The King died at dawn.
Seren heard the bells before she opened her eyes. Three long tolls that echoed through the palace, then silence. Her mother sat up in the next cot, face grey in the dim light.
"It's done then," she said quietly.
They dressed without speaking. The servants' quarters filled with hushed voices and the shuffle of feet. Everyone knew what came next. The mourning period. The funeral rites. The coronation of a new king.
Except no one knew which triplet would take the throne.
"Stay close to me today," her mother said as they joined the others in the corridor. Her fever had broken during the night but she still looked weak. "Don't go anywhere alone."
"I won't."
"I mean it, Seren. When a king dies, the palace becomes dangerous. Old alliances break. New ones form. People disappear."
Seren thought about the bodies the guards had mentioned. Three in two weeks. Now there would be investigations, accusations. Everyone would be suspect.
They reached the main kitchens where the head cook was already shouting orders. The entire household would need feeding. Nobles would arrive for the funeral. Everything had to be perfect.
"You." The cook pointed at Seren. "Take the morning tonic to the heir's wing. It's already prepared."
Her mother stiffened. "Which heir?"
"Does it matter? They're all in the same place now." The cook thrust a silver tray into Seren's hands. Three crystal vials sat on it, each filled with the pale jade liquid. "Don't drop it. And don't linger."
Seren took the tray carefully. The vials clinked softly against each other.
"I'll go with her," her mother said.
"You'll stay here and help with the bread. We're behind schedule." The cook was already turning away. "She's a big girl. She can walk down a corridor without supervision."
Her mother caught Seren's arm. "Straight there and back."
"I know."
"And if you see anything strange—"
"I'll leave immediately. I promise."
But promises were easy to make.
The heir's wing was in the eastern section of the palace, past the throne room and through a series of interconnected chambers that grew progressively quieter. Seren had never been this far into the royal quarters before. The walls here were covered in dark wood paneling, carved with wolves in various poses. Hunting. Fighting. Killing.
She followed the directions the cook had given her, counting doors and turns. The tray was heavier than it looked. Her arms ached by the time she reached the final corridor.
Two guards stood at attention outside a set of double doors. They looked her over without expression.
"Medicine," she said, lifting the tray slightly.
One guard knocked twice, then pushed the door open.
The room beyond was circular, with a domed ceiling painted midnight blue. Windows lined the walls, letting in grey morning light. And in the center of the room, three men stood around a fourth who knelt on the stone floor.
Seren froze in the doorway.
The kneeling man wore servant's clothing, but his hands were bound behind his back. His head was bowed. Blood dripped from his mouth onto the floor, forming a small pool.
The triplets stood over him in a triangle formation. They wore formal clothing now, black trimmed with silver. No crowns yet. But they didn't need them. Power radiated from them like heat from a forge.
None of them looked at her.
"You were found in the King's private study," the one directly in front of the kneeling man said. His voice was level, controlled. "Three hours after his death. Searching through his papers."
The servant said nothing.
"The penalty for treason is death." The triplet walked slowly around the kneeling man. "You know this. Everyone knows this."
"Please." The servant's voice cracked. "I was only looking for—"
"You were stealing." This came from the triplet on the right, the one with sharper movements. "We found royal correspondence in your pocket. Letters addressed to the King. Private letters."
"I wasn't stealing. I was—"
"Lying." The third triplet spoke quietly, but everyone in the room tensed. "Your heart rate increases when you speak. Your breathing changes. You're lying."
The servant started to shake.
Seren knew she should leave. Back out of the room quietly before they noticed her. But her muscles wouldn't obey. She stood paralyzed, holding the tray, watching.
The controlled one stopped pacing. "Kael. Make it quick."
The triplet on the left stepped forward. He was the rigid one, the soldier. His face showed nothing as he drew a blade from his belt. The steel caught the light, gleaming.
"Wait," the servant gasped. "Wait, please, I have information. About the southern lords. About the—"
Kael moved.
One moment he stood still. The next, the blade sliced across the servant's throat in a single fluid motion. No hesitation. No mercy.
Blood sprayed across the stone floor.
The servant made a wet choking sound and collapsed. His body twitched twice, then went still.
Seren's hands loosened.
The tray fell.
Crystal shattered against stone. The sound exploded through the silence, impossibly loud. Medicine spread across the floor, mixing with blood.
Three pairs of eyes turned to her.
Seren couldn't breathe. Couldn't move. Couldn't do anything but stare at the body on the floor and the blood that pooled around it.
"Well," the sharp one said. His voice held something that might have been amusement. "We have a witness."
The quiet one moved first. He crossed the room in three long strides and stopped directly in front of her. Up close, she could see his eyes were darker than his brothers', almost black. He studied her face like he had yesterday, when he'd caught her outside the locked door.
Prince Cassian. The one her mother said to avoid.
"You dropped your tray," he said.
