Chapter 4 – Threads of Power and Blood
The first sign that something was wrong came quietly.
Too quietly.
Aurelia noticed it during breakfast, as sunlight spilled across the long table in her chambers and servants moved with unusual stiffness. Their eyes avoided hers. Their hands trembled when they poured tea.
Fear.
It clung to the air like a second perfume.
"Is something the matter?" Aurelia asked gently.
One maid hesitated. "There are… rumors, my lady."
Aurelia set her cup down. "About me?"
The maid swallowed. "About your influence over His Highness, the Crown Prince."
So it had begun.
By noon, the whispers had grown bolder.
As Aurelia walked through the palace halls, conversations died the moment she passed. Noble ladies stared openly now, no longer hiding behind fans.
"She's ambitious."
"She's dangerous."
"She wants the throne."
None of them asked whether it was true.
In the gardens, she finally understood why.
A public notice had been posted near the central fountain.
An official declaration.
Lady Aurelia von Valenrose is to be investigated for undue political interference and suspicious conduct.
The wording was careful. Legal. Polite.
Deadly.
Aurelia read it twice, her pulse steady despite the chill creeping up her spine.
This was no longer subtle.
This was an attack.
She was summoned that same afternoon.
Not to Kael.
Not to the king.
To Lucien.
The Crown Prince's private chambers were located in the western tower—an area few were permitted to enter. Guards bowed silently as she passed.
Lucien stood near his desk when she entered, sleeves rolled back, expression hard.
"They moved faster than expected," he said.
"So it's him," Aurelia replied.
Lucien nodded once. "Kael is pushing for a formal inquiry. He knows it will stain you—even if it leads nowhere."
Aurelia exhaled slowly. "He wants to corner me."
"He wants to remind you who holds power."
Lucien stepped closer, his voice lowering. "I will stop this."
She looked up at him. "At what cost?"
His jaw tightened.
That answer came later.
The inquiry was held the next morning.
Open. Public. Humiliating by design.
Aurelia stood alone before a semicircle of nobles and ministers while Kael sat comfortably beside the king, one arm resting casually on the armrest.
"This is nothing personal," Kael said smoothly. "Merely a formality."
Aurelia met his gaze.
"You enjoy this."
His smile sharpened. "You should have known better than to draw my brother's attention."
One by one, accusations were presented.
She influenced policy.
She overstepped her station.
She manipulated the Crown Prince.
Then came the final blow.
A sealed letter was produced.
Allegedly written by Aurelia.
It spoke of ambition. Of crowns. Of destiny.
The room buzzed.
Aurelia stared at the parchment.
She had never seen it before.
"This letter bears Lady Aurelia's seal," a minister said. "How do you explain this?"
Aurelia inhaled.
Then Lucien stood.
"That seal is forged," he said calmly.
The room erupted.
Kael laughed. "You would defend her even now?"
Lucien's voice cut through the noise like steel. "Produce the original seal records."
Silence.
No one moved.
Because they did not exist.
Kael's smile faltered.
And for the first time, doubt crept into the room.
The inquiry ended unresolved.
But the damage had been done.
As Aurelia left the hall, she felt it—something cold brushing against her skin.
A presence.
She stopped.
The air around her shimmered faintly, like heat over stone.
A whisper echoed in her mind.
Awaken.
Her breath caught.
The sensation vanished as quickly as it came.
Magic.
This world was not only crowns and swords.
And something inside her had answered.
That night, Kael shattered a mirror.
"Useless!" he snarled at the trembling servant. "She should have broken by now!"
A shadow stirred in the corner of the room.
A voice—low, ancient, amused.
"You are impatient, prince."
Kael froze. "Show yourself."
Darkness coiled, forming a shape not quite human.
"You desire power," the voice continued. "I can give it to you."
Kael's breath came fast.
"What do you want in return?"
The thing smiled.
"Only what will fall anyway."
Meanwhile, Aurelia stood on the palace balcony, the night wind tangling her hair.
Lucien joined her quietly.
"You were fearless today," he said.
"I was terrified," she replied honestly.
He looked at her then—not as a prince, not as a strategist.
As a man.
"You should leave," he said softly. "If you stay near me, this will only worsen."
She turned to him. "And if I leave?"
His expression tightened. "Kael will destroy you."
Silence stretched between them.
Aurelia stepped closer.
"In two lives," she said quietly, "I've never been chosen. Only used."
Lucien's hand clenched.
"If you stay," he said, voice rough, "I will not pretend this is only politics."
Her heart raced.
"Neither will I."
For a moment, they stood impossibly close—breath mingling, tension electric.
But he did not kiss her.
Instead, he rested his forehead against hers.
A promise.
A restraint more dangerous than passion.
Far below, deep beneath the palace, something ancient stirred.
Threads of power tightened.
Blood would be demanded.
And the kingdom had begun to choose sides.
End of Chapter 4