Chapter 7 – Assassins in the Night
The palace was too quiet.
Elara had spent enough nights in the healer’s ward to know the difference between peaceful silence and the kind that made your skin crawl. Tonight, the corridors felt suffocating, as if the air itself was holding its breath.
Kael noticed it too. He moved like a shadow beside her, every step measured, his hand resting lightly on the hilt of his sword. “Something’s wrong,” he murmured.
She nodded, gripping the dagger he’d insisted she carry. Her fingers brushed against the silver serpent pendant around her neck a charm meant to ward off evil. Tonight, it felt like paper armor.
They were halfway to the royal archives when Kael froze, raising a hand.
“What is it?” she whispered.
He tilted his head, his expression sharp. “Footsteps. Too light to be guards.”
Before she could respond, an arrow hissed through the darkness, embedding itself into the wall an inch from Kael’s head.
“Down!” he barked, yanking her to the floor just as a second arrow whistled past. The corridor erupted into chaos shadows moving along the walls, figures cloaked in black descending silently like predators.
“Assassins,” Kael growled, drawing his blade.
Elara’s heart pounded as she scrambled behind a column, clutching her dagger. She peeked around the corner just in time to see Kael engage two attackers, his sword flashing in the dim torchlight.
He moved like liquid steel—swift, precise, deadly. One assassin fell with a gurgle, another staggered back, clutching his arm. But there were more of them, melting out of the shadows, surrounding him.
“Elara, move!” Kael barked.
She ducked just as a blade sliced through the air where her head had been. Instinct took over. She slashed upward, her dagger catching the attacker’s arm. He hissed and stumbled back, but before she could react, another figure loomed behind her.
A gloved hand clamped over her mouth, and cold steel pressed against her throat.
“Drop it,” a voice hissed in her ear.
Kael spun, his eyes narrowing at the sight of her captor. “Let her go.”
The assassin holding her sneered. “Or what, prince? You’ll kill us all? You’re outnumbered.”
Kael didn’t blink. “I only need one alive to tell me who sent you.”
Before the assassin could react, Kael flicked his wrist. A dagger flew from his belt, striking the man square in the shoulder. He released Elara with a grunt of pain, and she stumbled forward.
Kael was on him in an instant, his sword a blur. The assassin crumpled, but more poured in, silent and relentless.
“Elara, run!” Kael shouted.
But she didn’t. She darted to his side, slashing at another assassin with her dagger. They fought back-to-back, Kael’s blade singing through the air while she fended off attacks with sheer instinct.
A scream echoed down the corridor as one assassin fell. Then another. But the attackers didn’t falter; they seemed determined to drown Kael in their numbers.
Elara’s breath came in ragged gasps. Her arms ached from the weight of her dagger. She was no warrior, but fear gave her strength she didn’t know she had.
Then she saw it a glint of steel in the torchlight, aimed at Kael’s unprotected side.
“Kael!” she screamed, throwing herself forward.
The blade grazed her arm instead of his ribs, and pain lanced through her. Kael whirled, his eyes blazing with fury. He drove his sword through the attacker, then caught Elara before she fell.
“You’re bleeding,” he said sharply.
“I’m fine,” she gasped.
He didn’t argue. He pulled her behind him, his stance shifting as he faced the remaining assassins. There were only three left now, circling like wolves.
“Who sent you?” Kael demanded.
They didn’t answer. One lunged. Kael sidestepped and cut him down with a single stroke.
The other two exchanged a glance, then melted back into the shadows.
“Cowards,” Kael spat.
The corridor was littered with bodies. The scent of blood and steel filled the air, mingling with the faint crackle of torches. Elara leaned against the wall, clutching her bleeding arm.
Kael knelt beside her, tearing a strip of cloth from his sleeve to bandage the wound. “You’re lucky,” he muttered. “Another inch and you’d be dead.”
She tried to smile, though her hands were shaking. “Guess I’m getting better at not dying.”
His lips twitched, but his eyes were grim. “This wasn’t a simple assassination attempt. They weren’t after me.”
She blinked at him. “What do you mean?”
Kael tied the bandage tightly, his jaw clenched. “They were trying to take you alive.”
A chill ran down her spine. “Me? Why?”
He didn’t answer immediately. Instead, he rose to his feet, scanning the shadows. “Because they know who you are now. And they know you touched the curse.”
Her stomach turned. “You think this has to do with the seal?”
“I know it does.” He reached down and helped her stand. “This was a warning.”
By the time they reached Kael’s chambers, Captain Ren was already there, sword drawn, his expression grim. “We heard the fighting. The guards are sweeping the palace.”
Kael nodded curtly. “Double the watch on every entrance. No one leaves or enters without my approval.”
Ren glanced at Elara’s bandaged arm, his jaw tightening. “What happened?”
Kael’s tone was cold. “They were after her.”
Ren’s eyes widened. “The healer?”
“Yes.” Kael’s expression darkened. “They want her alive. That means she’s the key to something.”
Elara felt a shiver run down her spine as Ren hurried off to relay Kael’s orders. She sank into a chair, her body trembling now that the adrenaline was wearing off.
Kael knelt in front of her, his hand gently brushing her cheek. “You’re safe now.”
She met his gaze, searching his storm-gray eyes for reassurance. “For how long?”
He didn’t answer.
Later that night, while the palace guards scoured every hall and locked every gate, Kael stood by the window, his arms crossed. The moonlight glinted off his sword as he turned the events over in his mind.
Elara sat on the edge of his bed, her injured arm resting in her lap. She couldn’t shake the image of the assassins’ cold, expressionless faces. They weren’t just mercenaries. They were trained, disciplined, and fearless.
“They’ll come again,” she said quietly.
Kael nodded. “Yes.”
She looked up at him. “Then what do we do?”
He turned, his eyes like steel. “We stop waiting for them to strike. We take the fight to them.”
Elara swallowed. “You mean”
“Yes,” he said. “We find whoever cast this curse. And we make them regret it.”
Outside, the palace torches flickered in the wind. Somewhere in the shadows, unseen eyes watched and waited, the serpent’s coils tightening.