The estate's corridors were quieter than usual, as though the walls themselves strained to overhear whispers. The laughter of the party had dwindled into embers, leaving behind only murmurs and scattered footsteps. Yet three women remained restless, their minds circling the same absence.
Cassia was the first to break the silence. She leaned against the window of the salon, her figure outlined by the pale moonlight. The curve of her lips hinted at amusement, but her eyes—dark, burning—betrayed irritation. "He has vanished. And with whom, we all know."
Liora sat rigid in the chair opposite, her hands clenched into fists. Her beauty seemed sharpened by anger, her voice brittle as glass. "Selene. Always Selene. I warned him, I tried to keep him away. But he would not listen. And now—" She exhaled sharply. "Now she has him."
Althea's gaze wandered across the room, distant, troubled. "Do not speak as if he is a possession to be claimed," she murmured. "He is still a man, not a trinket for Selene's cabinet."
Cassia laughed softly, a sound as smooth as silk but laced with venom. "Oh, my dear Althea, you still cling to illusions. Men are claimed as surely as territories, as surely as crowns. You may deny it, but look at yourself—your patience, your tenderness, is but another form of seduction."
Althea turned sharply, her calm eyes flashing with sudden fire. "If love is seduction, then yes, I am guilty. But what Selene does is no seduction. It is conquest. And conquest ends in ruin."
The word hung in the air like a blade.
Liora's voice cracked with bitterness. "Ruin, yes. I saw it in his eyes before he left the hall. He was already breaking, already yielding. She has wrapped her chains around his throat, and he—God help him—he begged for it."
Her fury twisted into sorrow, her fists trembling. "Why? Why do men run to the fire that burns them? Why do they prefer cruelty over loyalty, shadow over light?"
Cassia's smile deepened, though her gaze lingered on the floor, betraying a flicker of unease. "Because cruelty is honest. Light deceives, whispers of safety and peace. But cruelty—ah, cruelty speaks plainly. It says: you are mine, and you will never escape. And men, in their cowardice, prefer certainty to freedom."
The silence that followed was suffocating.
Althea rose slowly, her steps measured. "Then I will not stand by and watch him fall into certainty. If there is even a chance to draw him back, I will take it. Selene may claim truth through chains, but I believe truth is born from mercy."
Liora stood too, her eyes fierce. "And I—my truth is rebellion. If he has given himself to her, I will fight to tear him free. Even if he hates me for it."
Cassia tilted her head, studying them both. "How touching. The saint and the rebel, each convinced that Adrian belongs to them in spirit if not in flesh. But you are blind. Neither of you see what he truly is."
Althea's voice was sharp now, cutting. "And what is he to you, Cassia? A game? A conquest?"
Cassia's laugh was soft, haunting. "He is a mirror. In him, I see the hunger that I dare not admit in myself. His fall amuses me because it is my own fall reflected. Do not mistake my fire for love, Althea. I do not love him. But I cannot look away."
Her honesty unsettled them more than her mockery.
For a long moment, none spoke. The fire in the hearth crackled, shadows stretching long across the walls.
At last, Liora broke the silence, her voice trembling but resolute. "Then let us not waste time. Selene moves in the shadows while we stand here arguing. If we wait, she will devour him whole. We must act."
Althea nodded slowly. "Yes. But not with jealousy, not with rashness. If we confront her openly, she will twist it into proof of her power. We must be careful."
Cassia's smile widened. "So the saint grows cunning, and the rebel grows desperate. Very well. If you would march into Selene's den, I will watch with interest. Perhaps even join, if only to see whose truth triumphs in the end."
She turned toward the window once more, the moonlight catching the curve of her shoulder. "But mark my words: Adrian has already chosen. You will not save him—you will only discover how much he enjoys his chains."
The words cut like ice.
Yet Althea's resolve did not falter, nor did Liora's anger cool. The three women stood in uneasy alliance, bound not by trust but by the shadow of Selene's triumph.
The storm was gathering. And when it broke, the estate itself would tremble.