I didn't respond to his words.
They floated in the air between us, cold, sharp, and too honest for comfort.
I lay in bed, pretending they didn't sting, pretending I wasn't waiting for a different answer. But I wasn't foolish,he didn't love me. Not yet. Perhaps never.
He stood at the window for a while longer before disappearing through the door that led to his adjoining chamber. That door always stayed closed.
I didn't ask why.
⸻
By morning, North Silvestia's castle was clothed in elegance. Servants ran with silks, nobles arrived in wagons, and the kitchens exhaled scents of roasted meat and honeyed pastries.
The feast was to honor the Council's visit and to reinforce the illusion that the prince's court was thriving despite the witch attacks, despite the quiet murders, despite the politics boiling beneath every word.
I was bathed, dressed in a wine-red gown, my hair swept up in a high knot, strands curled carefully over my shoulders. Lydia had gone quiet again. The same silence she carried whenever Leonard was mentioned.
I noticed it more now.
"You fear him," I said suddenly, as she tightened the back of my gown.
Lydia froze. "We... respect him, mi lady."
"That's not what I asked."
She lowered her eyes. "Fear and respect walk hand in hand when it comes to Prince Leonard. But he's not cruel to the loyal."
"And to the disloyal?"
She didn't answer.
⸻
The ballroom was gilded, glowing with enchanted lanterns. Gold arched the ceilings. Music curled through the air like incense. Nobles danced and whispered, lifting their glasses toward Leonard whenever he passed.
I stood at his side again. A place I had grown used to but never fully belonged in. Not yet.
Caelum stood to Leonard's left, draped in all black, a smirk ever present. His eyes scanned the room like a hawk, sharp and impossible to read.
A few feet away, I spotted another new figure elegant, calm, beautiful in the way a perfectly forged sword was beautiful.
Rhys.
His eyes were softer than Caelum's. His magic subtle but present. He offered me a brief nod as our eyes met. He was part of the inner circle now,another secret keeper.
"May I say," a syrupy voice interrupted, "you look quite presentable tonight, Lady Lisa."
Lady Verona.
She wore a forest green dress that clung to her body like vines, and her smile was polished as silver. She dipped her head in mock courtesy. "His Highness certainly has... interesting taste."
"Is that your way of saying you're bitter?" I replied, tilting my head. "Because you lost?"
Her smile cracked.
Leonard didn't say a word, but I noticed the slight twitch in his jaw.
Lady Verona leaned in, her voice low. "You're new here. You don't know how fast this place turns on those it doesn't want."
I smiled back. "Neither do you. I'm still here."
Before she could respond, Caelum slid between us like a blade. "The lady isn't available for petty threats tonight," he said smoothly. "Do try to drink more. Maybe you'll learn when to stop speaking."
Verona flinched, gave him a venomous look, and walked away.
I let out a breath. "You enjoy that far too much," I said to Caelum.
"I do," he agreed. "Your wit's improving. I like it."
Leonard said nothing.
⸻
Later in the night, as the nobles drank and the music swelled, I followed a strange feeling down the corridor outside the ballroom.
I shouldn't have left. But something called to me.
A pull.
I passed the old western stairwell and moved into the servant's wing. Then down again. And again.
And then... I found her.
The girl from the court,the one that had been burned.
Only, she wasn't burned. Not fully. What was left of her body was sealed in black crystal, still faintly glowing. The ashes around her were untouched, as if frozen in time. Magic. Old magic.
I took a step back, but a voice echoed behind me.
"She shouldn't have lasted that long," Astra said softly.
I turned, startled. The sharp-featured woman stood with a dim orb floating beside her shoulder.
"You're one of his mages," I said.
She nodded. "Rhys told me to keep an eye on the remnants. That girl wasn't a full witch. She was something... between."
"Between what?"
"Between vessel and sacrifice."
My skin prickled.
"Someone out there is preparing something," Astra continued. "The witches want power again. The real kind. They're not acting alone anymore."
"And what does that have to do with me?" I asked quietly.
Her expression softened slightly. "You'll know. Soon."
⸻
I returned to my room late that night.
Leonard was already there, unbuttoning his coat. His expression unreadable as always. But I noticed the blood splatter on his cuff.
"You killed someone," I said, standing by the door.
He didn't deny it.
"Who?"
"A man who tried to poison me," he said simply. "He worked for Verona's uncle."
I sat down on the edge of the bed. "Does it ever stop?"
He looked at me then, more tired than anything else. "No."
"Do you regret it?"
He moved slowly to the basin, washing his hands. "I regret not killing some of them sooner."
There it was again. That ruthless part of him,the
part he hid from the court, from me. Or tried to.
"Lisa," he said suddenly, "do you think I'm a monster?"
I stared at him.
"No," I said finally. "But I think you're afraid you are."
He didn't reply.
He didn't need to.
We both knew it was true.