Chains and Broken Magic
Copyright© 2026 by Rachael Jane
Chapter 27: Ysolde: Desperate Times
The palace feels like a tightening fist. Every corridor echoes with hurried footsteps. Every guard stands rigid, tense, uncertain. Every servant moves with the brittle caution of someone who knows a single misstep could cost them everything.
Roderick’s defeat at the barrier has shaken him. He hides it behind anger, behind orders, behind the clatter of armour and the bark of commands ... but I see it. I have always seen him clearly.
Fear makes him reckless. Recklessness makes him weak. And weakness creates opportunity.
A message comes at dusk.
A soft knock ... barely audible ... at the servants’ door at the side of my chamber. The guards outside my main entrance do not hear it. They rarely consider the smaller door worth guarding.
A whisper follows. “Your Majesty.”
I move toward the door, chains clinking softly. “Who is there?”
A pause. Then: “I’m Mara. A friend. And someone who brings news.”
The door unlocks and opens a fraction.
A young maid stands in the shadows, her neck covered with a scarf. But her eyes ... sharp, steady, unfamiliar ... meet mine.
I inhale sharply. “How...?”
Mara shakes her head. “No time. I came through the laundry passages. A sympathiser helped me.”
The maid I’ve seen before stands beside Mara and nods nervously. “I’ll keep watch.”
Mara steps closer, lowering her voice. “Your daughters are safe. All three. They’re rallying elves in the forest. A resistance. The dwarves have sued for peace.”
My knees nearly give way. All three. Safe.
I grip the door-frame to steady myself. “Thank the stars...”
Mara’s expression softens. “They’re strong. And they’re coming for you.”
A warmth spreads through my chest ... hope, fierce and bright.
But Mara’s face darkens. “But Roderick is preparing something. He’s furious. He’s desperate.”
I nod. “I know.”
“He’s trying to rally his troops,” Mara continues. “But morale is low. The defeat at the barrier shook them.”
“And I intend to keep them shaken,” I say quietly.
Mara’s eyes widen. “You ... you’re already doing something?”
I smile ... small, cold, controlled. “I have lived in courts longer than Roderick has lived on a throne. I know how to make a king doubt his own footing.”
Mara exhales, almost laughing. “Then I’ll keep gathering information. And I’ll return when I can.”
“Be careful,” I whisper.
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