Mira's POV
I crushed the nightshade flower between my fingers, my heart pounding.
Someone wanted me dead. And they wanted me to know it was coming.
I should have been terrified. Should have run to Prince Cassian, begged for help, used the sleeping draught on anyone who came near me.
Instead, I felt something unexpected.
Anger.
I'd spent ten days being humiliated, degraded, and broken down. I'd endured because I thought if I just kept my head down, stayed quiet, survived, eventually things might get better.
But they wouldn't. They'd never let me live in peace. Master Hadeon, the Queen, whoever sent this threat—they wanted me gone. And being silent, being obedient, being good wasn't going to save me.
I needed to be smart.
I tucked the nightshade flower into my pocket and examined the note again. The handwriting was elegant, educated. Not a servant's scrawl. Someone with power had written this.
A knock on my door made me jump.
"Mira? It's Emma."
I opened the door a crack. Emma's face was pale, worried.
"You need to be more careful," she whispered. "After what happened in the courtyard, everyone's watching you. Master Hadeon is furious the Prince interfered. And Lady Seraphine..." She bit her lip. "Lady Seraphine has been asking questions about you."
"What kind of questions?"
"Your background. Your family. Where you worked before. She's looking for something to use against you." Emma pressed a small package into my hands. "Here. I stole some bread and cheese from the kitchens. You didn't eat today."
My throat tightened. "Thank you."
"Be careful, Mira. I mean it. Something bad is coming. I can feel it."
After Emma left, I ate mechanically, my mind racing. I needed information. Needed to understand who my enemies were and what they were planning.
But I was trapped in this tiny room, cut off from everything, watched constantly.
Unless...
I looked at my maid's uniform. Plain, forgettable. People didn't really see servants—we were invisible unless we made mistakes.
Maybe I could use that.
The next morning, I woke before dawn and made a decision. Instead of going straight to the healing ward, I took a different route through the palace. The servants' corridors that wound behind the grand halls, the hidden passages that kept us out of noble sight.
I needed to learn the layout. Find places to hide if necessary. Understand my prison.
Master Hadeon would be angry I was late, but I'd already learned anger was his default. Might as well use the time for something useful.
I was passing behind the throne room when I heard voices through a ventilation grate.
"—absolutely ridiculous, Mother!" Prince Cassian's voice, tight with frustration. "You can't keep doing this to her."
I froze. Were they talking about me?
"Can't I?" Queen Isadora's voice was cold amusement. "She's a servant, Cassian. Servants are disciplined. That's how the world works."
"She saved my life!"
"And we've thanked her by not executing her. That's more gratitude than most commoners ever receive." A pause. "Your attachment to this girl is becoming problematic."
"I'm not attached. I'm grateful. There's a difference."
"Is there?" The Queen's voice sharpened. "You've used Crown Right for her. Interfered with legitimate punishment. Made scenes in front of the entire court. All for a magicless nobody. People are starting to talk."
"Let them talk."
"Cassian." The Queen's tone shifted to something almost gentle. Dangerous. "You're young. I understand being moved by a pretty face and a dramatic rescue. But you're engaged to Lady Seraphine. The wedding is in three months. You cannot afford to give people reasons to question your judgment."
Silence. Then: "I know my duty, Mother."
"Do you? Because from where I stand, it looks like you're developing inappropriate feelings for a servant girl." The Queen's voice hardened. "Feelings that could destroy your engagement, embarrass our family, and destabilize political alliances we've spent years building."
"That's not—I don't—" Cassian's voice was frustrated. Uncertain.
My chest tightened painfully. Was that true? Did he have feelings for me? And why did the thought make my heart race?
"Good," the Queen said, satisfied. "Then you won't mind that I've arranged for Mira Ashwood to work night shifts in the healing ward. Starting tonight. Master Hadeon assures me she'll be... adequately supervised."
Horror washed over me. Night shifts. Alone with Master Hadeon. That's when he'd killed the others—when there were no witnesses.
"That's not necessary—" Cassian started.
"It's decided. Unless you want to admit you're showing inappropriate favor to a common girl in front of your fiancée and the entire court?" The Queen's voice was silk over steel. "Because we can make that public if you prefer."
Trapped. She'd trapped him again.
"Fine," Cassian said, defeat in his voice. "But if anything happens to her—"
"Nothing will happen to her that she doesn't bring on herself. Now come. Lady Seraphine is waiting for you in the gardens. You were supposed to take a morning walk with her an hour ago."
Footsteps. They were leaving.
I pressed against the wall, trying to make myself invisible as they passed my hiding spot. Through a crack in the corridor, I saw them—the Queen regal and satisfied, Prince Cassian looking tired and trapped.
I waited until they were gone, then slumped against the wall, my mind reeling.
Night shifts. Starting tonight. With Master Hadeon.
