Page 178 of A Court of Wings and Shadows

We trained hard. Drills, one-on-one combat, reaction sequences. Kaelith soared overhead with the others, a low rumble of amusement threading into my mind when Jax took a slow fall into the dirt during a tumble drill. We sparred in rotations, but it all felt sharper now, like everyone was waiting for the next blow to come from anywhere.

As I circled the ring, sweaty and breathing hard, Riven fell into step beside me, stretching her shoulder.

“You feel it too, right?” she murmured, just low enough that only I could hear.

I glanced at her. “Feel what?”

“Like we’re being moved on a board by players we haven’t seen.”

I nodded, lips tight. “Court politics are a storm. And we’re right in the center of it.”

She snorted. “Feels more like a blade at our backs, telling us where to go.”

“And we’re supposed to smile while it happens.”

Riven’s dark eyes narrowed slightly. “Let them keep underestimating us. Eventually, someone’s going to try to shove the wrong pawn.”

I didn’t respond. But I felt Kaelith’s approval flare softly in my mind.

The drills ended shortly after, and the major dismissed us to prepare for dinner. My squad was already speculating about what stew we’d be punished with tonight when I noticed a court courier moving through the crowd.

He made a beeline for me, slipping between two Crownwatch riders with a polite nod.

“Message for Ashlyn Rebec,” he said, holding out a tightly sealed parchment.

The wax was unbroken, the seal pressed with the emblem of the king’s household.

I took it slowly.

The air around me shifted again, like the game board had just moved.

And this time, I was the piece being played.

I broke the wax seal with a flick of my thumb, the parchment crinkling slightly in my fingers as I unfolded it. My eyes skimmed the short message, and I blinked in surprise.

“Meet me in my room.”

It was signed neatly, his full name scrawled beneath in Zander’s precise hand.

But what struck me wasn’t the message, it was the seal on the outside. A royal crest, stamped in deep crimson wax. Official.

Why would he send something like this… formally?

My brow furrowed. Maybe he wanted it to appear like a command. Something routine. Just another order from one royal to a prospect.

Clever. Too clever.

I glanced up and nodded to the courier. “I’ll follow.”

He didn’t say a word, just turned sharply on his heel and led me toward the castle steps. We slipped through the main doors, weaving past servants and lesser nobles who gave brief nods of respect, most too focused on their own whispered dealings to notice me.

The corridor toward Zander’s chambers felt longer than usual, the stone halls oddly quiet this close to dinner. Tension rode the air like a pulse beneath the stone.

The courier stopped outside the familiar door, bowed once, and hurried off without a word.

Odd,I thought. But I didn’t pause.

I placed my hand on the handle, took a breath, and pushed the door open.