A Change of Mounts

The rhythmic clatter of horse hooves struck the cobblestones, echoing through the opulent interior of the royal carriage bound for the Crown Villa. The repetitive sound offered zero relief from the suffocating, heavy tension pressing down on the three occupants. The confined space felt unbearable. Kaida sat rigid on the plush leather seat, positioned directly across from King Darius and Royal Concubine Daphne. The heavy velvet curtains were drawn back just enough to let the morning sunlight filter in, casting harsh shadows across the interior.

Kaida kept her spine perfectly straight. Her dark green robes pooled around her legs in thick folds. Beneath her red veil, her piercing gaze remained fixed on the couple opposite her. She remembered the vow she made in her private quarters. The submissive, weak pawn was dead. She refused to play that pathetic role for another second.

Darius sat with his broad shoulders squared, his arms crossed over his chest. He kept his eyes shut, his jaw set in a hard, uncompromising line. Beside him, Daphne stared out the small window. The royal concubine kept her hands folded tightly in her lap, clearly desperate to avoid acknowledging the queen’s aggressive presence. The scent of Daphne’s sweet floral perfume mixed with the dusty air, thickening the awkwardness in the carriage.

The silence stretched. It worsened with every mile they traveled away from the capital. Kaida refused to endure the charade any longer. She deliberately shattered the quiet.

"Be not reserved to show affection with each other," Kaida stated. Her voice sliced through the heavy air like a sharpened blade. "I may be the queen, but I won't pay much attention to it."

Daphne flinched. She turned away from the glass, offering a polite, soft smile that barely masked her deep discomfort. She kept her tone gentle, trying to avoid a heated confrontation. "I wouldn't dare be overly affectionate with the king in your presence, Your Highness."

Kaida clicked her tongue. The sharp, crass sound snapped through the enclosed space.

Darius snapped his eyes open. His amber gaze locked onto Kaida, flashing with immediate disapproval. A noble lady never made such a vulgar noise, especially not while sitting inches away from the ruler of the kingdom.

Kaida ignored his stern glare. She leaned forward slightly, her tone dripping with venom beneath the crimson silk of her veil. "After sleeping with him for several nights and him doting on you, you need not be so embarrassed."

Daphne gasped, her cheeks flushing a deep crimson red. She shrank back against the cushioned seat, her hands trembling.

Darius straightened, his protective instincts flaring. He uncrossed his arms and leaned toward the queen. "Kaida, your words—"

Kaida whipped her head toward him. Her eyes narrowed into deadly slits. She cut him down before he could form a full sentence. "I have not asked for your opinion, Your Majesty."

The carriage went dead silent. Even the rhythmic pounding of the hooves seemed to fade into the background. Darius stared at her, stunned by her unprecedented audacity. No one spoke to him in that manner.

Kaida pressed the attack. She refused to relent. "As we are all gathered here, I will speak my mind." She shifted her fierce attention back to the trembling concubine. "It looks like you meant well in suddenly asking to travel to the Crown Villa for a vacation. However, before requesting a trip that requires the king to leave the palace, you should reconsider the reality of our situation."

Daphne lowered her gaze to her lap, her breathing turning shallow.

"The dangerous incident with the traitorous Minister Voss just happened," Kaida continued, her voice cold and unyielding. "I have also heard verified reports of a bloody uprising at the western border. Leaving the palace should never have been an option. With the king's absence, you deliberately leave the palace vulnerable to internal attacks. There is a massive risk of another incident happening while you seek leisure."

Daphne bit her bottom lip, guilt warring with shock on her delicate features. She remained quiet, unable to form a defense against the brutal logic.

Darius stepped in, his voice firm and laced with a dangerous warning. He despised seeing his lover berated for caring about his exhausted state. "Kaida, I demand that you keep quiet."

"And you, Your Majesty," Kaida snapped, turning her fierce attention back to the stunned king. "Though the people see you fit as their ruler, do not be too indulged with the whims of your concubine—"

"Stop the carriage!"

The booming command shook the very frame of the transport. Darius possessed absolute authority, and right now, his amber eyes blazed with fierce, unrestrained anger. The driver hauled on the reins outside. The carriage jerked to a sudden, rocky halt, tossing them slightly in their seats.

Darius shoved the carriage door open. He pointed a broad, calloused finger at the dirt road outside. He deeply despised her disrespect. "Get out."

Kaida did not flinch.

"Return to the palace," Darius ordered, his voice a lethal rumble. He forcefully kicked her out of the royal transport on the spot. "Never leave your chambers until I explicitly say so. Take the rear escort carriage. Now."

