Clothed in black pants and a simple white shirt, he holds a metal tray, covered with a lid. My first instinct is to go to him, but he doesn't acknowledge me, and I force myself to draw my gaze away to the rest of the room, the tension easing in my stomach slightly at his presence.

They made it.

There are others in the room with him. Two girls, another male, and the last, lingering in the corner with a straight expression—Elex. The room has a long, wooden dining table in the centre atop a large rug—only two chairs at either end of the table. I scan the room, searching for Killian, but come up empty. Concern twists in my stomach.

The man who led me here pulls out the chair at the end of the table, turning to me. "Take a seat, Miss Raune."

I watch him warily as I sit, the wooden chair digging into my spine. I'm painfully aware of all the weighted gazes as I straighten my posture, trying to keep myself from looking towards Casimir and Elex.

The doors on the opposite side of the room creak open. Casimir and the other servants lower their heads as she walks in. The man at my side straightens, tucking his hands behind his back. I watch with anticipation as a woman waltzes in, her head held high. Her floor-length gown ripples with movement, the sleeves trailing past her hands and nearly to the ground. I straighten my back as her gaze falls on me. Her jaw tilts to the guard at my side, and he immediately rushes over to pull the chair out for her.

"Miss Raune, what a pleasure it is to dine with you." Her voice, though far away, projects across the table.

Wrinkles line her face, but there's an elegance to her age, her ashy grey hair pulled back to the nape of her neck. The only shifter I've seen up close in human form is Tetterman and his son, but that feeling of unease never goes away. The knowledge of what lies beneath the skin, behind the gums—it erases any comfort the human smile offers.

She waves a hand, and the servers bring the trays towards the table—Casimir to the woman, the other girl to me. She removes the lid, revealing steamed vegetables and a steak. The aroma wafts into the air, making my stomach rumble.

"Who are you?" I ask.

She picks up her fork, stabs one of the carrots and raises it to her eyeline, examining the steam as it spirals in the air.

"I don't often encounter those of you from the villages below the mountains." She wrinkles her nose, as if those people disgust her. "But when I have, none of you have been very well versed in manners." At her pointed look, I avert my gaze. "Please eat. You must be hungry after your journey."

It's more a command than an invitation. I tentatively pick up my fork, stabbing one of the vegetables and lowering my eyes. To sit in a room with someone belonging to the tyrannical rulers that ruined my life, it's hard to keep hold of my tongue. But the power that underlies her voice is a harsh reminder that it is only by her will that I'm not dead.

"I apologise if I come across ungrateful," I say carefully. "I only want to know why you've brought me here."

She regards me for a few seconds before putting the fork in her mouth, chewing delicately. Her throat bobs up and down as she swallows. "You asked to be brought here."

"Not the mountains. I mean why am I here, in this room, with you, having a meal?"

"What kind of hosts would we be if we didn't feed you?"

My frustration flares. "Who are you?"

Her gaze cuts to me, sharp like a knife. "My name is Elora. I am an advisor of King Ereon."

A chill crawls down my spine. We hear of the King right from when we're young, a distant figure living in the mountains and making decisions to make Elel a better place for all. At least, that's the message we were fed from the councillors whenever they visited. Before Samu was taken, the shifters frightened me, but I didn't despise them. And yet I've always hated the King.

In the fairy tales my father used to read me, Kings visited their subjects, wanted to know how they lived so they could better care for them. King Ereon never left the mountains; he never visited Veymaw or any of the other human villages. And though my father tried his hardest to make life good for us, it didn't take a genius to figure out that life in Elel wasn't good for everyone. It was barely good for anyone. Unless you were of higher class, and even then, no amount of riches could protect you from the shifters on the night of the Red Moon.

"Your food will get cold if you do not eat."

This time, her words sound like a threat.

The dress suffocates me as I take a bite of the food. I've never had something laced so tightly around my waist, making it difficult to swallow. I remind myself that Casimir and Elex are right behind me. I'm not alone with this woman, somebody so close to the King.

"Tell me, Miss Raune," she starts again, "why is it that you wanted to visit the Royal Palace?"

She acts as if she doesn't know the answer. "You took my brother last Red Moon."

"I see."

