📍 Chapter 87 – The Castle That Whispers
Zara arrived before dawn.
Dust in her hair. Fire still in her chest.
She hadn't slept in two days.
Zaire rode beside her, blood on his cloak.
Auren followed silently, face grim, eyes scanning every shadow.
From the outside, the palace looked the same.
Guards on the walls.
Torches burning.
Gates open.
But as soon as she crossed the threshold…
Zara knew something was wrong.
---
The silence was too tight.
No laughter in the kitchen.
No morning footsteps of scribes and pages.
No distant sound of Kaelen's soft cooing echoing from the nursery hall.
Only silence.
And whispers.
Faint. From nowhere.
From *everywhere.*
---
She went straight to the vault.
Leva stood guard, face pale.
"He's safe," she said quickly. "But something's wrong."
Zara took Kaelen into her arms. His fingers clutched her braid, half-asleep.
She kissed his forehead.
Then looked around.
"Where is everyone?"
Leva didn't answer.
Zaire turned to the nearest servant.
"Where's the steward?"
The woman just blinked.
And whispered:
> "The queen walks,
> But she lost her shadow."
---
Zaire stepped forward. "Say that again."
The servant smiled faintly. "I already have."
She turned, walked away.
Auren's eyes narrowed.
"They've been *spoken to*."
Zara turned sharply. "One stayed behind."
---
The traitor didn't wear a mask.
Didn't wear armor.
Didn't hide.
They stood in the middle of the throne room.
Dusting the windows.
A boy.
No older than fourteen.
Pale skin. Blonde hair. A stitched scar across his lips.
The moment Zara entered, he dropped the cloth and bowed deeply.
Then smiled.
---
"I've been waiting," he said softly.
Zaire pulled his blade. "You stayed behind. From the Hollow."
The boy nodded.
"They sent me early. Selene calls me her Whisper."
Zara held Kaelen tighter.
"What have you done to my people?"
He tilted his head.
"I gave them stories. Truths. Doubts."
"What kind of truths?" she snapped.
The boy's smile deepened.
> "That you're not strong enough to keep him.
> That every war you win… costs the kingdom more than it gains.
> That your enemies know you better than your council does.
>
> That one day, he'll hate you…
> For keeping him small."
---
Zaire lunged.
Too fast for the boy to escape.
Blade to his throat.
But the boy didn't flinch.
Didn't blink.
Didn't breathe fear.
He just said:
> "You can kill me.
> But the whispers have already rooted.
>
> Ask your guards.
>
> Some of them… dream of following *him* now.
>
> Not you."
---
Auren approached cautiously.
"How did you get in?"
The boy shrugged.
"I walked."
"You poisoned someone?"
He laughed.
"No. I listened. I repeated. That's all Selene trained me to do."
Zara's voice dropped.
"You're not just here to spread fear. You're here to *prepare them*."
The boy bowed again.
"Not all of them. Just a few."
---
That's when it started.
Zara stepped into the eastern wing — and the guards didn't salute.
Not out of rudeness.
Out of **hesitation**.
As if unsure.
As if they no longer saw a queen.
But a woman standing in the way of something greater.
---
Zaire pulled two captains into a private chamber.
Both had been loyal for years.
But now?
They looked uncomfortable.
One of them said,
> "Majesty… the people in the city say the Hollow is rising. That your son has already been claimed."
Zara froze.
"And you believe that?"
The other captain avoided her eyes.
"I believe they'll believe it. And that might be enough."
---
Zara dismissed them.
Locked the chamber door.
Looked at Zaire, Leva, and Auren.
"They're softening the palace. Turning opinion. Creating shadows I can't fight with swords."
Auren nodded grimly.
"Selene doesn't want your crown anymore. She wants your *legacy*."
---
Zara moved quickly.
She sealed the outer gates.
Rotated the guards.
Ordered Kaelen moved to the inner sanctum under Zaire's watch.
No food was served that hadn't passed two inspections.
No meetings held without Leva or Auren present.
And still—
The whispers grew.
---
One night, Zara walked past the kitchens.
Heard her name.
Paused in the dark.
The cook's apprentice whispered to a page:
> "She's protecting him too hard.
> Maybe he needs something more than her."
Zara didn't punish them.
She just walked away.
Back to her son's chamber.
Watched him sleep.
Then whispered,
> "One day, I'll have to show them.
> That I didn't just fight wars.
>
> I *won* them."
---
The next morning, the boy — Selene's Whisper — was gone.
His chamber empty.
No blood. No sign.
Just a note on the pillow.
Sewn in silver thread:
> "You can't kill a whisper,
> Only prove it right."
---
Zara didn't panic.
She *planned.*
She called her seamstress.
Had a new cloak made.
Not royal silk.
Not Hollow black.
But **iron grey** — the color her mother wore into battle.
She stepped onto the palace balcony that evening.
And addressed the people.
Voice steady.
Eyes fire.
---
> "They say I'm afraid to let him rise.
> That I'm afraid to lose him.
>
> That is true.
>
> Because Kaelen is not just my son.
> He's your son.
> Your future.
>
> But I will not let lies raise him.
>
> And if you ever doubt my strength…
>
> Let me remind you—
> I do not *rule* this kingdom.
>
> I *protect* it.
> With blood, with truth, and with fire."
---
The crowd roared.
Some cheered.
Some stared.
But something shifted.
A woman stepped forward and said:
> "Then show us the fire.
>
> Show us what he's fighting for."
Zara looked at Kaelen, sleeping in Leva's arms.
Then at the people.
Then at the walls she'd once built to keep him safe.
And said:
> "Then we open the gates.
> Let the world in.
>
> Let them *see* who he really is."
---
The palace would no longer be a fortress.
It would be a **witness**.
And Zara?
Would let the kingdom watch her raise a boy into something **greater than myth**.
**But never without her.**
**Never without a fight.**