The Summer King and His Winter Bride-Chapter 40: A Spy

The glow of twilight filtered through the enchanted trees, casting gold and green light across the floor of King Cyrus’s war chamber. The air was tense with anticipation and at the center of the chamber was a map of the continent.

King Cyrus knew exactly who in his court would side with Queen Arabella. As soon as he had placed Queen Caroline in the glade, there had been a ripple effect amongst some of the nobles who had gotten wind that he was protecting the Winter Queen.

The door creaked open and a maid servant slipped in, face drawn and pale. Her blonde hair was tied in a long braid and she wore a pale pink long sleeved dress.

King Cyrus was still studying the map with his back facing her.

"Speak", he commanded, to whoever had entered the chamber.

The servant bowed low before saying, "Your Majesty, I bring word from the Autumn Court."

That earned Cyrus’s attention. He faced the young woman, eyes narrowing. "Go on."

The maidservant swallowed. "General Theron betrayed King Casimir. Sold his whereabouts to Lady Violet. The mage you commissioned for court affairs has betrayed you, Your Majesty.

He enhanced the magic of the silver bracelets, used to suppress fire magic that are now placed on King Casimir as he was captured and taken to the dungeons below Amberhall. He has been tortured and his Summer fire has been drained."

The room fell utterly silent.

Cyrus’s jaw flexed. "You can confirm this?"

"I heard the mage myself. He believes King Casimir will not survive more than a fortnight."

Cyrus stepped forward. "And yet you lived?"

"I played the fool, my king. Listened well. Escaped during the mage’s trance and made my way back through the sunflower gate."

Cyrus stared at her for a long moment. Then he reached into his robes and pulled out a small ring inscribed with Spring runes.

"You will return to the mage’s tower. To Lady Violet’s court. This ring will carry your whispers to me and it will protect you, use it when necessary. When all is well you will be rewarded."

The young woman bowed low, clutching the ring with shaking hands, and was ushered away by the guards.

King Cyrus remained still for a moment more, then with a wave of his hand and some ancient magic he arrived back at the Evergreen Glade.

He had to deliver this news to Queen Caroline.

Queen Caroline sat in silence near the hearth, wrapped in a gown of soft wool and silver threads. She hadn’t eaten since sunrise, nor spoken much since the last falcon had returned with no news of Casimir.

When Cyrus entered, she did not rise. She looked at him over the rim of her wine glass, eyes dull with worry.

"Say it quickly," she said.

He complied with her wish.

"Casimir has been taken to the Autumn dungeons. He was betrayed by General Theron. Queen Arabella tortured him. He has been bound by the very same bracelets you used to suppress his fire magic. The mage they employed from my own court apparently has stripped him of his power. I am sorry Caroline. I will see what can be done from my end."

The wine glass slipped from her hands and shattered on the floor.

She stood up quickly then her face pale as snow. "You said he would be protected. That the Spring Court would ensure....."

"I made no promises," Cyrus replied, gently but firmly. "Only that we’d move carefully. Theron’s betrayal was unexpected." 𝙛𝒓𝓮𝒆𝔀𝒆𝙗𝓷𝒐𝙫𝒆𝙡.𝒄𝓸𝓶

Tears filled her eyes, but she turned her face from him, biting her lip to hold them back.

"Theron." She whispered, "I want him dead the moment he shows his face."

Cyrus inclined his head. "Then it shall be so."

She moved to the writing table, scrawling a quick message on a scroll, her hand trembling slightly. She pressed her signet ring into the wax seal, then held it out.

"Have it flown to Lady Genevieve," she said. "No trial. No mercy. Execute him the moment he crosses our border."

Cyrus accepted it and turned to leave, but paused when she sat heavily on the edge of the couch, staring at the broken glass on the floor.

"I’m not hungry," she said quietly, voice raw. "Don’t send food."

She didn’t look up.

He nodded once and left her in silence.

The falcon flew through a window in the drawing room where Lady Genevieve sat reading by candlelight.

The scroll was bound in Caroline’s colors silver, frost blue and bore her royal seal. Genevieve broke it swiftly, her eyes scanning the words. Her expression hardened.

She looked up at her steward. "Send word to every outpost and stronghold. General Theron is to be killed on sight. No trial. No mercy. If he rides for the north, he rides into his own grave."

She rolled the scroll and tucked it into the folds of her robe, her face cold as ice.

"Winter has no forgiveness left for traitors."

She continued to read the latest verdict of some of the Winter Court officials.

The verdict was clear and overwhelmingly so.

A breath escaped her lips, more a whisper of relief. Among the nobles of the Winter Court nobles there was unity. Rare. Almost unsettling in its clarity. Every signature, every seal affixed, spoke not just of loyalty, but of readiness.

Should Queen Caroline raise her banner, the Winter Court would follow along.

Genevieve tapped the parchment once against the desk, a quiet rhythm echoing in the cold chamber. The gesture was thoughtful and her eyes that lifted from the page were steel.

So they are ready for war.

She glanced toward the fire burning low in the hearth, its warmth a distant thing in the vastness of the room. Then her gaze returned to the stack of sealed letters awaiting her dispatch. One to the Queen, of course. Another to the generals. A third, more delicate, to an old ally in the northern borderlands whose loyalty was not bought with titles but with memory and shared blood.

Lady Genevieve dipped her pen once more and, in her elegant hand, began to write:

"The Winter Court stands united behind Her Majesty. Should the winds shift, we are prepared to march. The unity once called to arms will become a fire difficult to extinguish."

As snow began to fall beyond the frost-glazed windows, her eyes narrowed slightly. Not in fear. But in knowing within the stillness of her the drawing room she allowed herself a single, private thought:

Let them come. Winter will not shy away from war.

Lady Genevieve opened the last letter, this came as a plea from Lady Miranda the Summer Court regent.

I ride to seek help from Casimir’s cousin, please send us a winter mage who will aid in breaking Casimir free from the Autumn prison.

Not wasting time, she called out to the servant, "send this letter to Freya and ask her to dispatch a Winter mage to the Autumn dungeons. "

"We will aid the Summerland warriors to break him out of prison."