Chapter 94: The First Step
The night deepened as Caledon and Liora moved quietly through the camp. The soldiers were mostly asleep, worn out from the day's preparations. Only a few guards remained at their posts, their eyes scanning the perimeter for any sign of enemy activity.
Caledon's heart raced, not from fear of battle, but from the weight of what he was about to do. Betraying the council's trust was unthinkable, but he had already made his choice. Liora had convinced him—or at least, his trust in her had. If there really was a traitor in their midst, and if she was right, it was up to him to expose them before the kingdom was destroyed.
"Are you sure this will work?" Caledon whispered as they approached the entrance to the council chambers.
Liora nodded, her eyes sharp and focused. "We won't have much time once we're inside. The records are hidden, but I know where to look."
Caledon tightened his grip on the hilt of his sword. The chambers were heavily guarded, but they had chosen their moment carefully. Most of the council was away, preparing for the coming battle. Only a few members remained, likely asleep. The two guards stationed at the entrance would be the biggest obstacle.
"How do you plan to get past them?" Caledon asked.
Liora's lips curled into a sly smile. "Leave that to me."
Before he could ask what she meant, Liora stepped out of the shadows, her posture relaxed, as if she were strolling through the camp without a care in the world. Caledon watched in astonishment as she approached the guards with casual ease.
"Halt! Who goes there?" one of the guards called, raising his spear.
Liora raised her hands in mock surrender. "It's just me, boys. I was sent by Captain Raynor to deliver a message to the council."
The guards exchanged glances. "At this hour?"
Liora shrugged. "I don't make the orders, I just follow them. You know how the captain is—everything's urgent when it comes to him."
The guards still looked suspicious, but they didn't challenge her. Liora's reputation as an ally of the royal family was well-known, and questioning her might raise more problems than it was worth.
"All right," one of the guards said grudgingly. "Make it quick."
Liora gave them a nod of thanks and signaled to Caledon, who remained hidden in the shadows. Once the guards turned their backs, he slipped past them, following Liora into the council chambers.
Inside, the air was cold and still. The dim light of a single torch flickered on the stone walls, casting eerie shadows across the room. The council's grand table sat in the center, its polished surface untouched since the last meeting.
Liora moved with purpose, heading straight for a small door at the back of the room. "This way," she whispered.
Caledon followed, his senses on high alert. Every creak of the floorboards, every shift in the air, made him tense. But Liora seemed unbothered, her focus entirely on their task.
The door led to a narrow hallway lined with shelves full of scrolls and ledgers. These were the council's private records—documents that detailed everything from troop movements to secret alliances. If Liora was right, the proof they needed would be here.
She wasted no time, heading straight for a locked cabinet at the far end of the hallway. With a quick flick of her wrist, she produced a small tool from her belt and began working on the lock.
"Where did you learn to do that?" Caledon asked, half-impressed, half-skeptical.
Liora smirked without looking up. "You'd be surprised what you pick up when you're trying to stay alive."
Within moments, the lock clicked open, and Liora swung the cabinet door wide. Inside were stacks of sealed scrolls, each marked with the emblem of the council. She grabbed one and unfurled it, scanning the contents with practiced eyes.
"This is it," she said quietly, her voice tinged with urgency. "These records show the council's correspondence with the northern generals."
Caledon stepped closer, his eyes narrowing as he read over her shoulder. The words on the scroll were damning—detailed reports of troop movements and battle strategies, sent to the very enemies they were preparing to fight.
"How could this happen?" Caledon whispered, anger and disbelief twisting in his gut. "How could they betray their own people?"
Liora's face was grim as she rolled the scroll back up. "Power, wealth… there are always those who think they can make a deal with the devil and come out unscathed. But this proves what we needed."
Caledon felt a rush of conflicting emotions—relief that they had the proof, but also the heavy realization of what it meant. The council, the very people entrusted with the kingdom's future, were playing both sides. The betrayal ran deeper than he had ever imagined.
"What do we do now?" he asked, his voice barely above a whisper.
Liora tucked the scroll into her cloak. "We take this to the people. If the council is willing to sell out the kingdom for their own gain, they don't deserve to lead. But we need to be careful—if they find out we have this, they'll stop at nothing to silence us."
Caledon's mind was spinning. The council, the northern armies, the impending war—it all felt like a giant web of deceit, and now he and Liora were tangled in the middle of it. But there was no turning back. They had the truth, and with it, a chance to save the kingdom from a disaster it didn't even see coming.
"Let's go," he said, his voice steady despite the storm raging inside him. "We'll expose them."
Liora nodded, her expression unreadable. "This is only the beginning, Caledon. There are more secrets to uncover. And the deeper we go, the more dangerous it will become."
He met her gaze, a silent understanding passing between them. Whatever lay ahead, they would face it together.
With the incriminating scroll hidden safely in Liora's cloak, they slipped back out of the council chambers, leaving behind a room filled with shadows—and a kingdom on the brink of betrayal.