Chapter 3 Blood and gold

Silence grows loud if you stay still enough.

A low vibration stays under your skin, lingers near your temples, and makes each breath something you notice. From the west side of the Bisonian palace, I stayed still, hands flat on chilled rock, looking out while the streets began their day like normal events were unfolding. Shop owners lifted wooden covers. Soldiers passed duties to others arriving late. Gilded rooftops grabbed sunlight early, sent shards bouncing off at angles o intense when viewed straight on.

Here I ruled without question.

Today gave me that tight squeeze again.

"You're wearing the wrong dress."

Quiet filled the room until her words slipped through it. She spoke without rurushing aheadClear. I stayed still a moment longer. Moving would mean seeing myself through her eyes - something I wanted to avoid just then. That kind of truth could wait.

Spinning around, there she was - Queen Seraphina Packer, still as a statue in silk laced with silver, spine straight, face giving nothing away. Not like Father at all. While Desmond Packer spoke loudloudly left no room for doubt , ; he worked ququietly andore. Waited longer. Let people think their choices were theirs alone.

"I didn't realise it was a fashion review," I said.

Her eyes moved over me anyway. "It's a competition, Eliana. Appearances are part of the rules."

The impact of that word was heavy.

Competition.

What for? I said it quietly, even when the fear had taken hold of everything between us.

"For you."

Over by the rail, we took our seats side by side, just enough space holding us apart on purpose. Beneath, the city hummed along, clueless - its fate shifting quietly, one move at a time.

"The council has invited candidates," she said. "Not suitors."

A soft, joyless laugh slipped out. Was that supposed to help?

"They will compete," she continued. "Influence. Resources. Loyalty. Whoever proves most valuable to the kingdom becomes indispensable."

"And whoever becomes indispensable becomes unavoidable," I said. "Including to m

That truth slipped out without a fight.

A sound came from down the hall - boots on stone, steady, close. Not one pair. More than two. Moving fast. I knew that pace too well. My breath caught. Muscles locked across my back.

Footsteps on the path, then my brothers and sisters were there.

A figure stepped forward - Darian Packer - towering, wide-shouldered, wearing partial armoured dust left by drills. Not just family on paper, though that was true - he ranked high as a backup choice among council members. What Bisonia praised most lived in him: strength shaped by order, popularity with soldiers, a man through and through.

After her came Lysette, graceful, lips curled at the corners. Her gaze held a flicker of silent laughter, never missing a detail. Secrets piled up around her as trinkets do for some. Polite words draped on her like something chosen each morning.

Last among them walked Rowan, quiet like dusk falling, gripping a data slate where others carried dreams. Watching - that was his way, not talking - and it set him apart. Silence suited him better than words ever could.

A shape began to take form - bodies arranging without touching. My breath slowed as their stillness spoke louder than motion ever could.

"Well," Lysette said lightly, "this should be entertaining."

"It has to be done," said Darian, crossing his arms tightly.

Quiet, Rowan stayed silent. What bothered me more than anything.

"The Vale Industries announcement has changed the field," my mother said.

Heart racing, I said his name. Lucien

Darian's eyes sharpened. "So the rumours are true."

"They usually are," Lysette said. "Before anyone admits them."

"If this is an interrogation," I said, "you're doing a poor job of hiding."

"It's an evaluation," Darian corrected. "Lucien Vale is arrogant, influential, and foreign. A transnational CEO who believes kingdoms operate like corporations."

"He believes power moves," Lysette countered. "And it does."

Rowan finally spoke. "He disrupts the board."

Everyone looked his way.

"This summit isn't about gold," Rowan continued. "It's about leverage. And Eliana is the variable."

That, aththatiendvohis ice shaped my name, a knand ot formed deep inside me.

"So I'm the prize," I said.

"You're the throne," Darian replied.

Anger flared, sharp and sudden. "Then stop pretending this is about tradition. This is about control."

A hush split the air. Then stillness settled like dust after a slammed door.

My mother rose smoothly. "Enough. This is not a battlefield."

"It already is," I said. "You just taught me to smile while standing in it."

Her gaze softened, just barely. "I did not marry your father for love."

Shock hit hard when I heard the news.

"I married him because Bisonia needed stability after the border conflicts," she said quietly. "Because I believed I could protect what mattered without drawing attention."

"Did it work?" I asked.

She hesitated.

It was quiet. That silence said it all.

When night came, the palace became a control stage. Light from lanterns poured a honeyed glow onto polished stone. Notes drifted through the air - both lure and caution mixed. Visitors appeared cloaked in certainty, drive woven tight in sharp clothing. Their eyes weighed me, judging my rule's shape and which way I'd break under pressure.

This stood as the contest.

Last I walked in, since waiting can strike like a blade.

Right there in the middle of the room, Lucien Vale took up space without trying. Dressed in black fabric that didn't wrinkle. Every movement is measured, never rushed. His confidence wasn't loud - just constant. Looks could pull attention, but his mind held it longer. The company he ran operated ahead of official rules, just behind schedule.

Sound slipped away the moment he looked at me.

For just an instant.

Then the performances began.

A voice rose from the rising sun, talking turbines and tides. Not far off, a crown-bearer from hot shores promised ships, along with allegiance. Then came a woman who moves money, giving access - on her terms.

Lucien listened.

He stayed quiet when the moment came.

"Bisonia doesn't need saving," he said. "It needs leverage."

Flickering lights woke up at his back, showing hidden trails under the ground. Not far below, where old leaders gave up long before, lay untouched gold.

"I don't want your crown," he continued calmly. "I want a partnership. Control remains with Bisonia. Growth expands outward."

Whispers moved across the room like wind.

Across the space between us, his eyes found mine - cold, steady. Danger or gain, nothing slipped past Desmond Packer.

Far from chasing praise, Lucien moved without concern for who agreed.

Now here's a man rewriting how things work.

Out past the noise, he stood sound dimming, dark pressing close around.

"You're provoking him," I whispered.

Lucien shrugged. "I get it." He said it like it was nothing.

"This isn't a boardroom," I said. "It's my family."

"And families," he said, "are the most ruthless markets."

That hit too close to home. What stung most was how right it felt.

"If this fails," I said quietly, "I lose everything."

His confidence softened, just slightly. "This is the comeback, Eliana. Not just for me. For you."

Facing our direction, she stood still - her eyes on me, then him.

Not with suspicion.

With calculation.

Later that evening, inside my room by myself, I looked in the mirror. There was no royal headpiece on my brow. Not even sure of anything anymore. A person stood there - caught between old loyalties and new paths, wealth pulling one way, liberty another.

A game was what they made of my days. Life shifted under their rules without asking.

Fine.

Bisonia had asked for a rival, so that is exactly what they would get.

I'd hold on tight, never letting go.