Seren forced words out. "I'm sorry. I didn't mean—I'll clean it. I'll—"
"How long were you standing there?"
"I just arrived. The cook sent me. I didn't see—"
"Liar." The soldier—Kael—stepped over the body without looking at it. Blood stained his blade and his hands. "She saw everything."
"Of course she saw everything," the other one said. Theron. He was still standing near the body, relaxed despite the carnage. "The question is what we do about it."
Seren's heart hammered against her ribs. She wanted to run but Cassian blocked her path and the guards behind her had moved closer, trapping her.
"Please," she whispered. "I won't tell anyone. I swear."
"Everyone says that." Kael cleaned his blade on a cloth, methodical. "They always tell."
"She's a servant," Theron said. "Servants see things all the time. They're very good at pretending they don't."
"This is different."
"How is it different? We executed a traitor. It's legal. Justified. The King's law." Theron walked over to them, stepping carefully around the broken glass. "Although I suppose the King's law is somewhat uncertain at the moment, isn't it? Since we don't actually have a king."
"We will by tonight," Kael said.
"Will we? That's optimistic."
Cassian ignored them both. His attention stayed fixed on Seren. "Your name is Seren. Your mother is the medicine woman. You were in the King's chambers yesterday."
It wasn't a question. She nodded anyway.
"And now you're here." He tilted his head slightly. "You have very bad timing."
"I didn't know. I was just delivering medicine."
"Yes. I can see that." He glanced at the shattered crystal on the floor. "Expensive medicine too. Your mother will be upset."
Behind him, Theron laughed. "You're terrifying the poor girl, Aeron."
Aeron. So that was his real name. Prince Aeron. The quiet one who spoke rarely but commanded attention when he did.
"She should be terrified," Kael said flatly. "She witnessed an execution."
"A legal execution," Theron corrected. "There's a difference."
"Not to her."
Aeron raised his hand and both brothers fell silent. The gesture was small but absolute. He was the one in charge. Seren realized it with sudden clarity. Not Kael with his soldier's discipline. Not Theron with his sharp intelligence. Aeron led, and the others followed.
He took a step closer. Seren pressed back against the doorframe.
"You're not going to scream," he said. It wasn't a question.
"No."
"You're not going to beg."
"Would it help?"
Something flickered in his expression. Almost like respect. "No."
"Then I won't."
Behind Aeron, Theron made an interested sound. "Oh, she's clever. I told you I liked her."
"This isn't about liking her," Kael said.
"Everything is about liking people. That's how politics works."
"This isn't politics. This is security."
Aeron held up his hand again. Silence fell.
He studied Seren for another long moment. She could feel his brothers watching too. Kael with calculation. Theron with curiosity. And Aeron with something deeper, something that made her skin prickle.
"Your pulse is elevated," he said quietly. "But steady. You're afraid but you haven't fainted or broken down. You dropped the tray but you didn't run." His head tilted. "Why?"
"I don't know."
"Yes, you do."
Seren met his eyes. "Because running would make it worse."
"Smart girl." He said it the same way he had yesterday. Like he was pleased by her. Like she'd passed some test she hadn't known she was taking.
Then he turned to the guards who'd been standing silent by the door.
"Leave us," he said.
The guards hesitated. "Your Highness, protocol states—"
"I don't care what protocol states. Get out."
They left. The doors closed behind them with a heavy thud.
Seren was alone with the triplets and a corpse.
Theron walked over to the windows, hands clasped behind his back. "So. What do we do with her?"
"Kill her," Kael said simply. "She's a security risk."
"She's a servant who delivered medicine at the wrong time."
"Exactly. Wrong place, wrong time. It happens."
"Not to innocent people."
"We don't know she's innocent." Kael's eyes stayed on Seren. "We don't know anything about her except she keeps showing up where she shouldn't be."
Seren's throat tightened. "I didn't mean to—"
"Shh." Aeron pressed a finger to his lips. "Don't make it worse."
She fell silent.
Theron turned from the window. "Her heart rate just spiked. You're scaring her again, Aeron."
"Good. She should be scared." But Aeron's voice stayed quiet, almost gentle. "Tell me, Seren. Can you keep secrets?"
"Yes."
"Can you lie?"
She hesitated. "If I have to."
"Everyone has to eventually." He moved closer. "Look at me."
She already was. His eyes were completely black now, no distinction between iris and pupil. Inhuman.
"You saw a traitor executed," he said. "That's all. Nothing more. If anyone asks, you tell them you delivered medicine and left. You saw nothing unusual. Nothing that concerned you. Can you do that?"
"Yes."
"And if someone pushes? If they suspect you're hiding something?"
"I'll say I don't know what they mean."
"Good." He stepped back. "Theron, have someone clean this up. Kael, get rid of the body properly. We have a funeral to prepare for."
"What about her?" Kael asked.
Aeron looked at Seren for a long moment. She couldn't read his expression.
"Take her," he said quietly.