📍 Chapter 75 – A Seed in the Ashes
For the first time in weeks, the palace stood still.
Not in peace.
But in the exhausted silence that follows war.
The bodies had been burned.
The stones scrubbed.
The corridors cleared of blood and arrows.
And yet… the smell of fear still lingered.
---
Zara lay in her bed, eyes half-open, one hand resting on her newborn's chest.
He had no name yet.
That scared her.
Because naming him would mean trusting that he would live long enough to grow into it.
The healers said she'd lost nearly half her blood.
That she was lucky to be alive.
Zara didn't feel lucky.
She felt hollow.
Like the battle hadn't ended — it had just moved *inside her*.
---
Leva sat beside the window, arm bandaged, sword still within reach.
She hadn't spoken much since the fight with Cress. Only moved when needed. Only breathed when Zara did.
"You haven't slept," Zara murmured.
Leva didn't look up. "Neither have you."
Zara glanced at her baby. "He has."
Leva smirked. "He's royalty. He gets to sleep through war."
Zara smiled faintly, then turned serious.
"Have you found out how she got in?"
Leva's jaw tightened.
"We questioned the gate guards. The midwives. The cleaning staff. No one saw her enter."
"That's not possible."
Leva's eyes narrowed.
"No. It's not."
---
In the lowest chamber of the western tower, Auren stood in front of a wooden table, studying a map.
Pins marked the Raven's movements. Black lines traced their retreat.
Malric stood beside him, arms crossed.
"They pulled back faster than expected," Malric said. "It's not like them."
Auren nodded. "They didn't come to win the war."
"Then what did they come for?"
Auren didn't answer right away.
Then he pointed to the palace wall.
"To plant something."
---
That afternoon, Zara held court again.
Not in the throne room — she was too weak for that.
Instead, she met a handful of surviving officials in the east garden. The same garden where Marna had once tried to inject her.
Now the space was brighter. Cleaned. But not healed.
Zaire stood at her side, one hand on the hilt of his sword. His armor gleamed despite the dents.
The officials bowed low.
Zara didn't speak right away.
Instead, she watched them.
All of them.
Faces she'd seen for years. People who claimed to be loyal. People who knew where she slept.
And suddenly, she didn't trust any of them.
---
After the meeting, Zaire pulled her aside.
"You were quiet."
"I was listening," she replied.
"To what?"
"The lies."
Zaire frowned. "You think one of them helped the assassin?"
"No," Zara said.
"I think more than one did."
---
Later that night, the palace cooks prepared a special broth for Zara — made from healing herbs, bone marrow, and wild pepperleaf.
Zara took a sip.
Then paused.
"Who brought this?" she asked.
A maid stepped forward. Young. Pale. Shy.
"I did, Your Grace."
Zara smiled.
Then reached for Leva's blade — and dipped it into the soup.
The silver sizzled.
Not loudly.
But enough.
Zaire moved instantly, grabbing the maid by the arm.
She froze.
Eyes wide.
Terrified.
Zara stood slowly.
"Poison," she said softly.
The maid shook her head, tears flooding her eyes. "I didn't make it! I swear! I only delivered—"
Zaire didn't let go.
"Who gave it to you?"
"I don't know his name! A boy in the kitchens—he had black gloves, he said the broth was urgent—he was gone before I turned around—"
Zara turned to Leva.
"Check the kitchens."
Leva was already moving.
---
Two hours later, Leva returned.
Face grim.
"The boy's gone. Disappeared. No trace. No records of him working here."
Zara sat down heavily.
"So the Raven left us a shadow."
"More than one," Leva said. "I found a marking under the flour barrel. The symbol of the Hollow."
Zara's face went cold.
The Hollow — an underground cell of assassins raised from birth to serve the Raven.
"Which means," Zara whispered, "they're not just coming for me anymore."
Leva nodded.
"They're *already inside*."
---
That night, Zara woke from a nightmare.
Sweat soaked her nightdress.
The baby was crying.
She sat up fast, heart pounding.
The wet nurse lifted the child, rocking him gently.
"I've got him," she said.
Zara nodded, breathing hard.
She didn't even know the woman's name.
That terrified her.
---
In the shadows beyond the city walls, the Raven General stood in a stone tower.
His scarred hands traced a silver pendant — the same one worn by the assassin who tried to kill Zara.
Behind him stood two children.
One no older than ten.
The other… barely seven.
Both silent.
Both armed.
"They will never see you coming," the general whispered.
He looked out at the stars.
"And when the crown falls… it won't be from swords."
"It will be from *seeds*."