Aria's POV
I threw the chair at the wall.
It smashed into the crack just as the pale hand reached through. The creature screamed—a sound like nails on metal—and jerked back into the darkness.
The crack sealed itself instantly, wallpaper smoothing over like nothing had happened.
But I heard voices. Dozens of them. Whispering, giggling, angry, all coming from inside the walls.
"She hurt us..."
"Bad Lightbringer..."
"We'll come back..."
"We always come back..."
Then silence.
I stood there shaking, the broken chair pieces scattered around me, my heart beating so hard it hurt.
What were those things? Why were they in the walls? And why did the prince's seal not stop them?
I didn't sleep the rest of the night. Just sat with my back against the door, watching the walls, jumping at every tiny sound.
When dawn finally came through the window, I'd never been so grateful to see light.
A knock made me flinch.
"Miss Sunfield?" Mrs. Helga's voice. "I'm bringing breakfast."
I opened the door carefully. Mrs. Helga stood there with a tray, her sharp eyes immediately noticing the broken chair, the crack in the wall, my terrified face.
"Forgotten Ones?" she asked quietly.
I nodded.
She sighed and set the tray down. "They've been getting bolder. Used to be they only came out during new moons. Now they come whenever they smell fresh light." She looked at me. "You need to learn to shield yourself. Fast."
"How?"
"Ask the prince. If he's still willing to teach you." She turned to leave, then paused. "One more thing. Today's your first official day as Companion of Joy. You're expected at breakfast in the main dining hall. With the court."
My stomach dropped. "The court?"
"All the nobles. Lord Darian, Lady Cassandra, the council members. They want to see if you're worth keeping around." Mrs. Helga's expression softened slightly. "Don't let them intimidate you. They smell fear like wolves smell blood."
She left.
I looked at the breakfast tray. Bread, cheese, water. Mrs. Helga had taken a bite of each before bringing it—the taste-test the prince had mentioned.
I ate quickly, my mind racing.
Today was my first real chance to try. To make the prince smile in front of people who mattered.
But how?
I thought of home. Of how I'd made Finn laugh when he was sick. Of how I'd cheered up sad children with silly games.
Maybe the prince just needed someone to be silly around him. To show him it was okay to be happy.
An idea sparked.
Probably a terrible idea. But I had to try something.
The main dining hall was massive and cold. A long table stretched down the center, already filled with nobles eating in stiff silence.
At the head of the table sat Prince Kael, his face carved from ice as usual.
To his right sat a beautiful woman with golden hair and a smile that didn't reach her eyes. Lady Cassandra—I recognized her from the prince's study.
To his left sat an older man with silver hair and kind eyes that somehow felt wrong. Lord Darian.
Everyone stopped eating when I entered.
All eyes turned to me.
I wanted to run. Instead, I walked to the empty chair at the far end of the table—as far from the prince as possible.
"Not there," the prince said without looking up. "Sit here."
He pointed to the chair directly across from him.
The worst seat possible. Right in his line of sight. Right where everyone could watch me fail.
I sat.
A servant immediately placed food in front of me. Eggs, bread, fruit.
The fruit.
My idea suddenly seemed even more stupid than before. But I'd come this far.
While everyone ate in silence, I carefully, quietly, started rearranging my fruit. An apple for the head. Grapes for eyes. A banana for the smile.
A funny fruit face. Just like I used to make for Finn.
I heard a quiet gasp from a servant. Then another.
Lady Cassandra looked up and saw what I was doing. Her perfect eyebrows raised.
"How... creative," she said, her voice dripping with fake sweetness. "Are we entertaining children now?"
Other nobles looked at my plate. Someone snickered.
My face burned hot, but I kept going. Added orange slices for ears.
"Perhaps the Companion of Joy thinks His Highness is five years old," Lord Darian said, chuckling. Others joined in.
The prince still hadn't looked up from his plate.
I finished my creation and cleared my throat.
"Your Highness?" My voice came out smaller than I wanted. "I made something for you."
Finally, he looked up.
His silver eyes met mine.
Then dropped to the fruit face on my plate.
For three seconds, nobody breathed.
The prince's expression didn't change. Not even a flicker.
"Remove this childishness," he said coldly, and stood up. "I've lost my appetite."
He walked out.
The room erupted in whispers.
Lady Cassandra's laugh cut through them all. "Did you really think fruit would fix him? How pathetic." She stood gracefully, touching my shoulder as she passed. "Perhaps they should send you back to your village before you embarrass yourself further."
Other nobles filed out, whispering, laughing, shaking their heads.
Soon only the servants remained, clearing plates and avoiding my eyes.
I sat there, staring at my stupid fruit face, feeling tears burn behind my eyes.
Of course it didn't work. What was I thinking? That a prince cursed by dark magic would laugh at fruit?
I was an idiot.
"Don't cry." A servant girl—young, maybe sixteen—whispered as she took my plate. "At least you tried. That's more than most people do."
"I failed on the first day," I whispered back.
"The first day of ninety," she said. "You have time."
But did I? With the witch coming in two days? With creatures in the walls? With a Shade hunting me?