"Where is he?" I ask. She chews slowly on her steak, ignoring me. "Why did you take him? If you've hurt him, I'll—"

"You'll what?" Her tone is nonchalant, but her eyes are as sharp as a knife. "Do not forget where you are, Freya. You reside in the Palace upon the King's wishes. You are fed and bathed and clothed upon his wishes. The King is a very generous man to take care of you so well. He would love to meet with you. But it would be a shame if I had to... teach you about respect first."

I swallow the lump in my throat, clenching my knees together beneath the table. Taking a deep breath, I roll my shoulders back and chew on the piece of meat. My stomach churns, appetite entirely gone, but I force myself to swallow and then meet her gaze with a smile.

"I apologise if I came across disrespectful," I say. "You're right; the King has been very generous to my people."

She tips her chin, taking a sip of her wine. "I am curious about your brother. We were not aware that there were two of you."

I follow her gaze to the window. We're still submerged in cloud, only a white haze visible outside.

"You don't look very much like him," she says when I don't respond.

"Samu was adopted."

She leans forward, placing her fork by her side. "Who were his birth parents?"

"I don't know what happened to them."

"And your parents?"

"My father is... he was killed when Samu was taken. I never met my mother."

"I'm sorry for your loss."

I fight the urge to spit in her face. I feel the heat of Casimir's eyes, his expression urging me not to engage. I chew slowly; Elora watches me as I swallow.

"You have a beautiful home," I say, gazing around the room at the gold trimmed wallpaper. "Do you reside here alone?"

"You are in the East Wing of a very large Palace, Miss Raune."

"And my brother?"

"You are the only guest in this wing." She gives me a pointed look. "Everything you need is in this wing. There is no reason for you to go anywhere else."

I bite my tongue to keep from pressing for more. I have one week in the Palace to find him; it would be unrealistic to expect that I'd be able to find him on the first morning.

Elora doesn't ask me any more questions. She watches silently, waiting till my entire plate is empty, before rising to her feet.

"You will be taken back to your room. Should you need anything, a server will be stationed outside your door." She pauses, regarding me curiously. "You will be summoned this afternoon."

She starts to turn, heading for the door.

"You really won't tell me why I'm still alive?" I call out.

Elora turns slightly, her smile icy. "I do hope you learn some manners in the next couple of hours. The next time we meet I may not be so lenient."

#

The guard who led me here leaves me in the room I awoke. I had hoped Casimir would be the one stationed outside, but instead, it's Elex, his head bowed low as the guard locks the door on his way out. We both wait several minutes before moving from our positions. I wonder if Elex is as paralysed by the fear as I am, but when I turn to look at him, he's completely overtaken with awe of the beauty of the room.

"Now I understand why most of the shifters never leave this place," he says, taking in the gold trimmed boards.

I take a shuddering breath in—as much as the corset will allow. "What now?"

Elex crosses the room to look out the balcony doors. "Now, we wait."

"For what?"

"For you to be summoned."

I swallow, watching as Elex examines the view. Or lack of, more like. "Where's Casimir?"

"In the kitchens. They're right at the bottom of the castle, dark and dingy at that. That's where we were able to get in and nick a couple of uniforms."

"Are all the servants human?"

He shakes his head. "Some shifters, too."

"Have you tried talking to them? To get some information?"

"They can't talk."

"But if you just try—"

"There's a reason those shifters are servants, Freya. They've been made loquai."

"What does that mean?"

"Their tongues have been cut off."

The steak churns in my stomach. "Why?"

"Treason, probably." He seems unfazed by the thought. "Don't worry. The humans may not know much, but they still talk. If there's information to be found out down there, Casimir will get it."

I let the thought ease my anxiety. Casimir is more than capable of taking care of himself, so long as he doesn't get found out.

My mind drifts as I fiddle with the laced up back of my dress, trying to loosen it. "Why do you think she was asking so many questions about Samu?"

Elex shrugs. "The same reason they bought you here unharmed, I suppose." He rattles the door onto the balcony. It had easily opened this morning, but it seems to be locked. "Do you have any hair pins?"

I reach up to slide one from my hair, handing it over to him. He twists it into the keyhole. "What're you doing?"

"Trying to unlock the door. Killian should be here soon."

He's played on the back of my mind ever since I woke up, and when I didn't see him in the dining hall with Casimir and Elex, I couldn't help but worry.

"Was it just you three who came through the tunnels?"

"Killian went through before us. He was tracking you the whole time you were with the shifters." Something jingles inside the door, and the handle twists. "Finally."

"Is he posing as a server too?"

