Chapter 48 THE STRANGE DISAPPEARANCES
Athalia’s appetite increased sharply. Some days she ate twice as much as usual, then felt empty again within hours. The servants noticed, but said nothing.
At night, the child grew more active. Athalia woke often with her heart racing, her blood feeling thin, her body cold.
One night, she whispered sharply, “It hurts.”
I was there within moments.
“The child is restless,” I said, her voice steady. “It senses fear.”
“I am not afraid,” Athalia said, though her voice shook.
Selene placed the globe against her stomach and the glow deepened.
“Then do not fight it,” I said. “ Try speaking to it.”
Athalia hesitated. “Speak?”
“Yes.”
Athalia closed her eyes. “You are safe,” she whispered. “And you will have what you need.”
The pressure eased as i watched closely.
“You see?” I said quietly. “It now listens to you.”
Athalia opened her eyes slowly, exhaling. “What kind of child listens before it is born?”
I met her gaze. “Every child does. Jus that yours is different.”
Over time, the court noticed a change.
Athalia walked less and attended fewer meetings. She rested more often, always under Selene’s watchful care and she took up matters of the court sometimes..
Queen Elizabeth approved of me staying beside the Queen.
“This is better,” she said one morning. “You look calmer.”
Athalia nodded. “I feel… steadier.”
Queen Elizabeth glanced toward me. “You have done well.”
“It is the Queen who does the work,” I replied.
Elizabeth smiled faintly. “Still. I am glad you are here.”
For the first time since Emelia’s loss, she believed her grandchild might truly be safe. She did not see the way i watched Athalia after she was gone. And she did not hear the faint whisper that passed between mother and child in the quiet of the room.
Athalia rested, one hand over her stomach as i stood nearby, calm and patient. The child slept for now but within the silence, it waited.
That evening, as Athalia stood on the same balcony, her hands resting on the cool railing, she heard voices again.
Telor’s voice rose from below, speaking to the same companion.
“…tired of pretending everything is well. The king is blind. And the queen is not what she seems.”
Her fists clenched.
The hum inside her grew stronger like a dark pulse from the child, as though encouraging her anger.
Her voice came out low. “So…he dares repeat it.”
Lira stood near the doorway. “Your Majesty? Did you call?”
“No.” Athalia turned sharply. “Leave me for a moment.”
“Yes, Your Majesty.”
After Lira left, Athalia remained still. She no longer needed to lean close or strain to hear the distant whispers. They came easily, carried through some invisible thread between her and the world.
Telor continued, “A queen should behave with caution, not..”
Athalia did not need to hear more.
“How amusing,” she murmured. “A steward who knows nothing of ruling thinks himself wise enough to judge his rulers.”
A slight smile touched her lips.
Later, as she dressed for bed, Lira brushed her hair carefully. Athalia stared at her reflection in the mirror.
Lira noticed it. “Your Majesty…your eyes look different tonight.”
“Do they?”
“They look…colder.”
Athalia lifted her chin. “Perhaps I am thinking too much.”
Lira did not respond. She knew the queen was hiding more than she admitted.
Athalia’s thoughts drifted back to Telor’s words, whispered far below where she should not have been able to hear them.
“What do you say,” she whispered, holding her belly. “Perhaps, we teach him a lesson.”
The hum in her mind deepened, as if answering.
Athalia closed her eyes. Since she could not remove the child, she could not stop the drain, then she would only adapt. And if anyone spoke ill of her or questioned her rule, then perhaps this powerful, forbidden gift, would serve her in ways no ordinary heir ever could.
“Tomorrow,” she murmured weakly, drifting into another restless sleep, “We begin with Telor.”
But she couldn’t do it alone.
here were guards the kingdom knew, those who wore the king’s colors, trained in the open, and marched through the palace.
And then there were the others. The Dark Guards.
Shadows trained for secrecy, loyalty, and silence. They answered only to queen Athalia and she had used them many times. No one knew how many existed, where they slept and no one dared ask.
That night, while the queen slept lightly, two cloaked figures knelt in the hidden passage behind her chamber.
Athalia did not turn to look at them. She spoke without opening her eyes.
“There are nobles and stewards whispering too boldly.”
“Yes, Your Majesty,” one of the shadows replied.
“They question my judgment,” she continued softly. “They question my rest and my intentions toward the throne.”
A long silence followed.
“Your Majesty,” the second guard asked, “what would you have us do?”
Athalia opened her eyes slowly.
“Silence them.”
The first figure bowed. “How many?”
“Start with the one who spoke today,” she said. “And any who share their sentiments.”
“No traces?”
“Yes, no traces.”
The figures bowed deeply.
“As you command.”
When they slipped away into the dark passage, Athalia lay back down, pressing a hand to her stomach. The child stirred again, stronger, but hungrier.
“You’re learning,” she whispered faintly.
Her eyelids closed but sleep did not come easily.
It began two days later.
Steward Calven failed to report for morning duties. His wife said he had not come home the night before.
The second time it happened, she was on the balcony outside her private study.
Athalia’s eyes snapped open as she recognized the voice instantly this time. It was Telor.
But she was three floors above the courtyard. From that height, she should not be able to hear a single word. The garden fountains drowned out most sound, and yet she heard his voice clearly as if he stood beside her.
Another voice responded, faint but understandable.
“Careful. If someone hears you…”
“No one will,” Telor muttered. “And even if they do, what then? The queen creates new regulations every day. Traders are upset, the villagers confused, and the court pretends everything is perfect. And the king does not even see it, probably blinded by love.”
Athalia felt a pulse inside her stomach like a strange tightening. A cold sensation ran up her spine.
This new ability and this new intrusion of sound was not her own. She knew it instantly. It was the doing of the child growing within her. It was lending her the ability to hear far, perhaps hear thoughts, emotions, or intentions.
The following day, Telor and the woman steward who had dared speak of Athalia’s health vanished as well. Their horses were found outside the city walls, with the reins dragging on the ground.
One by one, five nobles who had whispered about the queen’s ambition disappeared with no bodies, no footprints and no letters.
It was as if the night swallowed them whole.
It didn't only do so, but their energy was taken from them, leaving them lifeless and without traces. But King Adrain was yet to find out.