Chapter 6 - Shadows in the Capital
While peace settled over the snow-capped peaks of Blackthorn Keep, a thousand miles to the south, the opulent marble halls of the capital city of Solaria hummed with nervous tension. In the grand council chamber, hung with golden tapestries and crystal chandeliers, the royal council gathered in frantic hushed tones.
Lord Chancellor Vane, a slick, silver-tongued aristocrat whose family had profited off the political instability of the northern borders for decades, slammed a golden goblet onto the mahogany table.
“What do you mean, Eveline’s army failed?!” Vane snapped at the blood-mage messenger kneeling before him, trembling in fear. “She had the obsidian dagger! She had the southern blood-binders! The northern King was supposed to be dead by sundown!”
“The King... the King’s wolf didn't die, My Lord,” the messenger stammered, clutching a bleeding shoulder. “A girl... the bride they sent... she awakened an ancient power. The Moonborn bloodline... it’s real. She cured the King with a single touch.”
Murmurs of panic erupted among the council members. Whispers of the ancient prophecy—a prophecy the crown had tried to bury centuries ago—spread through the room like wildfire.
“The Moonborn,” Vane muttered, pacing across the marble floor, his face twisting into an ugly scowl. “If Veyne has bonded with a true Moonborn Empress, the military balance of the seven kingdoms will shift entirely in his favor. He won't just hold the North; he’ll march south and reclaim the ancestral throne.”
“What are our orders, Chancellor?” a military commander asked, resting a hand on his sword hilt. “Do we send the royal guard?”
“No,” Vane said, stopping his pacing, a dark, cunning smile spreading across his thin lips. “Direct military action will unite all northern packs behind Veyne, making him invincible. We need to strike from the shadows. We need to use the old relics—the blood-iron shackles stored in the imperial vault.”
“Those shackles drain celestial magic,” the commander noted. “But how do we get them into Blackthorn Keep without Veyne knowing?”
“We don't need to infiltrate the keep,” Vane replied smoothly, walking toward the grand balcony that overlooked the sprawling city. “We have friends in the outer provinces. Mercenaries who don't care about politics, only coin. Send word to the Shadow Syndicate. Tell them the true prize isn't the northern crown anymore...”
May you like
Vane gripped the stone railing, his eyes gleaming with ambition.
“...It’s the girl’s blood. Bring her to me, and we will control the gods themselves.”
