Chapter 26 – Trouble
KAEL’S PERSPECTIVE
Eunice crossed the tent for a third time, her boots thudding dully against the wooden planks. We were alone, but her shoulders were still squared like she had an audience. Like she
was on stage.
“Eunice,” I said, “you’ve never told me how you actually got that treaty signed in Borderhold. The one with Rum’s Marshal. Wasn’t I torching their granary at the time?”
She didn’t stop pacing. “I’ve told you before, Kael,” she said dismissively. “I spread word that Alpha Dravic had already taken the southern forts and was closing in on Stormhold Pass. Naturally, they panicked. With their supply lines gone, surrender was the only option.”
She said it like it was obvious. Easy. Like convincing a stubborn, battle–hardened Rum general to sign a border treaty was something anyone could do with a mere rumour.
“You had what? Three hundred men?” I asked, watching her carefully. “He could’ve slaughtered you on sight.”
Eunice turned sharply, finally facing me. “But he didn’t. That’s the point. He signed.”
I nodded slowly, but the unease in my chest didn’t go away.
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Back then, I didn’t question it. She returned from Borderhold with a scroll in hand and her chin high, and I was too relieved to probe deeper. Then came the reports. Thirty thousand Rum soldiers suddenly showing up in West uniforms. Joining the fight with the West like it had been planned all along.
Still, I didn’t doubt her.
Until our wedding, when she invited a hundred soldiers, and General Ivar pulled her aside for moving troops without notice. She told him it was approved, that she had submitted it and followed all required procedures. She lied—so calmly, without blinking, that even he believed her.
That made my stomach twist.
“Eun,” I said quietly, “did you really get the Marshal to surrender willingly? Or did someone else help you?”
She didn’t answer right away. Just folded her arms across her chest, expression unreadable as she stared at me.
“If he didn’t want to sign, Kael,” she said, “he wouldn’t have. His outnumbered mine ten to one. If I’d pushed him, I would army
be dead. So yes—he signed willingly.”
Her voice was steady. Too steady.
I ran a hand through my hair, then looked away.
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Eunice walked closer, eyebrows furrowing a little. “What’s this about?” she asked.
“Nothing,” I said quickly. “I just… the whole thing feels strange now. Why did they break the treaty?”
Her tone sharpened, face hardening, “You question me like you doubt my achievements. I do not see you questioning Marcia’s this way.”
My jaw tightened at her mention of Marcia. This conversation wasn’t about her. And yet, Eunice was still hung up on that.
“I didn’t mean it like that. And we should avoid confrontation with Marcia, Eunice,” I said. “She has the King’s backing now. She’s a general. Ranked above you and me.”
Eunice scoffed. “Avoid her? Why should I? She may be a general now, but do not forget that I was the first female general of Prim. I fought my way to the top when her biggest battle was still folding laundry for Kael Lightwood.”
I sighed at the bitterness in her voice. Not because she was wrong. But because I knew that it wasn’t the full truth.
“She’s different now,” I said. “She is no longer that simple young girl.”
“Yes, she’s dangerous,” Eunice agreed. “And I won’t bow to her
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just because the King favours her this month. I earned my place. Not by inheritance. But through blood and sweat.”
I looked at her, and once again, all I saw was the wall forming between us. The resentment behind her eyes. Her obsession with Marcia’s name, not just her rise.
“Eunice,” I said slowly, “please don’t stir trouble. Not here. Not with the soldiers watching.”
She didn’t reply. Just turned away again.
The glint in her eye was louder than her silence.
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A Rejected Luna – Her Rise to Power
