the timid bride

Chapter 27: Enemies Within

The ashes from the fallen general hadn't settled.

But Arin could already feel it — something was wrong.

They returned to the castle just before nightfall, victorious, but not at peace. The sky was growing darker, but it wasn't the blood moon this time.

It was silence.

Too much silence.

No drums.

No gates opening.

No cheers from the walls.

Rael noticed it too. "Where are the guards?"

Kael rode up beside them, her eyes narrowed. "The torches are out."

Arin dismounted, sword still strapped to her back, and moved quickly toward the inner gate.

It was unlocked.

That was their first answer.

The second came when they entered the courtyard.

Bodies.

Six soldiers.

Dead. Eyes open. No wounds. No blood.

But all of them had the same expression.

Fear.

Frozen, wide-mouthed fear.

Arin knelt beside one and touched his hand.

Cold.

"Poison?" Kael asked.

Rael shook his head. "No. Magic."

The priestess who had returned with them moved to the center of the courtyard. Her fingers glowed as she whispered an old chant.

Then she gasped. "There's someone else in the castle. Someone powerful. They opened the gate while we were gone."

Arin stood. "Gate?"

The priestess turned to her. "A back passage. Sealed since the time of the first queen. It leads under the mountain. If someone opened it, they weren't trying to attack."

"Then what?" Kael asked.

"They were letting someone **in**."

—

The war room was cold when they entered.

The map was gone.

The fire snuffed.

And in the center of the table sat a single rose — black, dried, and coated in silver dust.

Rael froze. "That's a mourning mark."

"A death omen," Kael said quietly. "Left only when someone betrays blood."

Arin didn't speak.

She walked around the table slowly, her fingers grazing the old wood.

And then she found it — carved under the lip, newly etched.

A symbol.

A serpent's eye.

Rael looked at her. "It's someone inside the castle."

Kael slammed her fist against the wall. "Someone we trusted."

Arin closed her eyes. "We need to find them. Tonight."

—

The castle was locked down.

No one entered. No one left. The signal fires were relit.

Arin split the survivors into groups — searching every corridor, every tunnel, every stairwell.

They found the old passage beneath the mountain near midnight.

The stones had been disturbed.

The seal cracked.

But whoever came through was gone.

Or hiding.

The trail led back into the castle walls.

And into the west wing.

The bride wing.

Arin stepped through the archway alone.

The air here felt colder.

Older.

She remembered her first night here — the silk gown, the golden bracelets, the locked door. She had been a sacrifice, not a wife.

Now she was a blade.

The final door was still open.

And inside, someone waited.

Not a stranger.

**Lira.**

The healer from the lower city.

The quiet girl with soft hands and gentle smiles.

She was sitting at Arin's old vanity, combing her hair.

As if nothing had changed.

"You were always the smart one," Lira said without turning. "I knew you'd find me."

Arin didn't draw her sword. Not yet.

"Why?" she asked.

Lira smiled faintly. "Because the Queen chose the wrong girl."

Arin frowned. "You wanted to be the bride?"

"No," Lira said. "I wanted to be the vessel."

She turned — and Arin stepped back.

Lira's eyes were silver. Her veins glowed faintly beneath her skin.

"You let him in," Arin whispered.

Lira nodded. "He speaks to those who listen. While you played rebel queen, I listened. And I became more than human."

"You're possessed."

"I'm chosen," Lira hissed. "He gave me power. Real power. Not the fake crowns and broken mirrors your kind cling to."

Arin slowly reached for her sword.

Lira raised a hand, and the walls trembled.

"I wouldn't," she said. "Not unless you want to bring the whole castle down."

Arin held her ground. "So what now? You kill me? Take my place?"

Lira laughed. "Kill you? No. I need you alive. He wants your heart."

Arin's blood chilled. "To feed the gate."

Lira nodded. "Exactly."

Before Arin could move, Lira vanished into smoke.

Gone.

But not for long.

—

Arin didn't sleep that night.

She called Rael and Kael to her chamber, the door bolted behind them.

"She's not working alone," Arin said. "Someone helped her break the seal. We need to root out every loyalist left."

Kael rubbed her temples. "You think there are more?"

"I know it."

Rael looked at her. "And what about you? How are you holding up?"

Arin didn't answer.

Not at first.

Then she said softly, "I hear him sometimes. In my dreams. In the sword. Whispering."

Kael paled. "You're not—?"

"I'm not like Lira," Arin said quickly. "But I'm not untouched either."

Rael touched her shoulder. "We'll protect you."

Arin looked at him. "You can't. Not from this. But I can protect you."

She stood. "Tomorrow, we go on the offensive. No more waiting. No more reacting. We strike before the moon turns fully black."

Kael nodded. "I'll prepare the soldiers."

Rael didn't move. "And if we fail?"

Arin looked him dead in the eye.

"Then we don't deserve to live."

—

At dawn, the castle bell rang.

A single note.

It had only ever been rung for two things: coronation… or betrayal.

Arin ran to the tower.

Kael was already there, sword drawn.

"What is it?" Arin asked.

Kael pointed.

In the valley below, the Serpent King's army had grown.

Three times the size it had been.

And now, at its front, marched a new general.

A woman.

Lira.

Clad in silver robes. A crown of bone on her head. A serpent coiled around her neck.

"She's not hiding anymore," Arin whispered.

Rael joined them, face pale. "She wants us to know. The bride's replacement has arrived."

Arin gritted her teeth.

"Then she'll learn exactly what kind of bride I became."

—

Back inside, Arin unsheathed Vaelir.

The sword pulsed — hotter than ever before.

She held it to the light and saw her reflection.

Not scared.

Not broken.

But burning.

Ready.

She turned to her people — the last few who still stood.

"This is it," she said. "The final day before the blood moon breaks. The traitor stands at our gate. The real enemy follows behind."

She raised the blade.

"They want a sacrifice. Let's give them a war instead."