The sun had not yet risen when Kael stood alone in the war room.
The poisoned arrow was laid across the table like an accusation. Its shaft bore no mark, but the fletching was raven-feathered—common, but not common enough. Kael's fingers traced the green smear still clinging to the metal tip.
Nightshade. Alchemically refined. Meant to stop a heart in seconds.
He hadn't slept.
His eyes were cold and calculating as he turned to Lyra, who leaned beside the bookshelf with her arms folded.
"The mercenaries?" Kael asked.
"All dead or captured," she said. "None of them knew who paid them. Just took a contract left in a vault in Redmire."
"Who gave the order?"
Lyra's jaw tightened. "Whoever it was knew the patrol route. Knew you would be on the front line. The timing wasn't luck."
Kael looked back at the arrow.
"It was an inside job."
---
Elsewhere – The Estate Garden
Rin sat beneath the twilight willow, fingers wrapped around a cup of herbal tea. Her ribs still ached from the blow, but the pain felt earned. A badge of her defiance.
Across from her sat Lady Serentha.
The older woman's crimson eyes were half-lidded, observing the girl through a veil of calm.
"You fought well," she said.
"I didn't come here for compliments."
"Of course not." Serentha sipped her tea. "You came because you know something's shifting. You want to stay ahead of it."
Rin met her gaze. "Why are you still here? Why are you helping Kael?"
A slow smile.
"I'm not helping him, child. I'm observing him. And now, observing you."
Rin felt a chill.
"You'll both be tested soon," Serentha said. "Blood reveals what words try to hide. And there is much in your family's bloodline that was never spoken aloud."
Before Rin could respond, a shadow detached from the nearby hedge.
It was Thessa.
She stepped into the clearing, hand on her weapon.
"Lady Serentha. Lord Kael requests your presence in the inner hall. Immediately."
Serentha stood without hesitation.
Rin's eyes narrowed. "He didn't tell me."
Thessa smirked. "That's because this isn't council business. It's war business."
---
Inner Hall – War Room
When Serentha entered, Kael was already waiting, flanked by Lyra and Ives. The table now displayed a full projection—magical trails of mana tracing every recorded movement inside the estate over the last forty-eight hours.
Kael gestured to the hovering image of the training ground perimeter.
"A poison arrow was fired during the raid. We traced the trajectory."
He snapped his fingers. The map narrowed to a single tower window in the southern wing.
"Angle confirms it came from our own estate. Before the fight even began."
Serentha raised an eyebrow. "You've been busy."
"Busy surviving," Kael said. "Which brings us to the next matter—"
He walked to a covered table and pulled off the cloth.
Seven masks.
Standard-issue gear for Lion's Teeth infiltrators.
"One of these is missing. Checked out by an agent using a false seal."
Lyra spoke. "We've sealed the gates. No one leaves until the infiltrator is found."
Kael nodded. "You spoke of control, Lady Serentha. Now prove your loyalty."
Serentha smiled faintly.
"You're not your father," she said. "He would've killed half the estate to find a single rat."
"I'm not him," Kael said. "But I will burn a garden to kill a single weed."
---
Later – Undercover Operation Begins
The Lion's Teeth began their sweep—disguised as servants, shadowing every noble, interrogating guards, inspecting for falsified seals and borrowed artifacts. Kael's elite three—Neron, Ives, and Thessa—led each wing, systematically peeling back the estate's layers like an onion.
Kael assigned Rin her own unit: a five-person surveillance team tasked with watching the family council wing directly.
At first, she was stunned.
"You're putting me in charge?"
"You fought," Kael said. "You bled. You earned this."
Then, his voice lowered.
"And I trust you more than I trust anyone with a title in this house."
Rin said nothing, but her posture straightened like iron.
---
Midnight – Rin's Discovery
Her unit had spent hours moving through servant passages and eavesdropping on nobles' chambers. At the fifth room—a disused chamber near the north balcony—one of her scouts froze.
"My lady... you need to see this."
Inside was a desk.
On it lay a letter written in foreign script.
Rin recognized the symbol immediately.
Velcras Circle.
But what shook her wasn't the seal—it was the name signed at the bottom.
Lord Gennard.
Her hand clenched into a fist.
This wasn't just speculation anymore.
It was betrayal inked in writing.
---
Final Scene – Kael's Study
Kael stood at his desk, the black dagger unsheathed beside his maps. The weapon pulsed softly now, almost as if... alive. A heartbeat in the steel.
He didn't trust it. But he couldn't ignore it either.
A knock.
Rin entered.
Wordless, she placed the letter on his desk.
Kael read it.
Slowly.
Then, quietly: "Gennard."
Rin nodded. "He's working with the Circle."
Kael leaned back in his chair.
The mask dropped.
The weariness surfaced—for just a second.
Then it vanished.
Kael stood.
"Prepare the Teeth. Tomorrow, we strike the shadow inside our own garden."
He looked at Rin, then Lyra as she entered the study.
"No more whispers," he said. "We smoke them out. We end this."
And with that, the final piece was in place.
The hunt within House Vaelthorn had begun.
---
End of Chapter 57