Taste of ecstasy

Chapter 42

The wind had forgotten how to move. Not a leaf stirred outside the palace. Not a whisper slid down the marbled corridors. The guards were watchful, their hands resting not casually but consciously on hilts and warded clasps. Something had shifted in the air not in storm, but in silence. A silence that suffocated. In the King's study, the curtains were drawn back fully, letting in the pale light of a sun that seemed too hesitant to burn. Alexander Gideon Lightwood stood behind the great desk, his hands flat on the map of Idris though his eyes weren't on any city, any border.

They were on the sky beyond the high windows. Jace was the first to speak as he entered. "It's too quiet," he said, brushing snow-dust from his shoulders. "No trade caravans from the south. The birds stopped arriving three days ago. That hasn't happened in two centuries."

Simon followed behind him, adjusting his spectacles. "The wards at the border haven't flared, but... something is coming. You can feel it, can't you, Alec?" Alexander didn't answer right away. Then, without looking at either of them "Yes." He turned. That one word was enough to silence the room. Then came Raphael.

The commander entered in full regalia today rare for him outside battle drills black leathers marked with silver embroidery of the royal tree, the crest of House Lightwood. His hair was pulled back, and the blue rune on his throat gleamed slightly in the firelight. And behind him

Cezar, The King's personal guard, and one of the few who had stood beside Alexander since his ascension at nineteen. Loyal to the bone, and quiet as shadow. "Your Majesty," Cezar said, lowering his voice and kneeling briefly. "I... I ask to speak plainly." Alec motioned once. "Always." Cezar rose slowly. "There is unrest in the palace staff. They don't speak it aloud, but they feel it the wards are humming. The animals are restless. The young stewards say they see things moving in the mirrors. Some believe... a war is coming."

"War," Jace muttered. "From what side? Nothing's crossed our borders."

Raphael said nothing. Alexander looked up then slowly and his gaze met only Raphael's. And Raphael, silently, nodded once. The meaning was understood instantly by Jace and Simon. Neither needed an explanation. Jace's eyes widened a fraction. Simon straightened as if bracing for a cold wind. "Does Magnus know?" Simon asked, carefully. Alexander's jaw tightened. "No," Raphael answered. "And he must not. Not yet." Cezar blinked. "Magnus?"

Alexander placed both hands behind his back. His voice came cool, clear. "I have kept this from you because trust must be measured when stakes are of this weight. But now... you must know." He looked at Jace first. Then Simon. Then Cezar. "Magnus is carrying my child." Silence, The kind that crackled under the ribs. Jace exhaled. Slowly. "Alec....."

"No one else must know," Alexander said. "Not until the child is born." Simon, ever the diplomat, placed his hand gently against his chest. "Do you believe Killian knows?" Alexander looked out the window again, into that windless, unmoving sky. "I don't know," he said. "But I feel him. Closer. Each day."

"Then what do we do?" Cezar asked. "If the heir is unborn and the threat is breathing down our gates?" Raphael stepped forward. "We protect him. At all costs. I've already tripled his guard. Sealed his chamber with an unbreakable seal blessed by the Silent Brothers themselves. But we must begin planning an evacuation route. In case the palace is breached."

"No," Alexander said. "We won't run."

"You won't," Raphael corrected. "But if it comes to that, I will get Magnus and the child out myself."

Alexander walked slowly to the hearth, eyes downcast. "He won't forgive me if he finds out I've kept this from him." Simon stepped forward. "But you'll forgive yourself if you lose him because you didn't." The room held stillness again. But this stillness was heavier. Fuller. Like armour before a long battle. Alexander finally nodded. "I want a perimeter woven around the west wing," he said. "Discreet. No symbols. No visible rune glows." "To shield Magnus's chambers?" asked Cezar. "To shield hope," Alexander said.