Chapter 68 Elena Hear- POV
ELENA POV
The night air in the garden grew heavy as my story drew to a close. I stood there, still breathless from the weight of the words I had just poured out, watching the moon reflect in the dark leather of his mask.
I don't know why I told him. A part of me screamed that I was being reckless, that a trained assassin should never reveal her hand, especially not to a man she had only just met.
But he wasn't just a man. Even if he didn't know it yet, he was the only wall standing between this world and the encroaching void. By telling the story of a "fictional" Xavier, I was trying to plant a seed of doubt, a survival instinct that he might need when the knives finally came for his back.
I looked at his hands, strong and steady as they held mine. I wanted to tell him: That man is you. The traitor is inside your walls. The titans are coming, and you are the only one who can stop them.
But I couldn't. Not yet. I had to change the timeline without shattering the present.
My original mission, the one with years of training—was to lure him, to seduce the King into a position where he was vulnerable. But as I looked at him now, the "Dark" guard with the eyes of my lost King, my mission shifted.
It transformed into something fiercer, something desperate. I would be his shield. I would be the shadow that hunts the shadows.
If I could make him ready, if I could harden his heart against the people he called allies, then maybe when the sky ripped open this time, he wouldn't be a puny, helpless creature. He would be the King this world needed.
The quiet of the garden was suddenly punctured by the sharp, rhythmic clicking of heels on stone.
"Elena? Is that you? I’ve been looking everywhere for you, cousin!"
I stiffened. I knew that voice. It was like honey poured over a razor blade. I turned to see Grace stepping out from the shadows of a willow tree, her eyes sharp and predatory, taking in the sight of my hands held in his. She looked perfectly poised, a mask of aristocratic concern firmly in place.
"Grace," I said, my voice instantly becoming the flat, airy tone of a noble girl. I didn't let go of his hand immediately; I did it slowly, as if reluctant. "I was just... getting some air. The banquet was so stifling."
I turned back to Xavier, my heart hammering against my ribs. I had to keep his identity safe from her, even as I kept her true nature safe from him. "Dark, this is my cousin, Grace. She’s been looking after me since we arrived in the capital."
Grace swept into a shallow, graceful curtsy, her eyes never leaving his mask. "A guard? How charming. I apologize if my cousin has been a bother, sir. She has a tendency to wander when she's... overwhelmed."
"No bother at all," Xavier replied, his voice slipping back into that cool, professional cadence of a palace guard. But I felt his gaze linger on me for a second longer than necessary.
The three of us stood in a tense, silent triangle for a moment—the King in disguise, the Traitor in silk, and the Girl who had seen them both die.
"We should go, Elena," Grace said, her tone brook no argument. "The carriage is waiting, and we have much to discuss for tomorrow’s itinerary."
"Of course," I murmured. I looked at Xavier one last time, trying to project every ounce of protection I felt into that single look. "Thank you for the walk... Dark. I hope to see you again soon."
"Count on it," he said, his voice a low promise.
As Grace led me away, her grip on my arm was like a vice. I didn't look back. I knew he was still there, a dark sentinel in the garden, watching us depart. I had left him with a story of a dying kingdom, and I had left him with his life. For now, that had to be enough.
"I’ll tell you everything once we're away from the palace," I whispered to Grace as we neared the gates, playing the part of the gossiping girl.
In reality, I was already calculating the distance between my dagger and her heart, wondering just how many lies it would take to save a King.
A few minutes later, I lay my head against the velvet cushion of the carriage, the rhythm of the wheels against the cobblestones sounding like a ticking clock—counting down to a disaster only I knew was coming.
Grace sat across from me, her face flushed with a mixture of indignation and sharp, calculating greed.
To the world, she was a noblewoman; to me, she was a viper whose fangs were already wet with the King’s future blood.
"You are a weapon, Elena! Not a debutante!" she hissed, her voice sharp enough to cut through the rattling of the carriage.
"The plan was simple: you find the King, you isolate him, and you make him yours. Instead, you vanish for hours in the garden with a lowly guard? A man named Dark? Do you have any idea how much work we put into getting you into that banquet?"
I kept my gaze fixed on the passing streetlamps of the capital. I watched the lively pubs and the people walking safely in the night, my heart aching with the secret knowledge of how easily this could all turn to ash.
"I was doing my job, Grace," I said, my voice cold and practiced, a mirror of the assassin she wanted me to be. "Dark is closer to the King than anyone realizes. To get to the crown, you first have to bypass the shield. I was softening the shield."
The lie tasted like iron, but I had to feed her what she wanted. I had to play the part of the obedient puppet while, inside, I was a general preparing for a war she couldn't even imagine.
I couldn't kill her yet. If I struck too soon, the power vacuum would only invite the House of Valerio to move faster. I had to thread this needle with a needle-thin margin for error.
"See that you do," she snapped, leaning back and smoothing her silk skirts. "The Duke is impatient. The 'Rebel' needs to be in place before the month is out. If your 'Dark' can give us an opening into the King's private chambers, use him. Then discard him."
Discard him. I closed my eyes so she wouldn't see the murderous fire in them. If she knew that the "guard" she despised was the very King she sought to ruin, she would have called the mages within the hour. But what if she knew about it already? After all, Leo was also one of the ‘Rebel’.