Kaida stepped out into the cool morning air. Darius slammed the heavy wooden door shut right in her face. The royal transport lurched forward, leaving her standing on the dusty road surrounded by a few bewildered guards.

Beneath her veil, Kaida smirked. Being humiliatingly sent back aligned perfectly with her concealed tactical intentions. She had provoked him on purpose. Now, she had her freedom.

The ride back to the capital in the spare carriage took less than an hour. The moment Kaida reached the heavily guarded palace, she marched straight to her quarters. She slammed the heavy oak doors shut and locked them. Tessa stood near the wardrobe, her hands trembling as she watched her mistress.

"Worry not. Your part will not change," Kaida instructed, her voice brisk and efficient. She tore off her heavy silk robes, letting the expensive fabric pool on the floorboards. "This is far better for my case so I can move freely. I am heading to the Crown Villa. Tell everyone to never enter my quarters so they won’t know of my absence. Tell them I want to be alone until the king returns."

Tessa swallowed hard, her eyes wide with silent worries. "Yes, Your Highness."

Kaida reached into the hidden compartment of her wardrobe and pulled out her sleek, dark combat gear. The dark fabric hugged her frame, designed for maximum mobility and stealth. She strapped her twin daggers to her thighs and adjusted the leather bracers on her forearms.

A sharp whistle sliced through the air.

A throwing dagger embedded itself deep into the wooden paneling just inches from Kaida's head.

Kaida spun around, dropping into a defensive crouch, her hand instantly drawing her own blade.

A figure perched on the window sill. Sybil, a fellow highly skilled Umbra assassin, slipped through the open window, landing on the floorboards without making a single sound. She wore dark combat apparel identical to Kaida's. Sybil pulled off her face mask, letting her natural brown hair cascade down her shoulders.

"To see the Kaida of Madness under pressure is a thrilling sight indeed," Sybil teased. She strolled forward, plucked her dagger from the wall, and tossed it in the air before catching it by the hilt.

"Sybil, what business did you come here for?" Kaida asked, standing up and sheathing her weapon.

"I heard you are in need of help, so I came to lend you a hand just after I finished my mission," Sybil replied. "Since following the king is too much of a hassle, I will just stay here and impersonate the queen within the palace walls for a few days. Sounds fair?"

"Fair enough," Kaida responded, quickly agreeing to the risky swap.

She bent down, scooped up the discarded royal robes, and tossed them straight at Sybil’s face. The assassin caught the bundle of silk with a soft laugh.

Kaida stepped closer, her tone dead serious. "Don't talk back to the prime minister. Pretend to be frail and weak, yet determined to seduce the king. Tessa will help you navigate the daily routines."

Sybil nodded her head, a mischievous glint in her eyes, before waving her hands to shoo Kaida away.

Kaida slipped out of the queen’s chambers through a hidden servant’s passage. She navigated the labyrinthine corridors of the palace with practiced ease. She bypassed the outer guard patrols, stepping right through their blind spots undetected. She moved like a phantom until she passed through the entry gate where the food carts arrived.

She pulled her deep hood low over her face, blending in with the morning crowd as she entered the bustling streets of the town. The stench of manure, hay, and sweat hit her nose long before she reached the public stables. Stable boys rushed back and forth, hauling heavy leather saddles and wooden buckets of water.

Kaida approached the main paddock. Her eyes scanned the available mounts. She needed speed and endurance to reach the villa by nightfall. She spotted a sturdy horse with a thick black mane near the corner post. Perfect.

She stepped forward and reached out for the reins.

At that exact second, a large, gloved hand shot out and grabbed the same leather strap.

Kaida glanced to her right. A tall, imposing stranger stood beside her. He wore a heavy traveling cloak, but the unmistakable glint of gold-plated armor peeked through the opening. A distinct, L-shaped scar marked his rugged cheek.

"I'll take this," Kaida muttered, deepening her voice to disguise her identity.

"This one, please," the man said in perfect synchronization, his deep voice rumbling with authority.

Kaida did not have time for a bidding war. She took a step back, deciding to choose another horse to avoid a massive scene.

But the man misinterpreted her movement. He brazenly grabbed her hand to assert his dominance over the purchase.

Kaida's assassin reflexes took over in a heartbeat.

She twisted her body, using his own momentum against him. Her free hand clamped down on his wrist. She pivoted on her heel, wrenching his trapped arm down and twisting it forcefully up behind his broad back in one fluid, bone-jarring motion.

