Chapter 11 Return to the Lion’s Den #3
"Missing witnesses."
"Royal decrees rewritten before being recopied."
Her expression hardened.
"The original versions quietly disappeared."
Rowan turned another page.
"There are dozens."
"There are hundreds."
Mira sighed.
"He never altered everything at once."
"Only enough that future generations would accept the newer version as truth."
"The same way Queen Lyra vanished."
"Exactly."
Caelan exchanged a meaningful glance with Rowan.
The conspiracy reached farther than either had imagined.
It wasn't merely political.
It had become institutional.
"What about the Council?" Rowan asked.
"Don't they question these changes?"
"They used to."
Mira's voice grew quieter.
"Those who questioned them retired."
"Were reassigned."
"Or suddenly found themselves accused of financial misconduct."
Caelan frowned.
"Convenient."
"Very."
She closed the ledger.
"Lord Varric doesn't control everyone."
"He only removes those he cannot."
A thoughtful silence settled over the room.
Then Mira looked directly at Rowan.
"There's something else."
Her tone changed.
More personal.
"I need to ask about your health."
Rowan hesitated briefly before answering honestly.
"My suppressants stopped working."
"I expected they eventually would."
"I've already experienced my first natural heat."
Mira nodded slowly.
"And afterward?"
He glanced briefly toward Caelan.
"We discovered something."
"The bond."
She wasn't asking.
She already knew.
Rowan blinked.
"You knew?"
"I suspected."
She smiled gently.
"I've watched both of you since the day Captain Draven first entered the palace."
Caelan looked genuinely surprised.
"You never said anything."
"Because it wasn't my place."
She folded her hands.
"True mate bonds are exceptionally rare."
"They cannot be forced."
"They cannot be manufactured."
"And they should never be manipulated."
Her expression became more serious.
"But once awakened..."
"They continue growing."
Rowan listened carefully.
"What does that mean?"
"It means the bond is becoming permanent."
She chose each word with care.
"That isn't something to fear."
"But it also isn't something to ignore."
Caelan spoke first.
"Can it harm them?"
"It can."
"If one person repeatedly suppresses or denies the bond while under extreme stress, both may suffer exhaustion, disrupted instincts, or declining health."
She quickly added, "I'm not saying destiny demands anything from you."
"I'm saying isolation and constant emotional strain have consequences."
"The healthiest path is the one you've already chosen."
Rowan looked at her curiously.
"What path?"
She smiled warmly.
"Honesty."
"Mutual trust."
"Choosing one another freely instead of allowing fear to make every decision."
The reassurance eased a worry Rowan hadn't fully admitted even to himself.
Their relationship wasn't dangerous because it existed.
It became dangerous only if they allowed fear to rule it.
Mira returned to the locked cabinet once more.
This time she removed a sealed leather portfolio.
"I've been waiting years to give this to someone."
She placed it carefully before Rowan.
Inside lay copies of financial records, private correspondence, and official travel orders.
One document immediately caught his attention.
The signature.
Lord Varric.
Beside it appeared payments issued to a merchant company that did not exist anywhere in the kingdom's official registry.
"What is this?"
"Those payments funded the men who attacked the Moon Festival."
Rowan looked up sharply.
"You can prove it?"
"I can prove the money left the royal treasury."
"I can prove it reached false companies."
"I can prove several of those companies disappeared immediately afterward."
She met his eyes.
"I can't yet prove who carried the blades."
"But I can prove who paid for them."
Caelan carefully examined the documents.
"This is enough to start unraveling everything."
"It should be."
Mira closed the portfolio and pushed it toward Rowan.
"Guard it carefully."
"I will."
As they prepared to leave, she walked them quietly to the hidden garden entrance.
Before opening the door, she stopped.
"There is one final warning."
Both men turned.
"I don't know who."
"I don't know how high their position reaches."
She looked toward the palace rising above the rooftops.
"But someone inside those walls continues reporting directly to Lord Varric."
Her expression grew grave.
"They always seem to know where loyal servants are meeting."
"They knew which archives disappeared."
"They knew where investigators searched."
She lowered her voice.
"The Chancellor isn't merely controlling the palace from above."
"Someone within the palace is still feeding him information."
The words settled heavily between them.
Their greatest enemy stood openly before the Council.
Their most dangerous unknown enemy remained hidden behind the palace walls.
As Rowan slipped the portfolio safely beneath his cloak, he realized reclaiming the throne would require more than exposing one traitor.
They would first have to discover which trusted face had been quietly betraying the Crown all along.
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