House of Daggers

my heart thumped in my chest, wondering if I really looked like a monarch primed for a coronation. My reflection was of a young woman with sleep-deprived eyes and da

winge of doubt bubbling inside me. Rumours flitted through the halls, each warning that a hidden power could overturn the ceremony. I tried t

morning air was filled with the fragrance of blossoms from the royal gardens. This should have been a victorious morning, but m

age. Those lessons I had embraced faithfully. Now, I wondered whether anyone who professed to love me

shed the door open. Her smooth brow knitted, her lips pursed. Dressed in a plain midnight blue gow

face. "Lois, there is

me chills all the way d

reat. A high-born lord, or perhaps closer. Wo

in alarm. "Someo

oing to name names, but the whispers

news, but hearing it spoken confirmed my worst fears. If there was any tr

ixed on me, serious and unflinch

g light seemed very bright, as if ther

walked marble corridors flanked by heraldries on colourful flags and woven murals, artefacts of Valtara's prou

on. Their furtive glances suggested repressed dread. I observed that nobody had the courage to talk to me civi

h my thoughts. Lois, do yo

es. "There's this sense of anxiety as if everyone's kind

ic revolt. "If they're plotting, they're doing it qu

ts, in diplomacy. I had learned of their accomplishments, dreaming I could replicate

nbeams filtered through stained-glass windows, scattering rainbow shades on the polished floor. Servants below scu

oes not pester you. They're normally flocking around, p

at me with a mixture of fear and anticipation. Even the sentries in front of each archway seemed uncomfortabl

gaunt, muffled sound through a pillar. I held my breath, straining to hea

d over the marble. "Sh

was empty, with nothing but grey stone walls and dust. Whoever made that threat had vanished, leaving a terrible certaint

ed fierce. "We ha

ratic. There was danger, and it

ng at so many anxious faces any longer, so I ladled myself off the main corridors and found a quiet corner to collect my though

allway, along with low, urgent voices. My heart raced, curiosity and dread fighting each o

t only by the flicker of a single torch. My breath hitched as I realized it was Steve Reynolds's lean form - a man I'd once trusted blindly. Across from

"We cannot allow her to take

nd grief rolled around inside, but I made myself not

carefully. If the wrong people start to

discipline and honesty. Now he conspired against me? Even the cit

nt on, voice taut, "or we watch Valt

nipulative agenda? My head was spinning, remembering some of the times we'd exchanged great ideas fo

the table. "It has to be do

f the door. Panic tightened me, my heart banging like a war drum. If they discovered me eaves

ots scratching lightly on the stone. I turned and fled down the dim passage as quietly as I could, ears ringing with their