The man let out a sharp grunt of pain as his shoulder joint locked tight.

"Hands off," Kaida warned. Her disguised voice dropped into a low, lethal growl.

She held the joint lock for two agonizing seconds, making sure he understood the deadly threat, before shoving him away. The man stumbled forward, catching his balance against the wooden fence. He rubbed his aching shoulder, his eyes wide with shock. He could not see her face beneath the deep hood, but he realized instantly she was no ordinary townswoman.

"You can have the horse, young lady," he muttered, trying to mask his wince.

Kaida ignored him. She tossed a handful of silver coins to the stammering stable owner. She grabbed the reins of a sturdy brown horse nearby, swung up into the saddle, and spurred the beast toward the town gates.

As she rode away, she heard the stable owner’s nervous voice carrying over the wind. "General Cyrus, you truly have a great eye in choosing the best horse."

Kaida cursed under her breath. General Cyrus. The king's formidable brother. She felt an immense surge of relief that her deep hood had kept her true identity hidden. If the commander of the royal army had recognized the queen brawling in the mud of a public stable, her cover would be blown to pieces. She dug her heels into the brown horse's flanks, viciously pushing it into a hard gallop toward the villa.

Meanwhile, the royal carriage rolled to a stop outside the Crown Villa. Steam rose from the natural hot springs, blanketing the lavish estate in a thick, sulfur-scented mist. Darius stepped out, offering a hand to a shaken Daphne. The concubine still looked pale from the brutal carriage argument, but she forced a smile as they walked up the stone steps.

Once Daphne was safely settled in her luxurious suite, Darius summoned his elite platoon leader to a secluded courtyard.

The soldier dropped to one knee. "Your Majesty. You were right about us being tailed. Unknown hostile forces have tracked us since we left the capital."

Darius narrowed his amber eyes. His mind shifted from the anger of the morning to the cold calculation of war. "Do not give away any clue that we know that fact. Let it swim freely for now. We wait until they expose their numbers."

The soldier bowed his head. "Yes, Sire."

Darius dismissed him and retired to his private study. Eunuchs brought in stacks of pressing kingdom documents, setting them on the heavy oak desk. Darius sat down, unrolling the first parchment.

He stared at the words. Nothing registered.

He found himself unable to concentrate. Kaida's piercing, fearless accusation echoed relentlessly in his skull. *Do not be too indulged with the whims of your concubine.* The venom in her voice. The way she had looked at him, not with the submissive terror he expected, but with the sharp disdain of an equal. It haunted his every thought.

"Your Majesty, do you need a break?" a eunuch asked, stepping forward. "The sun has already set, and Royal Concubine Daphne is looking for you. You are holding the scroll upside down."

Darius heaved a heavy sigh. He dropped the scroll on the desk and pinched the bridge of his nose. Desperately needing a distraction to clear his head, he pushed his chair back and stood up. He stepped out of the study and into the cool, dimly lit hallway.

As he walked past a row of tall glass windows, his sharp warrior instincts flared. He briefly caught a fleeting, shadowy silhouette traversing the slate roof of the opposite wing.

A spy.

Darius did not break his stride. He feigned total ignorance of the intruder, keeping his face blank and his posture relaxed as he calmly walked on, setting his silent trap.

High above, Kaida clung to the sloping roof tiles. She had finally breached the villa's heavily guarded perimeter. Her dark clothes rendered her invisible against the night sky. She moved with practiced, lethal grace, dropping from the roof onto a narrow stone balcony.

She pried open a high, arched window and slipped silently inside.

She landed on the tiled floor of the royal kitchen without making a single sound. The massive room was empty of staff, bathed in the orange glow of the roaring iron stove. The rich scent of roasted meats and simmering herbs filled the air. Kaida's eyes locked onto the large pot bubbling on the back burner. It was the specialized food prepared strictly for the king and his concubine.

She stealthily approached the hot iron stove. Her leather-clad fingers grasped the heavy iron lid of the pot. She lifted it. Thick steam billowed out, obscuring her masked face.

In that exact, terrible moment, the kitchen doorway swung open.

A young maidservant stepped innocently into the room, carrying an empty silver tray.

The maid stopped dead in her tracks. The tray slipped from her fingers, clattering loudly against her skirt but not falling to the floor. Her eyes widened into massive orbs of pure horror as she stared through the dissipating steam. She saw the dark-clad, hooded intruder standing directly over the stove, holding the lid right over the king's meal.