Chapter 8 THE SPY AMONG US

"We found him, my lord."

The guard's voice interrupted our second war council. He dragged someone into the room.

A servant. Young. Terrified. Hands bound.

"The one who poisoned the girl's food."

My blood went cold. Mira. This man had nearly killed Mira.

Kaelix rose slowly. Shadows gathered. The temperature dropped.

"Who sent you?"

The servant trembled. Said nothing.

"I asked a question." Kaelix's voice was death. "Who. Sent. You."

Silence.

"Ravyn." Kaelix didn't take his eyes off the servant. "Get the truth. Whatever it takes."

"Wait..." I started.

"Elara." His gaze flicked to me. Empty. Cold.

"Leave the room."

"I'm not a child..."

"I know. But you don't need to see this."

"What if I do? What if I need to understand what kind of man you really are?"

Something flickered in his eyes. Then vanished.

"Fine. Stay. Watch." He turned back to the servant. "But don't interfere."

Ravyn stepped forward. Drew a knife.

I'd seen violence. Been through the ritual. Fought assassins.

This was different.

This was calculated. Methodical. Cold.

Ravyn started with questions. When the servant stayed silent, she cut. Small cuts. Precise.

He screamed.

I flinched but didn't look away.

If I was going to be part of this world, ruling, fighting, surviving, I needed to see all of it.

Even the brutal parts.

"Who sent you?" Ravyn asked again.

"I can't... I can't tell..."

Another cut. Deeper.

More screaming.

My stomach turned. But I stayed.

"You can tell us," Ravyn said. Almost bored. "Or you can die slowly. Choose."

The servant broke. "Not Seraphine! Someone else! I swear!"

Kaelix leaned forward. "Who?"

"I don't know! They never showed their face. Just sent messages. Gold. Instructions."

"What instructions?"

"Weaken her. Not kill. Just weaken. Make her sick."

My breath caught. "Why?"

"I don't know!"

"You're lying." Ravyn pressed the blade to his throat.

"I'm not! They said... they said she needed to be weakened for the ritual. For when she..."

He convulsed.

Mid-sentence. No warning.

His body seized. Foam at his lips. Eyes rolling back.

"Poison!" Lysander shouted.

Too late.

The servant collapsed. Dead.

Silence fell heavy.

Kaelix cursed in a language I didn't recognize.

"Kill curse," Lysander said quietly. Examining the body. "Triggered by speaking certain information."

"So we learned nothing," Ravyn growled.

"Not nothing." Kaelix's jaw was tight. "We learned someone else wants Elara. Not just Seraphine. Someone who wants her weakened but alive."

"For what purpose?" Morwenna asked from the doorway.

We all turned.

She entered fully. "The ritual he mentioned. What ritual?"

Everyone looked at me.

"I don't know," I said. "The only ritual was the curse breaking. The sacrifice."

"This was something else." Lysander's mind was working. "He said 'for when she'... when she what?"

"Conceives," Morwenna said grimly. "They want her weakened for when she conceives the prophesied child."

Horror crawled up my spine. "That's insane."

"That's reality." Morwenna's expression was grave. "You're essential to multiple factions. Multiple plans. Everyone wants control."

"Then I won't have the child," I said flatly.

"You don't have a choice..."

"I'll FIND a way!" My magic flared. Vines erupted around me. "I won't be some breeding stock for everyone's plans!"

"Elara..."

"NO!" The vines grew taller. "I'm done being everyone's pawn!"

"Your magic," Lysander warned. "You need to breathe..."

"Don't tell me what I need!"

But he was right. The magic was wild. Out of control.

I closed my eyes. Breathed. Pulled it back.

The vines retreated slowly.

When I opened my eyes, everyone was staring.

"I'm sorry," I said quietly. "I just... this is all too much."

"I know." Kaelix's voice was gentler now. He crossed to me. "But losing control won't help."

"Neither will being controlled." I met his eyes.

