Lola stirred from sleep, a heaviness dragging her from her dreams. Something felt… off. The sheets shifted beside her. Slowly, she turned to reach for the lantern on the bedside table. The soft golden glow illuminated a sight so terrifying that the scream that tore from her throat shook the very walls of the east wing.
A snake, long, dark, and unmistakably venomous had slithered onto her bed, its tongue flicking the air as if it sensed her fear.
Her scream echoed through the palace.
Meanwhile, in the Garnet Hall, laughter rang through the air. Lord Gabriel had just finished regaling the party with a rather dramatic (and slightly exaggerated) account of his verbal sparring with Lady Ava.
"And I tell you, the woman speaks with daggers in her voice. Yet still, I find myself utterly... intrigued," Gabriel finished, raising his glass.
The men around him roared with laughter until Silas entered, his expression grim.
"A moment of your time, Your Highness," Silas said, bowing low.
Emperor Xander raised a brow. "What is it, Silas? Must you always arrive like a ghost at a feast? Or do you simply miss being in my presence?"
More laughter followed, but Silas remained stone-faced.
"My Lord, the matter is... urgent," he said quietly.
With a sigh and a faint smile, Xander motioned him forward. Silas leaned in and whispered something into the emperor's ear.
The smile on Xander's face vanished.
Without another word, he rose abruptly and strode out of the hall, his royal cloak trailing behind him.
Lord Caspian exchanged a glance with Gabriel. "Any notion what that was about?"
Gabriel lifted his goblet and downed the last of his wine. "I suspect we'll find out come morning," he said, standing. He beckoned to the trio of women at his side. "Until then, Lord Caspian."
Xander pushed through the doors of his chamber, ignoring the bows and hurried greetings of the palace staff. His eyes scanned the room, cold and searching.
"What happened here?" he thundered, his voice like a clap of lightning.
The maids dropped to the floor, foreheads pressed to the marble.
"Your Highness," one stammered, "the snake was killed, but we don't know how it entered. We swear, no one saw…"
But he wasn't listening. His gaze had already fallen on Lola, pale and trembling on the bed.
Without a word, he strode to her and swept her into his arms, lifting her as though she weighed nothing at all.
Lola gasped. "Your Highness, truly, I can manage…"
He silenced her with a single glare. She dared not speak again.
Word of the incident spread like wildfire through the palace. Within the hour, every lady of the court had been summoned to the Moonstone Hall. The women gathered, whispering anxiously, wrapped in shawls and silks, despite the late hour.
Even Ava, Emily, and Sophia stood among the others, glancing at one another nervously.
"What do you think happened?" Emily asked in a hushed voice.
"It has to be something serious. Why else summon every lady at such an hour?" Sophia replied.
Ava's gaze remained fixed on the grand double doors at the far end of the hall.
Whatever news was coming, it would change everything.