The palace never truly rested, whispers drifted through its endless corridors, carried by servants, guards, and nobles alike. By mid morning, the confrontation between Arabella and Elara at the training ground had already become the only topic anyone seemed interested in discussing.
Everyone had an opinion.
To many within the palace, it didn't matter that Arabella had awakened as a Moonseer. She was still an outsider, a werewolf with unknown origins who had suddenly become the center of the kingdom's attention. Worse still, she had captured the King's interest.
To them, that alone was enough to make her an enemy.
Some insisted she had bewitched the King. Others argued she had manipulated her way into the palace from the very beginning. The nobles' daughters whispered that she was trying to steal a throne that had never belonged to her, while the servants exchanged rumors every chance they got.
After all, the King had publicly announced he was searching for a mate.