"Everyone wants something from me. My grandmother wants me in the Wild Court. Seraphine wants to use me. Some mystery faction wants to control my pregnancy. What do YOU want, Kaelix?"

The room went quiet.

"I want you alive," he said simply. "Everything else is secondary."

"Even the prophecy?"

"Especially the prophecy." His hand found mine. "You're not a tool. You're a person. And whatever choices you make... about having children, about your future...they're yours."

I searched his face for lies. Found none.

"The spy," I said, changing the subject. "How long was he here?"

"Years," Ravyn said. "Since he was a boy. Worked his way up. Trusted."

"Which means someone planned this long ago," Lysander added. "Before Elara was even sold."

"Someone orchestrated everything."

Morwenna's voice was dark. "Your father's debt. Your sale. You ending up here."

"That's paranoid..."

"Is it?" Morwenna looked at Kaelix. "Tell me, Shadow Lord. Why that auction? You hadn't attended one in decades."

He went still. "Lysander mentioned it. Said there was a girl with Wild Court blood..."

"And who told Lysander?"

Silence.

"I don't remember," Lysander admitted. "A message. Anonymous."

"Convenient."

The implications settled like ice.

Someone had orchestrated everything.

My father's debt. My sale. The curse. The bond.

All of it planned.

"We need to postpone the rescue," Kaelix said.

"What? NO!"

"If someone's pulling strings, walking into the Light Court is what they want..."

"I don't care! My mother..."

"Will still be prisoner whether we go now or wait." His voice was firm. "We need time to figure out who's behind this."

"We don't have time! Seraphine's deadline..."

"Is part of the plan! They're herding us. We need to think..."

"My mother doesn't have time for thinking!"

We were shouting. Both of us. The bond crackled.

"Your mother survived seventeen years," he said through gritted teeth. "She can survive a few more days."

"How do you know?"

"My lady!"

We both turned.

Mira stood in the doorway. Pale. Shaking.

"What is it?" I moved toward her.

"The Wild Court," she gasped. "They've surrounded the palace. It looks like... it looks like war."

Kaelix rounded on Morwenna. "What did you do?"

"What needed to be done." Her voice was calm. "You won't release my granddaughter. So I'll take her."

Magic filled the air.

"You're declaring war?" Kaelix's shadows rose. "Over her?"

"If necessary."

"She's my mate!"

"She's my blood!"

Power clashed. The palace shook.

I stood between them. Exhausted. Angry. Done.

"ENOUGH!"

My magic exploded outward. Green light pushing both their powers back.

They both stared.

"I am not property!" My voice echoed with power. "I'm not a thing to fight over! I am ME. And I'm DONE with both of you!"

"Elara..." Morwenna started.

"No! You brought an army without asking me. Without consulting me."

I turned to Kaelix. "And you want to postpone rescuing my mother. Decided for me. Without asking."

"I was protecting..."

"I KNOW! Everyone's trying to protect me! But nobody asks me!"

"Then choose," Morwenna said quietly. "Come with me or stay with him."

I looked between them.

My grandmother. Family. Heritage.

Kaelix. The bond. Partnership. Something undefined but real.

"I choose my mother," I said.

Both started to protest.

"I choose to rescue her. Three days. Like planned. And you're BOTH going to help. Together. Or I go alone."

"You can't..."

"I CAN. And I will." I held their gazes. "Help me or get out of my way."

Silence.

Then Kaelix smiled. "There she is."

"What?"

"The woman who fights for what she wants."

His smile widened. "That's my mate."

Morwenna laughed. "Definitely Aria's daughter."

"So we're doing this?" I asked. "Together?"

They looked at each other.

Then, reluctantly, nodded.

"Together," Morwenna agreed.

"For now," Kaelix added.

Relief flooded me.

Then Mira spoke. Still terrified.

"My lady... there's something else."

We all looked.

"Another visitor arrived. She says..." Mira swallowed hard. "She says she's your other grandmother. From your father's side. And she says your father was one of the Guardians. That everything was part of a plan to free the Old Gods."

The room exploded into chaos.