Crownless Queen

The morning came wrapped in fog and silence.

Seraphina tightened her cloak as she stepped outside the stone ruin. Maret's shelter, now behind her, already felt like a distant memory. Kael stood by the treeline, adjusting the straps of his pack and checking the weight of his sword.

They had said their goodbyes before sunrise. Maret didn't offer a farewell—only a nod, a quiet blessing, and a final warning:

"Names are louder than footsteps. Speak yours wisely."

Seraphina hadn't taken it lightly.

Kael motioned to her as the first light pierced the mist. "We'll keep to the side paths. The king's soldiers patrol the main roads."

"Are we still heading for Velthorn?" she asked.

He nodded. "And we'll take the river fork near the Hollow Pines. Should keep us out of sight."

They moved in silence, boots crunching over damp leaves. Birds remained quiet, as if even the forest feared to speak. Seraphina kept her hand on the pouch around her neck—the one that now carried her mother's silver seal ring.

She hadn't shown it to anyone except Kael.

Not yet.

By midday, they'd crossed two shallow streams and passed an abandoned watchtower overgrown with moss. Kael's instincts were sharp. He stopped often, listened longer, and steered them away from rustling brush or broken branches.

He moved like a man who knew how to stay alive.

"Have you always lived this way?" Seraphina asked, breaking the silence.

He gave her a glance. "What way?"

"Watching every shadow. Sleeping with a blade. Speaking like every word costs blood."

Kael didn't answer immediately. When he did, his voice was flat.

"Since the night your mother died, yes."

She slowed her pace slightly. "You never tried to flee? Start over?"

"I did," he said. "And I failed."

Seraphina frowned. "What happened?"

He stopped walking.

"For a time, I tried to forget my oath. Lived in the mountains under a different name. Helped villagers hunt wolves and build fences. Thought maybe I could be... normal."

She waited.

"Then the Black Guard came. Said a traitor lived among them. Burned the village to ash. I was gone when they came. When I returned... all that remained were bones."

Seraphina's throat tightened. "I'm sorry."

"I swore I'd never run again," he said. "And I won't."

Later that afternoon, they reached the edge of a steep ravine where an old rope bridge hung between cliffs. It swayed slightly in the breeze, the ropes frayed and the wooden planks weathered.

Kael frowned. "This wasn't on the map."

"Is it safe?" Seraphina asked.

Kael approached the edge, testing the first plank with his boot. It creaked, but held.

"Safe enough if we cross one at a time."

He crossed first, slowly and steadily, his sword ready. Each step groaned under his weight, but he reached the other side without trouble.

"Your turn," he called.

Seraphina took a deep breath, adjusted her grip on her pack, and stepped onto the bridge.

It swayed.

The wind tugged at her cloak. Beneath her feet, the cliffs dropped into a mist-filled gorge. One wrong move and she'd fall into nothingness.

Step by step, she moved forward.

She was halfway across when the arrow came.

Thwip!

It struck the plank behind her, splintering it. She gasped and dropped to her knees.

"Ambush!" Kael shouted. "Move, now!"

More arrows flew—two struck the ropes, one whizzed past her cheek.

Seraphina crawled, then forced herself up and ran. The bridge shuddered with every step, ropes groaning in protest.

Kael held out his hand.

She reached for it.

He grabbed her wrist and yanked her forward just as another arrow pierced the final plank she stepped off of.

She collapsed onto the ground, breath ragged, heart racing.

Kael didn't wait. He drew his dagger and cut one of the bridge's ropes. The other he sliced with a brutal tug, sending the entire bridge crashing into the ravine.

Silence returned.

But it was the kind of silence that came with eyes watching from the woods.

"They found us again," Seraphina whispered.

Kael sheathed his blade, jaw tight. "That was no patrol. Those were trained hunters."

"Black Guard?"

"No," he said. "Worse."

She looked at him, eyes wide. "Worse than the king's men?"

Kael's voice was low, like a curse.

"Bounty hunters. Malrec has placed a price on your name."

Seraphina looked back at the fallen bridge, her hand shaking.

"And how much am I worth?"

Kael met her gaze, his own unreadable. "Enough to make even the desperate brave.