed the door open without preamble, stepping inside and breaking the uneasy quiet.

  Theodoric stood at the center of the room, a grim anchor amid the scattered maps and documents covering the table before him. His posture was rigid, the tension in his shoulders unmistakable as he conferred with the gathered advisors. At the sound of her entrance, he looked up sharply, his piercing gaze locking onto hers.

  “You look half-dead,” he said bluntly, though there was a flicker of something unreadable in his gaze.

  “I’ve been worse,” she replied, her voice steady despite the exhaustion dragging at her limbs. She stepped closer, ignoring the advisors who muttered in protest at her interruption. “We need to talk. Now.”

  Theodoric dismissed the advisors with a curt gesture. When they hesitated, he snapped, “Go.”

  As the door closed behind them, he turned back to Cassie, his arms crossed. “This had better be important.”

  “It’s Esther,” she said, cutting straight to the point. “She’s not who you think she is. She’s been working with the Velkan Consortium from the start.”

  His brows furrowed, his skepticism evident. “That’s a dangerous accusation. I need more than your word.”

  “I have more than that,” she shot back, pulling the bloodstained letter from her pouch and placing it on the table. “Her name is all over the correspondence. She’s been manipulating the court, orchestrating sabotage, and now she’s moving to destroy the wards.”

  Theodoric picked up the letter, his jaw tightening as his eyes scanned the text.

  “She’s not even Lady Esther,” Cassie continued. “The real Esther was murdered. The woman in her place is a liar and a traitor. She’s been using her position to tear the kingdom apart from within.”

  His hand froze, the letter crumpling slightly in his grip. “Do you realize what you’re saying?”

  “I do,” Cassie said, her voice unwavering. “And if we don’t act now, the wards will fall tonight.”

  Before Theodoric could respond, the shrill sound of an alarm shattered the tense silence. He straightened, his expression darkening.

  “Stay close,” he said, grabbing his sword from its sheath.

  The alarm’s shrill cry echoed through the stone corridors as Theodoric and Cassie moved quickly, their strides urgent and unyielding. The few guards they encountered fell in behind them, weapons drawn. The air grew heavier with each step, charged with the same unstable energy that seemed to seep into the walls themselves.

  Cassie clutched her dagger, her injuries a distant ache beneath the surge of adrenaline. “Do you know where the ward anchors are located?” she asked, her voice sharp and breathless.

  Theodoric nodded, his sword already in hand. “The central chamber. If the wards are failing, it’s the Consortium’s prime target.”

  “Then that’s where we’re going,” Cassie replied, her tone hardening.

  As they approached the chamber, the tremors beneath their feet grew more pronounced. The air carried the acrid tang of burning magic, thick and stifling. Distant clashes of steel and the occasional cries of combatants echoed down the halls, drawing nearer with each second.

  Theodoric signaled the group to halt just before the chamber’s grand entrance. The heavy doors had been forced open, one hanging precariously from its hinges. Faint light pulsed from within, erratic and unsettling. Theodoric exchanged a brief glance with Cassie, his expression one of shared understanding.

  “No hesitation,” he said firmly.

  Cassie nodded. “None.”

  With a sharp gesture, Theodoric led the charge, the guards surging in behind them. The sight that met them was chaos incarnate.