𝐂𝐇𝐀𝐏𝐓𝐄𝐑 𝐅𝐎𝐔𝐑 - false face must hide what the false heart does know
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𝐒𝐎𝐌𝐄𝐓𝐇𝐈𝐍𝐆 𝐖𝐀𝐒 𝐖𝐑𝐎𝐍𝐆. It had begun four days ago, though Alicent could not pinpoint the exact moment she had felt it. Perhaps it was when she walked the corridors of the court or when she stepped into the throne room, and despite the sea of people, there had been something else—someone else—just beyond her vision.
It was never direct, never obvious. There was no whisper of footsteps where there should be none, no movement at the edge of her vision. But she felt it. A pressure at her back, a lasting pull in the air that warned her—someone was there.
She had ignored it at first. Hewn City bred paranoia, and she was not immune to it.
Alicent has brushed off the prickle at the nape of her neck as nothing more than the awareness that always clung to her. But after four days—four days of quiet, of shadows shifting just a fraction too slow, of a presence lingering just beyond her reach—she could no longer pretend.
She was being watched.
She had spent her nights considering the possibilities, turning them over in her mind like a sword in her hands. If it was one of her father's spies, they would have confronted her by now. Keir did not believe in subtlety where she was concerned. If it was an enemy from within the court, they would not have waited this long. They would have moved, struck, sought to tear her from her place before she ever noticed them lurking.
That left only one real possibility.
Rhysand.
The thought sent a slow, cold rage curling through her veins. Of course it would be him. Of course the so-called High Lord of Night would think he could slip a shadow into her city without her knowing.
But he had made a mistake. He had underestimated her. And she did not forgive such things.
She had known for certain last night, when Sephtis had spoken.
The blood wraith had emerged from the darkness of her chamber as if she had been summoned, her form flickering at the edges, the room. „You are not the only thing lurking in the dark, Alicent."
She had not looked up immediately. Had only finished removing the bracelet from her wrist, setting it down on the polished black stone of her table before turning to face him. „Explain."
Sephtis smiled, his sharp teeth glinting in the glow of the faelights. „You already know."
Alicent exhaled through her nose, fingers pressing lightly against the table's surface. „Shadows?"
„Many things move through the shadows, but these?" Her head tilted. „These are not ours."
