SilverLily’s Perspective

  Lily had always been careful.

  It was what had kept her alive when she was first thrown into this world. While others had rushed headlong into battle, while some had panicked or broken under the weight of it all, she had watched. She had waited.

  And she had survived.

  Her Arms—Thornclaws, powerful panther-like beasts with thorned tails and unnatural speed—had been the perfect tools for her style of control. They didn’t rely on brute force. They were stealthy, efficient, decisive.

  Just like her.

  Even now, as she walked the castle halls, she moved with silent, measured steps. The Verdant Nexus was unlike any structure she had ever seen—alive, shifting, radiating an unnatural energy that seemed to pulse like a heartbeat.

  It made her uneasy.

  No, not the castle.

  The Queen.

  Selene.

  SilverLily had pledged loyalty to her, had watched the way the others bent before her, but she was still trying to understand her.

  Selene was powerful. That much was obvious.

  But she was not like the other lords.

  She was not human.

  And the longer Lily served her, the more she wondered whether she had ever been.

  ---

  She rounded a corner, intending to head to her chambers, when she heard voices.

  Two men.

  Duskwind and Fenric.

  She stopped immediately, pressing herself against the stone, the shadows concealing her form.

  Neither man was whispering.

  Which meant they thought they were alone.

  Lily's pulse quickened.

  This should be interesting.

  ---

  Duskwind’s voice came first, smooth, confident, calculating.

  “She has them wrapped around her little finger, but it’s not permanent.”

  Support the creativity of authors by visiting Royal Road for this novel and more.

  Fenric snorted. “You think she’s blind? She’s Fae. Not some warlord. And she has something none of us have.”

  Duskwind’s tone didn’t change. “She has control. Control can be… shifted.”

  Fenric hesitated. “You think the Fae are like our Arms?”

  Lily stiffened.

  What are they—?

  Duskwind exhaled, his voice dropping lower.

  “She calls them a ‘court,’ but at the end of the day, they’re soldiers. And soldiers only follow those they believe in. Their loyalty can be worn down. Chipped away.”

  Lily’s stomach twisted.

  Fenric was less convinced. “And what’s your plan? Start whispering in their ears? Turn her own Fae against her?”

  A pause.

  Then, Duskwind spoke, voice like poisoned honey.

  “I don’t need to turn them against her. I just need to make them doubt her.”

  ---

  Lily’s mind raced.

  They’re going to try to undermine her authority.

  It wasn’t the usual rebellion.

  It wasn’t blades in the dark or open war.

  It was whispers. Doubt. Mistrust.

  And it could work.

  Selene ruled with absolute control. But even gods could fall if their followers no longer believed in them.

  Lily didn’t wait.

  She turned and moved.

  Fast.

  Silent.

  She had to reach Selene.

  Now.

  ---

  She burst into the Grand Hall, breath steady but her heart hammering.

  Selene sat where she always did, on her throne, composed, watching, waiting.

  Eternity stood nearby, his presence like a fixed point in time. The Fae Lord of Sovereignty was not present, likely overseeing the latest fortifications, but Lily didn’t care.

  She strode forward and dropped to one knee.

  “My Queen.”

  Selene’s expression didn’t change.

  “Speak.”

  Lily swallowed. “Duskwind and Fenric are plotting.”

  Selene exhaled softly, almost… amused.

  “Are they now?”

  Lily hesitated.

  She had expected anger.

  Instead, Selene looked entertained.

  “My Queen, they think—” she hesitated, searching for the right words, “—that your court’s loyalty can be… shifted. That if they can plant doubt, they can weaken your hold.”

  Selene finally smiled.

  Not warmly.

  Not cruelly.

  Just… knowingly.

  “And that concerns you?”

  Lily nodded. “Yes.”

  Selene tilted her head slightly, studying her.

  “Why?”

  Lily frowned. “Because they’re not wrong. If they’re allowed to move freely, to plant the seeds of doubt, they might—”

  A presence shifted behind her.

  Lily froze.

  ---

  She had not heard it.

  Had not felt it.

  But something was standing right behind her.

  She turned her head slowly.

  And her breath caught.

  A Fae.

  Tall, draped in shifting fabric that seemed to exist in multiple realities at once. Eyes like shimmering voids.

  The Fae Lord of Echoes.

  Lily’s blood ran cold.

  She hadn’t sensed them at all.

  Selene’s voice was soft.

  “The walls have ears."

  Lily understood immediately.

  Selene had known.

  She had always known.

  She had been watching. Listening.

  And she found it all amusing.

  ---

  Lily bowed her head. “Then I was… unnecessary.”

  Selene rose from her throne.

  “Not at all,” she said smoothly, descending the steps. “It is always good to know who is paying attention.”

  She stopped in front of Lily, looking down at her.

  “You are afraid,” she observed.

  Lily stiffened. “I am cautious.”

  Selene smiled slightly. “And you think that, should they remain unchecked, they might succeed?”

  Lily swallowed. “Yes.”

  A pause.

  Then, Selene leaned forward slightly, lowering her voice.

  “They will not.”

  There was no hesitation.

  No concern.

  No fear.

  Because Selene knew something Lily did not.

  ---

  Lily stood slowly, mind racing.

  She had come to warn her Queen.

  Instead, she had been reminded of something.

  Selene was not afraid.

  Not of rebellion.

  Not of whispers.

  Not of anything.

  She knew something the rest of them did not.

  Lily stepped back, bowing her head again.

  “My Queen.”

  Selene smiled, tilting her head.

  “Loyalty is not so fragile as they believe.”

  She turned away, her voice carrying absolute certainty.

  “Let them plot.”

  Lily understood.

  Selene did not see them as threats.

  She saw them as amusement.

  Because they were playing a game they could never win.