the timid bride

# Chapter 60 – Shadows at the Gate

Zara stood on the eastern tower balcony, the wind biting through her nightgown as dawn cracked open over the capital. Below, the courtyard bustled with soldiers changing guard, their movements sharp and disciplined. But her eyes weren't on the soldiers — they were on the gates beyond them, on the horizon that seemed to whisper of coming storms.

She hadn't slept.

The note left on her chamber door last night had been unsigned. No seal. Just one line, scribbled in a trembling hand:

> "They are coming. Tonight."

No date. No name. Just that.

It could be a trap.

Or it could be her only chance to strike first.

Zara turned as the door behind her creaked open. Damon entered, half-dressed in black leather and a crimson sash — the uniform he only wore when war was closer than peace.

"You read it?" she asked.

He nodded. "Already sent scouts to the outer perimeter. No movement yet."

She crossed her arms. "What if it's from one of Selene's spies? What if they know something we don't?"

"Or what if it's a distraction while Kael moves his pieces inside the palace?" Damon countered.

Zara didn't flinch. "Either way, we need to prepare."

He stepped closer. "You've barely rested."

"I can't afford rest when every second might be our last moment of calm."

He placed his hand on her cheek, warm against the icy wind. "Then we stand together. Whatever's coming, it won't face you alone."

She leaned into his touch for a breath, then nodded. "Let's move."

—

By midday, the palace had quietly begun shifting. Trusted guards were positioned at key corridors, under Zara's direct orders. The servants she'd personally vetted over the last month passed coded messages disguised as laundry slips and menu changes. The entire castle hummed with silent anticipation.

In the royal war room, Zara stood before the central map table with Commander Varek, Lady Selene, and Damon at her sides.

"This note worries me," Selene murmured. "It could mean an assassination. Or worse — a coordinated strike within the palace."

"It won't be from outside the city," Varek said firmly. "No army's moving past our patrols without notice. If this is real, it's already inside the gates."

Zara tapped the tower map. "Then we tighten the inner circle. No one enters the royal quarters without a double clearance. No food, no gifts, not even wine, unless it passes my nose first."

Varek nodded. "Done."

Damon leaned on the table. "What about Kael?"

Zara met his eyes. "He'll either act tonight or test us with silence. Either way, I'm done playing defense."

There was a pause.

Then Selene spoke softly. "I know a passage through the undercellars. A secret one. Kael used to sneak in lovers when he was younger. If he's planning to bring assassins inside, he'll use it."

Zara's jaw tightened. "Then show us."

—

Hours later, under cover of dusk, Zara followed Selene and Varek through the catacombs beneath the eastern wing. The air was thick with dust and mold. Rats skittered away from the flicker of their torches.

Selene paused at a cracked stone wall. "Here," she whispered. "Behind this."

Varek and Damon pushed, and the stone gave way with a groan. Behind it stretched a narrow, hidden tunnel lined with ancient torch brackets. It smelled of damp earth and iron.

Zara stepped in first.

They followed in silence.

At the end of the tunnel, the passage opened into a hidden alcove — one that led straight into the palace library.

Zara's heart sank.

The library. Where she spent hours. Where the guards rotated only twice a day. Quiet, respected — and vulnerable.

"No one would expect an attack here," she whispered.

"Exactly," Selene replied.

They sealed the tunnel behind them and returned to the upper palace.

That night, the skies were overcast. The moon vanished behind heavy clouds, and the city outside the palace walls went dark earlier than usual, as if holding its breath.

Zara sat in her chamber, dressed in deep blue velvet. Her dagger — the one Varek had gifted her — was strapped beneath her sleeve. Amara sat nearby, pretending to mend a dress, but Zara knew she had a blade tucked into her basket.

At the stroke of midnight, Zara heard it.

A faint scrape at the window.

She moved slowly, cautiously, and peeked through the curtain.

A shadow moved against the far wall of the adjoining balcony.

She gestured to Amara.

They moved.

Silent as smoke, they crept through the side passage and into the library from the rear hallway.

What they saw made Zara freeze.

Two men — hooded and masked — were slipping through the tall windows of the library. One carried a curved blade. The other, a vial of liquid.

Poison.

Zara's blood turned to fire.

She darted behind a pillar and signaled. In seconds, Varek and his men swarmed the room from the hidden tunnel, surrounding the intruders in complete silence.

One of the assassins turned to fight — too late. Varek's sword pierced his leg and pinned him to the stone floor.

The second tried to flee but was caught by Damon himself.

They unmasked them.

And Zara's breath caught.

One was a former palace guard — dismissed three months ago for theft.

The other…

A noble's son.

House Teryn. Loyal to Kael.

Zara stepped forward. "Who sent you?"

The noble's son spat blood. "You'll fall. Just like the last woman who thought she could rule."

Zara didn't blink. "Then I'll rise twice."

She turned to Damon. "We need to move now. Arrest anyone connected to House Teryn. Search Kael's estate again. I want the royal scribes re-verified. Everyone, Damon. Everyone."

He nodded once. No hesitation.

The assassins were dragged away.

—

By dawn, Kael was summoned to the palace.

He entered the throne room in silk and smugness, but the air had changed. Every guard now carried two blades. Every servant now bowed with more tension than grace.

Zara stood beside Damon, no longer behind him.

"We found your dog," she said coldly.

Kael raised a brow. "You'll have to be more specific, my lady. I've trained many."

"Then you'll know which one tried to poison me last night."

A flicker of something passed across his face.

"Proof?" he asked.

She handed him the mask. The dagger. The poison vial — still sealed.

"And his tongue," Damon added, voice like thunder. "Still intact. He confessed under oath."

Kael said nothing.

Zara stepped forward. "You have declared war on your crown. But unlike the women you've silenced before me… I will not disappear. I will not die quietly. I will reign."

Kael's smile cracked.

Damon turned to the guards. "House Kael is to be stripped of its titles. All lands seized. Kael himself shall be confined to the eastern tower until trial."

Screams erupted.

From Kael. From his allies.

But no one listened.

The rebellion had ended — not with a war, but with a woman who refused to bow.

—

That night, Zara sat by the balcony once more, this time with Damon beside her.

"You didn't just survive," he said softly. "You conquered."

She looked out at the city. "No. We did."

He wrapped his arm around her shoulders.

And for once, there was no whisper in the walls.

Only silence.

And peace.

For now.