The nightshade threat suddenly made terrible sense. They didn't need to poison me directly. They just needed to isolate me with a killer.
I had to find a way out. Had to—
"Well, well. What are we doing in the servant corridors, magicless girl?"
I spun around. Master Hadeon stood at the corridor entrance, blocking my escape. His smile was cruel and satisfied.
"I was just—"
"Spying? Eavesdropping on your betters?" He moved closer. "That's a serious offense. One that would normally result in severe punishment."
My hand moved toward the sleeping draught in my pocket.
"But I'm feeling generous," he continued. "So I'll let it slide. This time. Especially since we'll be spending so much time together starting tonight. Just you and me. Alone in the healing ward."
The threat was clear. The promise of violence barely concealed.
"I look forward to it," I said, forcing my voice steady.
His smile widened. "So do I."
He left, whistling cheerfully. Like a man with plans he was looking forward to.
I sagged against the wall, shaking. I was out of time. Out of options.
Unless I could somehow survive tonight long enough to find help.
I spent the rest of the day in a daze, completing my tasks mechanically. My mind kept circling back to the Queen's words: Your attachment to this girl is becoming problematic.
Did Prince Cassian have feelings for me? Or was the Queen just manipulating him?
And why did it matter? He was engaged. He was the Crown Prince. I was nobody.
But I couldn't stop remembering how he'd looked at me when he said, "Like someone I don't want to lose."
Lost in thought, I took a shortcut through the palace gardens to bring fresh herbs to the healing ward. That's when I saw them.
Prince Cassian and Lady Seraphine, walking together beneath flowering trees.
I ducked behind a hedge before they could see me, but I couldn't stop watching.
Lady Seraphine was laughing at something he said, her hand resting possessively on his arm. She was beautiful—elegant, poised, everything a Crown Princess should be. Magic shimmered around her like invisible silk, marking her as powerful, worthy, right.
And Prince Cassian... he looked perfect. Cold. Distant. The proper prince, walking with his proper fiancée through their proper palace.
Nothing like the man who'd burst into the throne room defending me.
Nothing like the man who'd come to my room at night to warn me of danger.
He looked like he'd never met a magicless healer in an alley. Never begged for help. Never said thank you like I was a person who mattered.
He looked like someone who lived in a completely different world than mine.
Because he did.
Lady Seraphine said something that made him smile—a small, polite smile that didn't reach his eyes. She rose on her toes and kissed his cheek. He didn't pull away.
Something twisted painfully in my chest.
Stupid. I was so stupid to think—to hope—
A hand clamped over my mouth from behind.
I tried to scream, but another hand grabbed my arm, yanking me backward into the shadows of the garden.
"Don't struggle," a male voice hissed in my ear. "We're trying to help you."
I was dragged deeper into the gardens, away from the paths, into a section overgrown and wild. My heart hammered. Was this it? Was this how I'd die?
We stopped in a hidden clearing. My attacker released me and stepped back.
Three people stood before me—two men and one woman, all wearing dark clothes without insignia. Their faces were hard, suspicious, but not cruel.
"Mira Ashwood?" the woman asked.
I nodded, too frightened to speak.
"We're part of the Underground," she said. "We help magicless people escape the kingdom when their lives are in danger. We heard about what happened to you. About the death threats."
Hope flickered in my chest. "You can get me out?"
"We can. Tonight. Before your shift with Master Hadeon." The woman's eyes were serious. "He's killed twelve magicless people, not two. The palace covers it up. If you go to that healing ward tonight, you won't leave alive."
Twelve. Not two. Twelve murders.
"But there's a condition," one of the men said. "You can never come back. Ever. You disappear, change your name, live quietly somewhere far from here. Can you do that?"
I looked back toward where Prince Cassian walked with his fiancée. Toward the palace that had broken me down day by day. Toward a future of nothing but fear and death.
"Yes," I whispered. "I can do that."
"Good. Meet us at the east gate at midnight. We'll have papers ready—"
"THERE SHE IS!" Master Hadeon's voice rang across the garden. "Guards! The magicless girl is meeting with known criminals!"
Guards poured into the clearing from every direction.
The Underground members scattered, running for different exits. I tried to follow, but a guard grabbed me, slamming me to the ground.
"Trying to escape?" Master Hadeon loomed over me, his face twisted with satisfaction. "That's treason. The penalty is death."
He looked at the guards. "Take her to the dungeons. Queen Isadora will want to handle this execution personally."
As they dragged me away, I caught one last glimpse of the palace gardens.
Prince Cassian was running toward us, his face stricken. Lady Seraphine held him back, whispering urgently in his ear.
Our eyes met across the distance.
His silver eyes were filled with horror and helplessness.
Then the dungeon doors swallowed me, and I realized escape had never been an option.
They'd been watching me the whole time.