The feeling of fear did not leave Lyra after that night.
During the day, she smiled as she always did. She sat beside her father in meetings. She listened to talks about trade, alliances, and marriages. But her thoughts were not in the room.
They were on the palace walls.
They were on the roads beyond the kingdom.
They were on Caelan.
More soldiers began to gather in the city. Supplies were moved. Horses filled the stables. The people outside the palace did not know the full truth, but they felt something was wrong.
War was coming.
One afternoon, Lyra stood by the window again. Below, soldiers trained harder than before. This time, the practice was not for show. It was sharp. Serious.
Caelan moved among them.
He fought with calm and control. Every strike was clean. Every step had meaning.
One of the older knights whispered to another, "That one learns too fast."
Lyra heard it.
For the first time, she felt pride for someone other than her kingdom.
---
The attack came at dusk.
It was not a large army.
Just shadows.
The warning horns rang suddenly across the city walls. Shouts followed. Torches lit the night like falling stars.
Lyra was pulled from her chamber by guards.
"Your Highness, stay behind us!"
She tried to ask what was happening, but no one answered.
From the tower windows, she saw dark figures moving near the outer gates. They climbed like insects, fast and silent. Their blades reflected firelight.
Enemy scouts.
Assassins.
"Caelan," she whispered without thinking.
---
At the western wall, Caelan felt the danger before he saw it.
An arrow struck the stone near his head.
He moved instantly.
Steel flashed. One attacker fell. Another came from behind.
Caelan turned and blocked just in time.
The fight was fast. Close. Deadly.
He did not think of glory. He did not think of fear.
He thought of the balcony.
He thought of her standing in the cold.
That was enough.
When the last enemy fell, blood stained the floor. The attack had failed, but the message was clear.
The kingdom had been found.
---
That night, Lyra could not stop shaking.
The guards had stopped anyone from leaving their rooms, but she forced her way onto her balcony.
Caelan was there.
His armor was scratched. Blood stained one sleeve.
Her breath caught.
"You are hurt," she said.
"It is not mine," he answered.
She did not believe him fully, but she felt relief wash through her chest anyway.
"They tried to kill us," she said quietly.
"They tried to test us," Caelan replied. "Now they know we are awake."
Lyra looked at him. "Are you afraid?"
He paused. "Yes."
"Then why do you still stand so calmly?"
"Because if I fall apart," he said, "you will not feel safe."
Her eyes stung.
"Why do you care so much?" she asked, her voice barely holding steady.
He hesitated for the first time since she had met him.
Then he answered the truth, though he did not fully understand it himself.
"Because somewhere between the snow… and now… you became important to me."
Silence filled the space between them.
The words were simple.
But their meaning was not.
---
The attack changed everything.
The palace no longer felt untouchable. The walls no longer felt eternal.
And Lyra understood something she had never dared to think before.
Caelan was not just a guard.
He was her shield.
---
Beyond the city, the enemy leader watched the failed mission with calm eyes.
"So the knight remains," he said. "Good."
The real war had not even begun.