OPERATION WINTERSPINE (Strings Between Us Book 2)

CHAPTER FORTY-FOUR: OF MONDAYS, THE PRESIDENT, AND THE KIDNAPPED PRINCESS

KD's eyes widened, a flicker of disbelief breaking through his calm. "She was never in the Imperial Quarters."

Lyle's jaw tightened. "Are you saying my cousin is missing?" His voice dropped to a whisper, just loud enough for the Ardent Court to hear. "Did...she get captured too?"

Before anyone in the Ardent Court could respond to Lyle, the big screen in front of Solencia Courtyard—the one usually playing the Supreme Allievo Academy's school hymn—flickered and went blank.

A loud burst of static crackled through the speakers, sharp and intrusive, cutting through the murmurs of the assembled students.

A cold, controlled voice cut through the static from the speakers. "Ardent Court."

Every eye turned toward the Ardent Court. Whispers spread through the crowd. The faculty tried to turn the big screen back on, but it remained dead.

The Disciplinary Head's eyes swept the Court members. "Did any of you pull a prank?"

Keryn lifted an eyebrow, expression neutral but edged with quiet scrutiny. "Why would we?" Her voice was steady, leaving no room for doubt or misinterpretation.

Before the Disciplinary Head could answer, another voice came through the speakers.

"The Princess of the Ardent Court is in our hands."

The big screen flickered back to life. Riyee sat cuffed in the center, surrounded by red sigils etched into the walls. Her body slumped unnaturally, pale and still. It was clear to the Ardent Court that these weren't ordinary restraints—they were made from Orichalcum.

Tofer's jaw tightened. "What the fuck?!" he muttered, pulling out his tablet,. "Why didn't it register on my feed? Why didn't it signal our monitor?"

He scanned the frame with sharp, calculating eyes. Nothing. Every sensor he trusted had failed.

"This isn't a simple capture," he murmured to himself, voice low but urgent. "Whatever took her... it's playing us."

"It was veiled. Cloaked," Alexie said, voice calm but edged with disbelief. "They made us believe the Princess was with Khaizer." Her eyes stayed fixed on Riyee's pale, unconscious form.

KD folded his fingers, staring at the screen. His posture remained rigid, controlled—but the tightness in his shoulders betrayed the weight of the situation.

The students' whispers weren't just fear—they were fractures. A murmur here, a stifled gasp there, growing into a restless wave. Some tried to deny what they saw, shaking their heads; others clutched their uniforms tighter, as if cloth could shield them. The faculty barked for order, but their voices faltered under the weight of the Ardent Court's silence.

Then a voice slithered through the courtyard again, smooth and cruel.

"Oh, dear Ardent Court... you didn't notice, did you? The Princess was missing, but you all assumed she was with the President."

The laugh that followed was light, mocking, but laced with menace. It made the hair on the back of their necks rise.

"That's because we hacked your surveillance. Every system, every watchful eye—it was ours."

Another shiver passed through the crowd. Their eyes darted, searching for something, someone, but the threat was invisible.

"Dana Ysabel Soriano Del Rio and Arielle Rylance Del Rio are under our care—mother and daughter. But soon, we will eliminate them both."

The laughter came again, playful yet cruel, twisting through the hall like a knife. Every word was a warning, a reminder that the Court's reach had been infiltrated, their safety violated.