CHAPTER 48: TO OPEN OR NOT

"I told you once," Arvand whispered, "Secrets don’t rot. They breathe."

A soft, choked noise left the dowager’s lips.

Her knees buckled before she could stop herself, sinking onto the cold marble beneath the tree. Her hand clutched her chest, face twisting, not in pain, but in fear. Real, raw fear.

Her tears shimmered under the pale moonlight as she looked up at him, her voice trembling.

"You swore you’d never use it against me."

"And I kept that promise," he replied, his voice like ice cracking under pressure. "But you’ve clearly forgotten who taught you how to survive this court."

He leaned in just enough for his next words to slice like a whispered threat.

"Fix everything before the King of Kaltharion arrives. I am not going down—not for you, not for anyone."

Then he turned, his cloak catching the wind, a dark silhouette retreating into the cold night.

And she remained, crumpled in the dirt beneath the magnolia tree that hadn’t bloomed since they buried the truth beneath it.

-----

Zara couldn’t sleep. Her hands wouldn’t stop trembling, and her fingers were useless now; she couldn’t hold anything, not even herself together.

She was scared. Truly scared. Not the kind of fear that came with losing family in war, no. This was worse. This was crawling, silent, wrong.

Was it the curse of the Silent Crown?

No. No, she shook off the thought. It was just sickness. She was unwell. Leroy would call a physician. A good one. He always did. She’d be fine. Soon. Surely.

But she couldn’t sleep. She hated her life. All the dreams she had when Leroy told her she could go with him back to Vaeloria... shattered.

Ever since they assigned her that insufferable maid, everything had gone downhill. She couldn’t so much as breathe without the girl watching her like a hawk. She was being followed, restrained, smothered.

Damn that Silent Crown. Getting bold, was she?

Zara hadn’t even seen Leroy properly in days. Couldn’t talk to him without someone quoting rules at her; rules she didn’t care for, but had no choice but to obey. Leroy had been busy all week, and he hadn’t come to her once. Not once.

That night, somewhere past midnight, she snapped.

She missed him. She just wanted to see him. Talk to him. Maybe, just maybe, he missed her too.

She looked around. The hallway was empty. This was her chance. Moving like a guilty rat, she crept down the corridor toward Leroy’s bedchamber.

But his room was empty. No, not empty. He wasn’t inside. He was outside, leaning against her door. The Silent Crown’s door. Knocking. Staggering.

Begging.

Zara froze.

Her heart twisted with shock and rage. Leroy, her Leroy, was knocking on Lorraine’s door like a common beggar.

"Leroy," she called softly, stepping toward him.

He wasn’t wearing his mask. Would this be the first time she saw his face?

But he didn’t look at her. Didn’t even hear her. His hand hit the door again, and again. His posture was unsteady, his breath slurred. He was drunk.

Zara’s fury deepened.

What a cruel woman, she thought. Lorraine wouldn’t even open the door for her own husband? Letting him stand there, pleading?

She grabbed his arm, trying to pull him away.

"Leroy, you need to rest. Come with me," she whispered. If he needed the warmth of a woman, she was here. Why beg her when she was willing to give it abundantly and freely?

He barely budged. She pulled again.

But the door creaked open.

And Leroy leaned in, falling forward, almost, into the doorway. Zara tried to hold him, to steady him, but before she could, a hand reached out and yanked him inside.

Lorraine. That wretched woman.

With one quick motion, she pulled Leroy in and slammed the door. Right in Zara’s face. Zara stood frozen. What just happened?

Her fists clenched. She raised her hand to bang on the door.

But then...

A shadow. A presence. She felt a dark, cold, and heavy presence that made a chill pass through her smile.

She turned.

A demon that escaped hell and wandered the land of the living in the middle of the night?

No. To her bad luck, it was worse than that.

It was Sir Aldric.

Her heart plummeted. Her stomach twisted. He said nothing and just stared at the door. Zara turned and fled, her body screaming with fear. There was something in that man’s eyes that made her soul flinch.

Behind her, Aldric looked once more at Lorraine’s door. And then walked away.

-----

Lorraine had decided she wouldn’t open the door. She told herself that firmly as she climbed into bed and pulled the blanket up to her chin.

But sleep wouldn’t come.

It wasn’t the knocking. Not really. It was the thought of her husband standing out there, waiting, without giving up, as if his heart too yearned for her, like hers did.

The knocks were soft. Uneven. Drunken. Her heart thudded painfully. She had never been able to harden her heart against him. Not really.

With a frustrated sigh, she got up. She’d open the door, ask him what in the gods’ names he wanted at this hour, and send him away. That was all. She didn’t want him on her bed.

But when she opened the door, she didn’t expect that.

Zara, with her arms around him, was trying to take him away.

Something primal flared inside her. Before she could think, Lorraine reached out, grabbed her husband by the arm, pulled him in, and slammed the door in Zara’s face.

What was she doing touching her husband?

Her heartbeat settled now that the door was slammed on that hateful woman’s face. And... Now he was here in her room, leaning against her shoulder and giggling like a boy who had gotten drunk for the first time.

His weight was pressing on her shoulders as he leaned. She couldn’t bear his weight, but he didn’t seem to care about that. His breath tingled her neck as he laughed.

What am I supposed to do with you? she thought, exhaling slowly.

She pushed against his chest, trying to help him stand straight. He chuckled and obliged, standing upright.

In the dim light, his eyes glittered like distant stars. She could see the faint curve of his lips. For a moment, she dared to think that he saw her as his universe.

And then his hands cupped her cheeks. Warm. Familiar. Uninvited.

Lorraine rolled her eyes. Now what?

That’s when he leaned in. Her eyes widened, and her heart pounded. His scent mixed with the smell of alcohol wrapped around her as his breath fell on her face.

Leroy leaned and... licked her lips.