Free Web NovelChapter 164: Elowen’s Rival
Seren received and read an unexpected message written by Elowen in the council chamber, with the triplets gathered around her. The morning light was grey and cold, filtering through the high windows. Elowen’s handwriting was sharp, urgent, nothing like the careful script she used for official documents. The ink had smeared in places—as if she had written in haste, or her hand had been trembling. free𝑤ebnovel.com
*Corvin of the eastern provinces has declared himself independent of the crown. He claims the southern treaty gave him the right. He has gathered an army. I need reinforcements.*
Aeron’s jaw tightened. He set the message down and pressed his fingers to his temples. "Corvin. I’ve heard the name. Minor nobility. Landed family, old blood, but no real power until recently. Ambitious. Popular with the disaffected."
"Popular enough to raise an army," Kael said, crossing his arms. "That’s not minor. That’s a threat."
Theron pulled out a map from the stack beside Aeron’s chair and spread it across the table, weighing down the corners with his dagger and a candlestick. "The eastern provinces are vast. Sparsely populated, but the trade routes run through them. If Corvin controls the roads, he could choke supply lines to the south. Grain, timber, ore; all of it flows through his territory."
Seren studied the map, tracing the borders with her finger. "Elowen has been governing the east for over a year. Why now? Why not before? She’s had rivals before. None of them declared independence."
"Because before, she was establishing her authority. Consolidating power. Building alliances." Aeron’s voice was grim. "Now, she’s vulnerable. The southern treaty gave the east more autonomy, but it also showed other ambitious lords that the crown is willing to negotiate. Corvin is testing the limits."
Kael leaned forward, his hands flat on the table. "Do we send troops? A show of force might be enough to scatter his followers before they fully commit."
"Do we trust Elowen with more military power?" Theron countered, raising an eyebrow. "She already has a substantial force of her own. Eastern guards, provincial levies, her personal retinue. If we give her more, she could become a threat herself. It may not be immediately, but someday."
"She’s not a threat." Seren’s voice was firm.
"She’s always a threat." Theron met her eyes. "That’s who she’s always been. Ambition doesn’t disappear just because we’re family now. It just finds new channels."
The room fell silent.
***
Elowen arrived three days later.
She looked different from the polished princess who had left the palace after the wedding. Her face was tanned from weeks in the field, her eyes hard and tired. She wore a sword at her hip and a knife in her boot. The leather of her scabbard was scratched and worn.
"Corvin has taken the eastern border posts," she said without preamble, striding to the map table. "He’s recruiting from the villages. Promising independence, lower taxes, wolf supremacy. The usual lies. The same words Vesper used, the same promises Thorne made. People are desperate enough to believe him."
"How many?" Kael asked.
"Three hundred. Maybe more. He’s popular. Charismatic. The kind of wolf who makes you feel like you’re the only person in the room." Elowen’s voice was flat. "I’ve seen his type before. They burn bright, and then they burn out. But before they burn out, they take a lot of people with them."
Aeron studied her. "And your forces?"
"Enough to hold my position. Not enough to attack." She met his eyes, unblinking. "I need the crown’s support. Soldiers. Supplies. Authority to negotiate. Without them, I’m playing defense while he builds momentum."
"You want more power."
"I want to prevent a civil war." Her voice cracked, just slightly. "I know you don’t trust me. I know I’ve given you reasons not to. But this isn’t about me. It’s about the east. About the people who will die if we let Corvin grow unchecked."
Kael argued about sending troops immediately; a hammer blow, crushing the rebellion before it could spread. Theron talked about waiting, gathering intelligence, understanding Corvin’s weaknesses and turning his allies against him. Aeron sat in silence, his fingers steepled, his eyes moving between the map and his sister.
Lord Pemberton, summoned from the Pure Blood League’s headquarters, asked for a negotiated settlement. "Corvin’s followers are not evil," he said. "They’re afraid. They feel abandoned by the crown. If we address their grievances, we weaken his appeal."
"And if we don’t?" Kael demanded.
"Then we make martyrs. And martyrs are harder to kill than soldiers."
Seren listened to all of them. The arguments circled, repeated, intensified.
Finally, she spoke.
"Send Kael."
The room went quiet.
"Send Kael to observe," she continued. "Not to command, or to commit forces. But to assess the threat and report back.
Let the soldier see what we’re facing before we decide how to face it. Let him walk into Corvin’s camp, look him in the eye, and tell us whether this man can be reasoned with or must be destroyed."
