Free Web NovelChapter 107: Drawn from the Dark
Chapter 106: Drawn from the Dark
Lyria’s POV
The silence that followed the man’s demand was not empty.
It was suffocating.
It pressed against my chest, curled around my throat, and stole the very air from my lungs as every eye in the Grand Hall lingered.
"Then show them," he had said.
And for one terrible, unrelenting moment, it seemed as though the entire world waited upon my fate.
The King laughed.
It was not a pleasant sound.
It rang sharp and brittle, echoing against marble and crystal, laced with something that made my skin prickle.
"Madness," he declared, his voice cutting through the tension. "Utter madness."
"You stand before us," he continued, fixing the intruder with a gaze of cold disdain, "and spin tales so absurd that even a fool would hesitate to entertain them."
The man did not flinch, though instead, he smiled.
"Your Majesty," he said calmly, "you may call it madness if it soothes you. But we both know I stand here in perfect clarity of mind."
A murmur rippled through the hall.
My fingers tightened against the folds of my skirt.
"You know I speak the truth," the man continued, his voice steady. "There is someone in the shadows. Someone you have kept hidden. Someone you intend to keep there—for all her life."
A chill swept through me.
"One who could stand in competition," he added, "to be the Moon of the Empire."
The words struck like a stone cast into still water.
"I... have wondered."
The voice came from the line of suitors.
I turned slightly, my breath catching as I saw Earl Hawthorne tilt his head, his expression thoughtful, almost uncertain.
"I cannot claim certainty," he said, his tone careful, "but on the evening of the introductory ball... I perceived something."
The hall stilled once more.
"Something... sweet," he continued slowly. "A presence, perhaps. It came from the shadows just beyond the dais."
A fresh wave of murmurs surged through the crowd.
"Could it be true?"
The issue was I was not supposed to have any scent. I was wolfless, and I made sure to mask my scent anywhere I went.
My heart pounded harder and louder, as though it sought to betray me by sound alone.
"Then there is only one way to know," Lucian said.
I looked at him.
He stood composed, though his eyes were sharper than I had ever seen them, his gaze fixed—not on the King—but on the darkness where I stood hidden.
"To see what is concealed," he finished.
Jacinta turned toward him in visible shock, her lips parting slightly.
"Lucian—"
But her voice was lost.
Because the agreement came swiftly.
"Indeed."
"Yes, let us see."
"If there is nothing, then the matter ends."
"But if there is—"
The murmurs grew. They became insistent and demanding.
The King’s expression hardened.
A dangerous stillness settled over him, the kind that came before something broke.
"So," he said slowly, his voice low and edged with steel, "you would all indulge this... spectacle?"
No one answered.
But they did not withdraw either.
That, in itself, was answer enough.
"Very well," the King said.
My breath hitched.
"If it is the shadows you wish to see..." he continued, his gaze sweeping the hall, "then you shall see them."
At that exact moment, the Royal Chamberlain—ever at the King’s side, ever silent, ever watchful, and ever irritating—glanced in my direction.
He gave me a hard stare and mouthed for me to get out.
No one had noticed, because they were all focused on the King.
I swallowed.
Then, slowly, carefully, I began to move.
One step.
Then another.
My body felt distant as I moved, as though I were moving through water rather than air.
If I could just reach the corridor—
If I could just slip away—
"Your Majesty," a voice cut in.
I froze again.
Duke Valenridge.
I closed my eyes briefly.
"What is it now?" the King snapped, irritation flashing openly.
The duke stepped forward slightly, his posture relaxed, his expression almost amused—but his eyes... his eyes were sharp. fгeewebnovёl.com
"Are you," he drawled, "attempting to stall?"
The hall stirred at his words.
"Stall?" the King repeated, his voice dangerously low.
"Yes, so that whoever stands behind those shadows might make a quiet exit," the duke continued lightly.
"I believe," he added, tilting his head ever so slightly, "everyone here is quite aware that you have another daughter."
The silence that followed was deafening.
"I was not aware," Earl Hawthorne interjected, frowning faintly. "Not until this very moment."
Duke Thorncrest gave a small shake of his head.
"Nor I," he said.
Duke Valenridge turned to Baron Redwick.
"And you?" he asked.
Baron Redwick adjusted his spectacles with composed precision.
"No," he replied simply.
Duke Valenridge hummed softly.
"Curious."
"Tell me, Baron," he continued, "do you believe there is truth in what has been said?"
All eyes turned to the baron.
Even mine.
He did not answer immediately.
Instead, he seemed to consider.
"I prefer to deal in facts," he said at last, his tone even. "And at present, we lack sufficient evidence to draw any definitive conclusion."
He paused.
"But," he added, lifting his gaze toward the shadows, "if His Majesty does indeed have another daughter... then we have all been misled."
A stir passed through the room.
"The prophecy," Baron Redwick continued, "does not specify which daughter is the Moon of the Empire."
The words settled heavily.
"If there is another," he said, "then it stands to reason that she, too, may be the one foretold."
The King’s eye twitched in anger. The Queen looked as though she was minutes from breaking something.
Before the King could speak, however, a sound broke through the tension.
It was laughter—and it sounded far too close.
I turned and locked eyes with familiar ones.
His eyes were apologetic as he stared at me, whispering an apology as he took my hands, dragging me out into the light and away from the shadows.
"Oops," Thorncrest said lightly.
The entire hall froze.
"I believe," he continued, his tone almost apologetic, "we have found the truth after all."
My body felt rigid, unresponsive, as I stood in his hold—my mask, my worn dress, my very existence laid bare before the court.
Every eye was on me.
Every single one.
Shock.
Disbelief.
Recognition.
Horror.
I felt it all.
Like something breaking open inside my chest.
Duke Valenridge and Duke Thorncrest exchanged a knowing look.
"Do tell, my lord, what are your thoughts on this?" Duke Valenridge said to Baron Redwick.
