the timid bride

**Chapter 41 – The Second Target**

The morning air was heavy with silence.

Zara stood at the window of Kael's chamber, watching the servants below prepare the palace grounds for a foreign envoy's arrival. A royal delegation from the South — one Kael barely trusted. She'd overheard enough to know that even alliances in this kingdom came with blades beneath silk.

She wrapped a shawl over her shoulders and turned away from the window. Kael had left before dawn, summoned by an emergency council. He hadn't kissed her goodbye — he'd simply pressed his forehead to hers and whispered, "Don't leave this room until I return."

That had been hours ago.

Zara's fingers drummed against the table.

She hated waiting.

Suddenly, a knock.

"Your Highness?" It was one of Kael's newer guards — a young man with wide eyes and a voice that trembled when he spoke to her.

"Yes?"

"The Prince sent me to escort you. You're to be brought to the war chamber."

Zara hesitated. Kael had told her not to leave. But the boy was in Kael's uniform, wearing his crest.

Still, something in her gut twisted.

She stepped back. "I'll wait until the prince sends someone I know."

The boy blinked. "I was told to hurry—"

"Tell Kael he can come get me himself," Zara said, her voice firm.

The guard froze. Then… nodded.

She watched through the crack of the door as he disappeared down the hall.

Five minutes later, Kael himself stormed into the room — fury in his eyes.

"Zara—"

She turned, heartbeat racing. "I thought—he said—"

Kael cupped her face, checking her over. "You didn't leave?"

"No."

He exhaled. "Good."

"What's happening?"

"There was no message from me," he said. "That boy… isn't one of mine."

Zara's heart dropped.

"It was a setup," she whispered.

Kael nodded. "They're testing your guard."

Zara stepped back, her stomach churning. "They were trying to take me again."

"They're trying to see how much access they still have."

"Phase Two," Zara said under her breath.

Kael's head snapped up. "What did you say?"

She told him everything — about the strange glances in the court, the whispers that didn't match the records, and the way someone had tried to copy his seal last week on a letter delivered to her quarters.

Kael listened without interrupting.

When she was done, he said, "They think if they can't kill you… they can discredit you."

Zara stared at the wall. "What happens when that fails too?"

Kael walked to the edge of the room and pulled a scroll from a locked box.

He unrolled it and handed it to her.

It was a royal order.

To send Zara back to her father's estate — "for her safety."

Signed by the council.

Dated yesterday.

She read it twice.

"They want me gone."

"They want you out of my reach," Kael said. "Because the longer you stand beside me, the more power you gather. And they're scared."

Zara slowly rolled the scroll and handed it back. "Then we don't give them what they want."

Kael looked at her.

"You're not leaving," she said. "And neither am I."

—

That evening, Kael gathered his loyal lords in the private strategy hall.

Zara stood beside him, reading every face in the room.

"These attacks are coordinated," Kael said. "They're not random. They've found holes in our security. And they're using the one thing I value most — to get to me."

His eyes flicked toward Zara for the briefest moment.

"We plug those holes," Zara said. "We flush out their spies. And we expose the traitors."

Lord Renin frowned. "We can't start mass arrests based on suspicion."

"We don't need to," Kael said. "We only need to draw them out."

Zara stepped forward.

"We'll use me."

Gasps filled the room.

Kael turned sharply. "No."

She looked at him. "It's the only way. Let them think I'm vulnerable. Let them try. And we follow the trail back to their command."

Kael clenched his jaw.

"I'm not letting you put yourself in danger."

"I already am in danger," she said. "I'd rather face it than hide from it."

The room fell silent.

Finally, Kael said, "If we do this, we do it on my terms. Every step you take, I take with you."

Zara nodded.

"Then we begin tonight."

—

The trap was simple.

Zara would walk alone through the outer courtyard at nightfall — a place not heavily guarded, but known to the inner circle. She'd be visible. Vulnerable. The perfect target.

Kael's elite shadows surrounded the area in secret. They'd catch anyone who took the bait.

Zara's heart thudded as she walked.

Each step echoed.

She wore no cloak. No armor. Just a gown that made her look soft and unprotected.

But beneath it, she wore a dagger Kael had given her.

She could still hear his voice in her head:

*"If I'm not fast enough, don't hesitate. Aim for the throat."*

A breeze swept through the trees.

Then—

A movement.

Zara paused. Her fingers slid to the hilt of the blade at her side.

Behind her, a shadow detached from the wall.

Fast. Silent.

Just as the figure lunged, Kael stepped from the shadows and slammed him to the ground.

Steel flashed.

The attacker snarled. "Too late. She's already marked."

Kael's eyes blazed. "Who sent you?"

The man laughed. Blood dripped from his mouth.

"The crown is falling. You just don't see it yet."

Then he bit something in his mouth — and collapsed.

Dead.

Zara stood frozen.

Kael turned to her. "Are you hurt?"

She shook her head.

Then whispered, "They won't stop."

"No," he said. "But neither will we."

He pulled her into his arms.

And this time, neither of them held back.

They clung to each other in the dark — not as prince and bride, but as two souls who had chosen to fight beside each other.

And somewhere deep in the shadows…

Someone watched.

And smiled.

Because the real attack hadn't failed.

It had only just begun.