Elowen’s jaw tightened. "You don’t trust me."
"I trust you enough to send my mate into a potentially hostile situation on your behalf." Seren met her eyes. "If I didn’t trust you, I wouldn’t let him go. I wouldn’t risk his life for your province. But I am. Because I believe you when you say this is serious."
Kael nodded slowly. "I can do that. A small guard. No banners nor announcements. I’ll see what Corvin is building and report back. Give me two weeks."
Aeron considered. "And if the threat is immediate? If Corvin moves before you return?"
"Then I’ll handle it." Kael’s voice was flat, confident. "With or without an army. With or without permission. I won’t let the east burn while we sit here debating."
Later that night, Kael was in the armoury.
He was checking his blades, running a whetstone along each edge with methodical precision. The torchlight caught the scars on his hands, the tension in his shoulders. His travel pack sat on the bench beside him bedroll, rations, a change of clothes. He like travelling light.
"You’re worried," she said, as she entered, leaning against the doorframe.
"I’m always worried before a mission." He didn’t look up. "That’s how I stay alive."
He set down the blade and finally looked at her. "Corvin isn’t Thorne. He’s not a fanatic. He’s not fighting for revenge or glory. He’s a politician with an army. That’s more dangerous. Thorne you could predict. Thorne you could bait. Corvin will smile at you while his soldiers surround you."
"How?"
"Because fanatics can be predicted. They have rules. Beliefs. Lines they won’t cross." He shook his head. "Politicians don’t. Corvin will say whatever he needs to say to gain power. He’ll promise independence to the east, wolf supremacy to the conservatives, lower taxes to the merchants. He’ll be whatever people want him to be, for as long as it serves him."
Seren sat beside him on the bench. "That sounds like someone we know."
"Elowen."
"Yes."
Kael was silent for a moment, staring at the blade in his hands. "Elowen is ambitious, but she’s also loyal. In her own way. To the family. To the kingdom. To the idea that she deserves a place at the table. Corvin doesn’t want a place at the table. He wants to flip the table over and build his own."
"Corvin isn’t loyal to anyone but himself."
"No." He took her hand. "I’ll be careful. I won’t take unnecessary risks. I’ll observe, assess, and come home."
"You’d better." She squeezed his fingers. "The bond doesn’t work if you’re dead."
He almost smiled—a small, tired curve of his lips. "That’s the most selfish thing you’ve ever said to me."
"I learned from the best."
Kael left at dawn.
He rode with a small guard—twelve soldiers, all volunteers, all sworn to secrecy. No banners. No fanfare. Just a warrior and his pack, riding east to assess a threat that could tear the kingdom apart.
Seren watched from the walls.
Aeron stood beside her, his hand on her back. "He’ll be fine."
"He’s walking into a potential war zone. Alone. With nothing but a sword and his stubbornness."
"He’s walking into a negotiation." Aeron’s voice was quiet. "Kael is better at those than people think. He reads people. He understands fear. He knows when to push and when to wait." frёewebnoѵēl.com
Seren looked at him. "Since when?"
"Since he married you." Aeron’s lips curved slightly. "You taught him that not every problem can be solved with a sword. Some require patience. Some require listening. Some require walking into an enemy’s camp and looking them in the eye."
She leaned against him. "I hope you’re right."
The bond hummed—Kael’s presence, warm and steady, fading as he rode east.
Three days later, a message arrived from Elowen.
The rider was pale, exhausted, his horse near collapse. He handed the parchment to Seren with trembling hands.
*Corvin has declared himself Lord of the Eastern Provinces,* Elowen wrote. *He’s demanding that the crown recognize his independence within the month, or he will march on the palace. He has five hundred soldiers now. The northern factions are sending reinforcements.*
*Kael has gone to meet him. Alone.*
*He said I should stay back.*
Seren’s blood ran cold.
"Alone?" She read the message again, as if the words might change. "He went alone? Without the guard?"
Theron took the parchment from her hands, scanning it quickly. "Kael does what Kael wants. You know that. He’s always been like this. Even as a child, he walked into situations that should have killed him. He trusts his instincts."
"He’s going to get himself killed."
"Or he’s going to get information we couldn’t get any other way." Aeron’s voice was steady, but his hands trembled at his sides. "We wait. We trust him. We prepare. That’s all we can do."
"Prepare for what?"
"For war." He met her eyes. "Or for peace. We won’t know until he returns."
