/-Kaelynn's pov-/
"Couldn't you just stay quiet for once?" Nephroma hissed under her breath. "Now everyone's attention is on us."
"I think they're more focused on Lady Nysha," I muttered. "She was nearly murdered in front of the entire court."
Syrr clicked her tongue. "This place is dangerous."
"With the King's sudden death, what did you expect?" Nephroma shook her head. "I pity the Queen."
But I didn't. Not one bit. If this could happen right under her nose, then she was more than capable of defending herself. Or worse, maybe she didn't care.
Suddenly, someone cleared their throat behind us. It was a young woman.
Syrr pulled out her knife without hesitation.
The woman flinched and took a step back. "I mean no harm!"
Syrr bared her teeth. "State the reason for your presence at once."
"I was sent by someone," the woman stammered. "They wish to remain anonymous, but they asked me to extend their thanks. Whatever you need, I've been instructed to provide it."
Evangra didn't miss a beat. "Great. We need a wheelchair."
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/-Unknown pov-/
Lord Nysha clutched her necklace with shaky hands. She had almost been killed. What would happen to her house if she were slaughtered like a rat in court?
Her gaze flicked toward Lord Vikar, who was now scolding Malric, his guard.
Lady Nysha closed her eyes. When she opened them, the fright was gone. She should've known Lord Vikar wanted her dead.
"Lady Nysha, I was worried about you."
Lady Nysha froze. Was that the Queen's voice she heard behind her? She turned immediately, bowing her head. "Queen Isolde…" Her eyes flicked toward the Black Throne. "You're not on the throne."
The Houses had all entered the inner courtroom, but General Loric wasn't stupid.
His men thoroughly searched anyone who didn't belong to the noble families. Every outsider was scrutinized before being let in.
Queen Isolde's face was unreadably blank. Even when she tried to smile at her distant cousin's show of concern, her lips didn't move.
"Someone tried to kill you in my court, and you're worried about me?"
Lady Nysha was a little lost for words. "It's an honor to be acknowledged by the Queen herself."
Queen Isolde nodded. "Watch how justice is delivered on your behalf. Let this serve as a warning to those who killed my husband and still think they can hide behind silence." With that, she turned and began walking toward the Black Throne.
As she passed, everyone bowed.
The girl in the wheelchair, who had been quietly fascinated by everything and everyone, felt a little sick. Her life had always been hell… just in different shapes and sizes—but this was new.
An assassin in the court.
It made her suspicious of even the nobles standing beside her. With her head still bowed, she noticed the deep black and silver cloak trailing the ground in front of her.
The Queen was passing.
But then, Queen Isolde stopped. Right in front of a young girl in a wheelchair.
The chair bore the raven insignia, faint but still there… only one person ever had access to that chair. And that person was dead. Queen Isolde swallowed hard and continued toward her throne without a word.
"All hail Queen Isolde Raventhorn, Mother of All Kingdoms."
"All hail Prince Cedric Raventhorn, Prince Heir to the Throne."
"All hail Prince Daemon, Prince of the Castle Court."
A hush fell. The murmurs died slowly as Queen Isolde, and her two sons sat.
Up close, she was no less striking. Sharp high cheekbones. Small, focused eyes. On anyone else, those eyes might've seemed too small, but on her, they made everything else look colder.
It wasn't her beauty that caught attention, it was the way her eyes never showed emotion. No one could tell what she was thinking. And that, more than anything, unsettled Lady Nysha.
Was this not the same Queen who had once called them all Castle Court spies and scattered her informants among their households?
Now here she was offering condolences?
What was going on in her mind? She didn't even look the slightest bit disturbed by the chaos from just thirty minutes ago.
"Please be seated, Lords and Ladies of Castle Court," Queen Isolde finally said. Her gaze swept over the room, cold and exacting.
"Someone tried to do the unthinkable this morning. And it wasn't even the undead."
The moment she mentioned the undead, murmurs spread like a current through the room.
"We must deliver justice to whoever—"
"May I speak, Your Highness?" Lord Alrik Thorne rose suddenly.
Queen Isolde's jaw tightened at the interruption, but she gave a curt nod.
"We're here because of the King's death. Frankly, we care little for this morning's incident. I suggest we get on with the memorial and let Lady Nysha handle her assassin."
"But I didn't catch the assassin," Lady Nysha Evermoor said quietly, from where she sat. Her fingers tapped restlessly against her legs. "Just like we didn't catch the one who killed the King."
Lord Vikar Varek cleared his throat. "My guard saved your life, Lady Nysha. You could at least say thank you."
"But he didn't." Lord Cale Elrean chuckled faintly. "There's a stranger in our midst. One the Queen knows very well."
The Queen tensed, wondering how the conversation had pivoted so quickly from justice to that. She had known this moment would come eventually, but not so soon.
She bit her lower lip, annoyed, and raised a finger.
Silence.
"Lord Cale, what do you mean by that statement?"
The Lord of the House Elrean, marked with the owl insignia, rose. "Everyone, look around. You should see someone from your own house. If you don't, then someone who wasn't invited is among us. That's how we catch killers. Not by disrupting the court, Lord Alrik."
"What?" Lord Alrik growled. "You better sit your fishy ass down, Librarian."
Ouch.
Lord Cale's face twitched. The insult landed hard.
"You…!"
"I need your mouths shut." Queen Isolde's voice was low but irritated. The headache was creeping in. All she wanted was to play the heartful queen, bring justice for her cousin, cut off the assassin's head, and move on to the memorial.
But this… was a waste of time.
"Fine," she said coldly. "Everyone look at your families. Hug the ones you recognize. If you don't recognize anyone around you, take three steps away from them. General Loric, deal with the outsiders as you see fit. Cut off their heads."
And that… was when the real horror began.
While everyone turned and embraced their family members…
The girl in the wheelchair had no one to hug.