I left the dining hall and wandered the corridors, trying not to cry, trying to think of what to do next.
That's when I heard voices coming from an open door.
"The girl is useless," Lady Cassandra's voice, sharp and satisfied. "She'll be gone within a week."
"Good." A man's voice—Lord Darian. "The last thing we need is someone actually succeeding. If the prince heals, if he starts thinking clearly again..."
"He'll realize the truth," Cassandra finished. "That we were behind the massacre."
I pressed myself against the wall, barely breathing.
"The curse was supposed to kill him by now," Darian continued. "But he's stronger than we expected. Still, with no one to break it, he'll eventually fade. Then we can—"
"Someone's listening."
Cassandra's voice went deadly quiet.
Footsteps. Fast. Coming toward the door.
I ran.
Behind me, I heard Cassandra shout: "Stop her! She heard everything!"
Guards' boots pounded on stone. Getting closer.
I turned a corner, then another, completely lost in the maze of corridors.
A hand grabbed my arm and yanked me sideways into a dark alcove.
I opened my mouth to scream, but another hand covered it.
"Quiet." The prince's voice in my ear. "Unless you want them to find you."
I froze.
He was pressed against me in the tiny space, his body between me and the corridor. I could feel his heart beating—fast, like mine.
Guards ran past our hiding spot, shouting orders.
We stayed perfectly still.
When the sounds faded, the prince removed his hand from my mouth but didn't step back.
"What did you hear?" he asked quietly.
"Everything." My voice shook. "Lady Cassandra and Lord Darian. They killed your family. They cursed you. They're waiting for you to die."
I felt him tense, every muscle going rigid.
"You can't tell anyone," he said.
"What? But they're murderers! They—"
"They're also the most powerful nobles in the kingdom," he interrupted. "With armies, allies, resources. If I accuse them without proof, they'll start a civil war. Thousands will die."
"So you just let them walk around free? After what they did?"
"No." His voice went dark, dangerous. "I gather evidence. I wait for the right moment. And then I destroy them so completely they can't hurt anyone ever again." He stepped back slightly, and I saw his face in the dim light. "But I need to survive long enough to do it. Which means I need you to break this curse."
"With fruit faces?" I said bitterly. "I'm useless. You said it yourself—"
"I never said you were useless." He looked at me strangely. "I said your method was childish. There's a difference."
"Then what should I do? How do I make you smile when you can't feel anything?"
"I don't know." For the first time, he sounded tired. Lost. "But you need to figure it out. Because now Cassandra knows you're a threat. She'll try to kill you before the witch even gets a chance."
Perfect. Another person trying to murder me.
"How do I stay alive long enough to figure anything out?" I asked desperately.
The prince was quiet for a moment.
Then: "You stay close to me. Where I can protect you."
"But you said—"
"I know what I said." He cut me off. "But things have changed. If they know you heard them, they'll act fast. Your room isn't safe anymore. The walls aren't safe. The only safe place in this palace is wherever I am."
He pulled me out of the alcove and started walking, still gripping my arm.
"Where are we going?"
"My chambers. You'll sleep there from now on."
I stopped walking. "What?"
He turned to look at me. "It's not what you think. My rooms have the strongest protection magic in the palace. Nothing can get through—not witches, not Shades, not Forgotten Ones. You'll have your own room, your own space. But you'll be where I can watch you."
"The court will talk. They'll think—"
"Let them talk." His voice went cold again. "I'd rather have rumors than a dead Companion of Joy. I've already had six. I won't add a seventh to the list."
He started walking again, pulling me along.
We climbed stairs, walked through corridors, until we reached a pair of massive doors carved with silver symbols.
He pressed his hand against them. They swung open.
His chambers were huge—a sitting room, a study, doors leading to other rooms. Everything was neat, organized, empty of personal touches.
"That room is yours," he said, pointing to a door on the left. "Lock it from the inside. Don't open it unless I knock three times and say your name."
"How long do I have to stay here?"
"Until either the curse breaks or you die." He said it like he was discussing the weather. "Whichever comes first."
He turned to his study.
"Your Highness?" I called out.
He paused.
"The fruit face this morning..." I swallowed hard. "Did it make you feel anything? Even for a second?"
For a long moment, he didn't answer.
Then, so quietly I almost didn't hear it:
"Yes."
My heart jumped. "What did you feel?"
He looked back at me, and something flickered in those silver eyes. Something that might have been sadness. Or regret. Or maybe, just maybe, the tiniest hint of amusement.
"I felt annoyed that something so stupid almost made me want to smile."
He closed the study door.
I stood there, stunned.
Almost made him want to smile.
That was something. That was progress.
I went to my new room, closed the door, and for the first time since arriving at the palace, I felt a tiny spark of hope.
Maybe I could do this after all.
But that hope died when I saw what was on my bed.
A black rose. Perfectly preserved. Impossibly dark.
And a note written in blood:
You can run to the prince. You can hide in his rooms. But tomorrow night, when the moon goes dark, I will come for you. And not even he can stop me.
- The Shade