(Flashback: Two Days Earlier)
The evening had begun like any other: a hollow sky bleeding orange across the crumbling stone towers of the enemy's former stronghold. The scent of soot and parchment clung thick in the air. I stood just outside the archive wing.
I wasn't sure whether I was more afraid of failing the mission or being caught by Kael again and thoroughly... punished. (And not the fun kind.)
System Notification:
MISSION OBJECTIVE: Discover the identity of the informant feeding the Queen information about Kael's army strategies. Progress: 0%. Deadline: 2 Days Remaining.
"I get it, I get it," I muttered, yanking my hood tighter around my face.
Speaking of, I don't know how he got my measurements in practically everything- clothes, shoes, etc…
Anyway!
Inside the archives, silence was an entity of its own. Every creak of my boots, every scuffle of parchment being disturbed, felt like a firecracker going off. I moved carefully, slipping between rows of tightly packed shelves and tall shadows. It was almost romantic if you ignored the high likelihood of death.
System Stealth Tip:
Stop stepping like you're auditioning for Swan Lake
*****
I waited. Hours passed. Just when my eyes started to droop, the door creaked open. I ducked low.
A cloaked figure entered, his steps a bit light.
Baron Vallorne.
The same man who'd smirked at Kael during the last council meeting like he was holding a winning hand.
He moved to a locked cabinet. Pulled out a scroll. I noticed how his fingers trembled slightly, before he began writing. I couldn't see much, but I caught the royal seal of Queen Lira pressed into the bottom corner of the parchment. Then he tucked it into a hollowed-out book. Clever bastard.
I followed him. Like a shadow. Down through the lower halls. Right into the empty chapel that hadn't been used since probably the war.
I didn't mean to make a sound. But the loose floor tile betrayed me.
CRACK.
He turned. Our eyes locked.
"Who–?!"
Instinct took over. I lunged forward and slammed him against the column. He was older. Slower. But he still fought back like a wolf. We crashed to the stone floor, his hand reaching for a dagger at his hip, but I grabbed the candle stand.
And slammed it into him.
Everything went still.
The dagger clattered.
He fell.
There was blood on my hands.
My chest heaved. He wasn't moving.
System Notification:
You have neutralized the informant. Objective 1 Progress: 100%
I stumbled back, breath ragged, staring down at him. The realization hit like a tidal wave. My first real death. My hands had killed him. For a mission. For this world. For Kael.
I remembered dragging the body into the chapel crypts. Locking the gate. Wiping down the floors. Taking the scroll he'd hidden.
I burned it after memorizing every detail first.
And I never spoke a word of it.
Not even to Kael.
System Reminder:
Host. You did what needed to be done. You're not a murderer. You're a survivor. Also: Congrats! You finished a mission without being mid-deep-throated by Kael.
...Progress?
*****
Back to the present.
The Silken Thread (Day Four)
Kael had been gone for four days.
The room he'd left me in wasn't just lavish. It was an actual trap. Every velvet couch, every polished glass panel, and each silky bed sheet had his scent, haunted by ghost touches that made it increasingly difficult to think.
It was ridiculous, really. I should've been more focused on the two ticking mission deadlines crawling toward doomsday. But instead, I kept hearing his voice in the shower.
I kept seeing his damn smile in the foggy reflection on the mirror.
And worst of all, my body remembered too much.
Still, I wasn't a total lost cause.
System Notification: MISSION REMINDER: [Objective 1] Investigate the power structure of the Kingdom of Solvanyr. Time remaining: 1 day. [Objective 2] Survive. [Objective 3] Don't get railed into a political puppet.
System Notification: MISSION OBJECTIVE: Discover the identity of the informant feeding the Queen information about Kael's army strategies. Suspicious Activity: Noble Lord Virein seen entering the archives past curfew.
"I'm moving," I muttered, slipping the black scarf tighter around my mouth and pulling the hood over my head. Night in Solvanyr's palace meant shifting walls, whispers in the dark, and enchantments designed to lure the curious to their deaths. Fun.
I left through the servants' route.
How did I know? Simple really. I observed.
I'm not that stupid not to move when my life (literally at the hands of the system) is at stake. I only have a few days left before Kael returns and I get (quite possibly) to be glued on the bed again…
I haaaate it – I love it.
Fuck!
Stop it, me!
*****
The underground hallway reeked of oil and mildew, lined with unlit sconces that hadn't seen fire in years. My boots padded silently against the cold stone as I weaved through the lesser-known paths marked in the map Kael gave me before leaving.
He had definitely known I'd do something reckless.
System: [Internal Commentary // Passive Observation Active]
Subject Host's stealth is approximately 72% effective. Mood: Paranoid. Slight arousal due to remembering Kael's last kiss. Irrelevant. Moving on—
I reached the corridor to the royal archives just in time to catch a flicker of lamplight. A figure robed in gold-trimmed indigo slipped inside.
Lord Virein.
My pulse quickened as I crouched near the corner.
System: [Passive Buff Activated: Auditory Enhancement (+25%)]
Inside, Virein muttered. "...latest deployment... northern ridge... Kael's personal detail... he's finally unguarded..."
Gotcha.
I waited for fifteen minutes after he left, then slipped in and scanned the ledgers he'd been touching. Dust had been disturbed. Ink is still fresh.
It was a message.
Disguised as a tax registry update, it listed coordinates and times.
And the recipient?
The Queen's cousin.
"Son of a–"
System Notification: MISSION UPDATE: Objective 1 [Investigate Solvanyr's power structure] — 80% Complete. Discovery: Queen's cousin embedded in military communication hierarchy.
System:
Do not yell. Stealth rating drops when profanity exceeds 70 decibels. Please continue sneaking.
I took the book the system gave me and started copying everything that Virein wrote. I have to show it to Kael after he returns to finish the mission.
After copying, I slid the ledger back into place and slipped out the same way I came. But not before leaving a single hair tucked into the page. The classic spy move.
A reminder to myself: You were here. You did this.
I returned to Kael's quarters just before sunrise.
My knees were sore. My cloak smelled like mold (exaggerating much?). My fingers ached from being pressed to cold stone while waiting for Lord Virein to leave.
But I smiled.
Because mission one? Done. Mission two? Almost done.
And Kael would be back tomorrow.
My chest... felt weird. Warm. Like anticipation and something dangerously close to longing.
System:
Host is experiencing symptoms of emotionally-induced arousal. Diagnosis: You miss your war criminal boyfriend.
"Shut the fuck up."
System:
Acknowledged. Shutting the fuck up for now.
...But I knew that smug bastard was still watching.