The morning after the banquet, the palace felt quieter, but not calmer.
Elara was halfway through polishing a gilt frame in the east gallery when another maid hurried in. "You. The Queen requests your assistance in her quarters."
The words landed like a stone in her stomach. The Queen had noticed her twice in less than a week. That wasn't supposed to happen.
The Queen's solar was warm with late morning light, the windows draped in pale gold silk. The Queen sat in a high-backed chair, her posture regal, embroidery hoop in hand.
"You're the one from last night," the Queen said without looking up. "Elara, was it?"
"Yes, Your Majesty," Elara murmured, bowing low.
"Pour the tea."
Elara moved to the sideboard. The tea set was fine porcelain, the kind she'd only touched while dusting shelves. She poured carefully, aware of the silence between them.
"I hear you were near the chandelier before it fell," the Queen said, her tone light but her gaze sharp. "Fortunate that the Crown Prince was close enough to act."
"It… it was," Elara replied, keeping her eyes on the teacup.
The door opened. Crown Prince Kael stepped in, trailed by Lady Serina. The Queen's eyes flicked between them.
"Mother," Kael greeted, his voice even. "You sent for me?"
"I did. We were just speaking of last night's… incident."
Serina's smile was delicate, but her hand brushed Kael's sleeve as if claiming proximity. "It was frightening, Your Highness. But your bravery was…" She let the sentence hang, the compliment implicit.
Kael inclined his head politely, but his gaze slid past her to Elara — just long enough to make Elara's chest tighten before he turned back to the Queen.
The Queen sipped her tea. "There are those in the court who see opportunity in chaos. We must be vigilant, Kael."
The King's voice sounded from the doorway before Kael could reply. "And remember, alliances are as fragile as trust. A single misstep, and they crumble."
Elara kept her head down, but the air felt heavier now. She understood only fragments of what was being said, yet something told her she was standing in the middle of a quiet storm.
When Kael and the Queen began speaking in low, clipped tones, Serina stepped closer to Elara, her smile never faltering.
"Careful," Serina whispered, eyes fixed ahead. "In places like this, the wrong look can be as dangerous as the wrong word."
Elara nodded faintly. But her thoughts were spinning.
For the second time in as many days, the Crown Prince had looked at her as if she wasn't just a shadow.