"Not yet. He's been in the village below, trying to get information."

"In the shifter village?" My stomach twists. "Isn't that dangerous?"

"All of this is dangerous, Freya. In fact, what you're doing is arguably the most dangerous." I stare at my hands, itching for some sort of weapon. "And you don't need to worry about Killian, he's very skilled at what he does."

Before I can answer, a hooded figure clambers over the railing of the banister. I take a step back, putting my hand to my chest. Elex is unfazed as he pulls the door open, letting the icy air seep through.

Killian steps into the room. Snow scatters his clothes, beginning to melt in the warmth of the room. He wears all black, belt adorned with daggers and a cape pulled over his face so that only his mouth is visible. But I can feel when his eyes land on me.

"Wow," he says, pausing to look at me.

"What's wrong?"

"You look like a proper lady."

I scowl. "And you look like a criminal."

A white smile gleams from beneath the cape. He reaches up to pull it off, shaking his hair out and crossing the room to the vanity table. I watch as he reaches into his satchel, rifling through. His cheeks and the tip of his nose are tinged pink from the cold as he ungloves one of his hands.

Elex joins him at the table. "What did you find?"

Killian pulls out a scroll, unfurling it and spreading it across the table. I move closer, peering over his shoulder. The blue paper is tattered and splattered with specks of red, but it's a sketch of some sort—lines crossing over one another with labels scribbled so messily I can't read them.

"What is it?" I ask.

"Blueprints. Of the Palace layout."

As he says it, the shapes start to align in my mind.

Elex whistles lowly in approval, leaning closer to get a better look as Killian puts his finger on one of the rooms near the top right side. "I don't know how outdated this is, but this is where we are. The East Wing."

Elex drags his fingers to the other side of the paper. "The West Wing. That's where the King is."

Killian nods.

Elex says something under his breath, capturing Killian's attention. They talk in hushed voices, loud enough so that I can hear, but I don't understand any of it as they discuss phrases of missions and instructions Trina has given them. I know she gave me a week to find my brother, and Casimir told me they've been planning an attack, but what kind of attack?

"And my brother?" I ask. They both turn to look at me. "Where might he be?"

Killian's serious expression doesn't shift, but he steps back so I have a better view of the blueprints. Elex places his finger at the bottom of the page.

"I don't know where your brother is," Killian says. "But the prisons are down here, even beneath the kitchens, underground."

Nausea sweeps throughout my stomach. The thought of Samu spending the past year underground all alone makes me shudder.

"Hey," Elex says, voice softer. "The shifters have treated you with hospitality thus far, I'm sure he received the same treatment. We don't know for sure that he's in the prisons."

I turn around, walking towards the bed and wrapping my arms around myself. "What am I supposed to do? I'm trapped in this room, watched like a hawk. How am I ever supposed to find Samu like this?"

"For now, you wait till you're summoned," Elex says. "Find out as much information as you can—about the Palace, the shifters, your brother."

"That's not enough."

"That's all you can do."

"Playing dress ups and dining with the shifters that killed my father is not going to help me find Samu."

"Sh." Elex hushes. "You have to lower your voice. If they choose to tune in, shifters have enhanced senses. If they hear you—"

"Shh, both of you. Do you hear that?" Killian asks, moving over to the door and pressing his ear against it. "I think someone's coming."

My stomach twists. Elex nods and quickly moves to the door, straightening his back and staring blankly ahead as he was when we arrived. I settle on the edge of the bed, trying to calm my racing heart. Killian rolls up the scroll, shoving it in his satchel and meeting me by the bed. He holds out a dagger.

"Keep this hidden. Don't use it unless you absolutely must. Do you understand?" I nod, taking it from him and tucking it beneath the mattress. He rises, moving over to the balcony and turning to look at me once more. "We'll get you to your brother, Freya. I promise."

And then he's gone, like the wind blew him away. I shut the doors behind him, rushing to return to the bed just as there's a knock at the door. Elex and I exchange glances before he opens it, and the guard walks in.

~

Cloud Piercer now has a spotify playlist attached to the story. Mostly songs I listen to while writing or songs that fit the vibe of the story. Can you see it when you go on the main information page with the summary etc?

1. Who do you think Freya is going to see next?

2. If you were in Freya's situation, would you try to escape so you could search for Samu, or would you stay in the palace and find out information that way?

3. What do you think might happen next?