Chapter 33

The Hollow Gate.

The Hollow District really lived up to its name. It was part of Edenfall that time had just left behind. You could see the withered stone houses, broken lanterns, and streets that seemed to glisten like shadows.

This place used to be a bustling workers' quarter during the court’s heyday, but now? It was the empire's dark underbelly. A graveyard for secrets.

I stood there at the iron gate, my hood pulled down low, all alone as the note had instructed.

No guards. No escorts. Not even Damian.

He’d thrown a fit when I said I would go without him. But some paths just needed to be walked solo, especially those paved by ghosts.

As I pressed my hand against the rusted gate, it creaked open like it had been waiting just for me.

The streets were eerily silent but definitely not empty.

I felt eyes on me, peering from behind shutters, whispers riding the wind. Each step I took echoed like thunder, yet no one came out to greet me.

Then, I heard a voice. “You shouldn’t have come.”

I spun around.

A woman stood at the edge of the valley, cloaked in gray, her silver hair tightly braided against her head.

Her eyes were sharp, her hands worn. she had a presence like cracked stone. Weathered but unbroken.

My breath caught. Lara Voss?

She didn’t say anything. Instead, she turned and started to walk away.

I followed.

We wound through hidden corridors, climbed rusted staircases, and entered a forgotten tower choked with ivy and ash. Inside, a small fire flickered in the hearth. Maps covered the walls.

Names scribbled in blood-red ink. Tactics. Secrets.

“Your mother was supposed to burn it all,” Lara said finally. “But she hesitated.”

She died, I whispered.

“She was betrayed. And now, you’re walking the same path.”

I stepped closer. “Then show me how to finish it.”

She led me to a table at the center of the room and laid out three files. Each one had a symbol, a crown split in half. The same crest from the letter I had received earlier.

“These are your enemies,” she said. “Not just within the red court, but among your own ranks. Traitors. Doubles. Those who saw Maria die and did nothing.”

She opened the first file. A name. Silas Graymoor.

“An advisor to the watcher. A quiet strategist.”

“He poisoned your mother’s bloodline with forged degrees. Cut off her allies, spread false reports of her betrayal. And he still sits beside the watcher.”

The second file was about General Varek.

“Once the commander of the Edenfall guard.”

“He delayed your mother’s execution for three days. Just long enough for her to send you away.”

My hands trembled. He saved me?

“He protected the last of the bloodline, but only so the watcher could find you again. He’s a double-edged sword, waiting to see who wins.”

I gritted my teeth. “And the third file?” I opened it myself.

The name almost stopped my heart.

Alec Morien. The watcher’s nephew.

The guy who helped me find the Ashborn. Who toasted my rebellion and whispered truths behind masks.

No, he was helping me.

“He was monitoring you,” Lara snapped. “Testing how dangerous you’d become.”

I shook my head, my voice sharp. “He gave me the map.”

“To the meeting we already planned.”

I stepped back, the betrayal cutting too deep.

I trusted him.

Lara’s eyes hardened. “Then you’re not ready to wear the bloodstone.”

I shot her a glare, anger bubbling in my throat. “He saved me more than once.”

“He’s buying your loyalty. Just like they always do.”

There was a pause.

Lara leaned in closer. “Trust no one, Claire. Not even those who bleed beside you. Especially not them.”

I slipped out of the tower just before dawn. The hollow district felt different now. colder, emptier. It was like the shadows were eyeing me with suspicion.

I made my way back to Edenfall through the servant tunnels and popped out behind the eastern kitchens, breathless and exhausted.

And there was Damian, waiting for me in the hallway, jaw clenched. “Where the hell were you?”

Finding the pieces of the past, I thought, brushing ash off my coat. And realizing the future is even worse.

He didn’t press me. He just followed.

Later that day, I asked to meet with the court.

But this time, I invited the whole line of heirs. All those young nobles. Not the dusty old relics in masks, but the ones who’d actually inherit the legacy.

It was totally unheard of, which is why it was going to work.

I stood in the center of the council chamber, dressed in red. A sharp contrast to the white robes of tradition. Firelight flickered across my face, casting shadows that danced around me.

You fear change, I said. But change is already here.

Murmurs rippled through the gallery.

You’ve buried your power in bloodlines and rules. In names. But names don’t stop fire. They don’t stop rebellion.

I caught a glimpse of Alec near the back, his expression unreadable.

I’ve seen the hollow district, I continued. And I’ve seen your crimes carved into its walls. Don’t ask me to lead if you expect me to bow.

A voice rose from the crowd, shaky and aged.

The watcher.

“And what will you do instead, Queen of Ash?”

I’ll drag this court into the fire, and those who survive will build something worthy of the power we hold.

The silence that followed was thick.

Frightened. A new kind of silence. One of submission.

That night, I returned to my chambers.

There was a letter waiting for me. No name, no seal, just two words.

“He knows.”

I stared at it.

Then slowly, I turned toward the dark corridor where Alec had once said,

“Shadows tell the truth more often.”

I whispered to the empty room, “Then let’s see who’s hiding in them.”