Akhile avoided the library all day. Not because she was following orders, but because she refused to let him think his warnings worked.
Still, the word "files" kept repeating in her head like an itch.
Sharman Files.
Necromancer Files.
Meadowland Files.
She spent the afternoon in her apartment pretending to read company documents Moira had delivered. She underlined sentences she didn't care about. She stared out at the Estate courtyard until it made her head hurt.
By early evening, she couldn't sit still anymore.
She left her wing and walked without a destination, just to move around. Nathaniel was probably watching her every move on the surveillance cameras.
She didn't realise it until she'd ended up near the courtyard pond.
The "fish" flickered in holographic loops beneath the surface.
Norman sat on the pond ledge, deep in thought. He looked like he'd been there a while.
He glanced up when he heard her footsteps.
"Hey," he said.
Akhile stopped. Her posture stiffened automatically.
"Hey."
Norman stood up and brushed his hands on his pants.
"You look like you want to kill someone," he said mildly.
Akhile scoffed. "Only because they deserve it."
Norman's mouth curved. "That's my favourite kind of answer."
She hesitated, then sat down on the opposite side of the pond, leaving him standing on his own.
There was a long silence as they both lingered in deep thought. Things had become awkward, their dynamics had changed, and he had confessed his love for her. At least to her recollection, that's what he said.
Norman spoke first.
"He confronted you about the library, didn't he?" he asked.
Akhile's head snapped slightly. "He told you?"
Norman shook his head. "No. He doesn't tell me things like that."
"How do you know then?"
Norman's smile was faint.
"Because he's been in a bad mood all day, more like anxious."
Akhile rolled her eyes. "Nathaniel is always anxious about something."
Norman looked at her for a long moment.
"Not about something like this," he said quietly.
Akhile's stomach tightened. She didn't respond.
Norman walked to the opposite side of the pond and sat next to her, leaning back slightly, his palms resting flat on the stone behind him.
"Do you want to know the truth?" he asked.
Akhile turned her head slowly. "The truth?"
Norman's smile softened, just for her. "I know you feel like you're being watched," he said quietly. "I can't change that feeling. But maybe… You don't have to face it alone."
Akhile's pulse picked up. This was what she wanted, the truth. But she couldn't look too hungry for it, as if she had indeed been snooping around.
She shrugged lightly. "There are screens everywhere, cameras, and people know stuff about me, and I don't recall telling them about it."
Norman exhaled, gaze drifting up at the maroon sky as if it annoyed him.
"Our father didn't build this town because he loved the concept," he said.
Akhile frowned.
Norman pursed his lips, trying to think of the right words to say. "Because he wanted to have control," he said. "Over everything. Over the land. Over the people. Over his wife and children."
Akhile's fingers tightened around the edge of the stone. She hadn't wanted to interrupt him and derail what he wanted to tell her.
Norman glanced at her.
He hesitated.
Then he said, carefully: "Our inheritance is unique, and it doesn't involve all this money and our estates."
Akhile's throat tightened.
Norman continued, voice still soft.
"You're from the Meadowlands. You know how the elders talk. How they make it sound like duty is a holy thing, that duty is why you were brought to this world."
Akhile didn't answer.
Norman looked down at his hands.
"In our house," he said, "duty is also considered holy. It's… survival. It's our traditions, which have been passed on for centuries. Unfortunately, it's not easy to opt out."
Akhile stared at him.
"Is that what Nathaniel thinks as well?" she asked sharply.
Norman's mouth twitched. "Nathaniel doesn't think like that. He doesn't want you to be frightened by all this information, lest you refuse to marry him as planned."
Akhile blinked. That surprised her.
"He doesn't trust me yet, he told me."
Norman leaned slightly forward, hands on his knees.
"He wants you to acclimate to this way of life first, to get into his inner circle," he said. "Because once you know the whole truth, there's no turning back. It's either you're with it or..."
Akhile's skin prickled. "Or what?"
"Death. It's either you're in, or you die."
"What does that mean?"
Norman didn't answer directly. Instead, he asked her: "Do you know why the blood moon marriage is always held up on the Sacred Peaks?"
Akhile shook her head. "No. I was told it's tradition."
Norman's eyes sharpened.
"It's not just tradition," he said quietly.
Akhile felt her breath shallow.
"Then what is it?"
Norman swallowed, hesitating.
"The Peaks are a barrier. This barrier is protecting the Meadowlands from the outside evil," he said.
Akhile stared, her mind was racing in different directions.
A barrier.
Nathaniel's breakfast warning echoed: You don't know the lines in this house yet.
Norman spoke again, almost in a whisper, like he hated saying it out loud.
"Your kingdom believes in your marriage because it will provide protection," he said. "But you're also marrying into our family, and you will inherit our burden. Your descendants will be burdened by this as well."
Akhile's voice came out thinner than she wanted. "What burden?"
Norman's eyes flickered toward the Peaks in the far distance, barely visible past the estate walls and the industrial haze.
"There are things tied to our bloodline," he said. "Things you can't just… run away from, or choose not to participate."
Akhile's fingers went cold.
"Magic," she whispered, almost mocking herself.
Norman didn't laugh. He looked at her like she'd said something sacred.
"You've felt it before," he said quietly. "Haven't you?"
Akhile stiffened.
The dream.
The land pulsing under her feet.
"I've felt a lot of things since I got here."
Norman watched her for a long moment. Then his voice softened.
"I'm sorry," he said. "I shouldn't be dumping this on you."
Akhile shook her head slowly.
"No," she said. "Keep going."
Norman held her gaze.
"You're not at all like the impression they gave us about you," he said.
Akhile's heart skipped.
"Impression?"
He hesitated, then shrugged lightly, as if covering something too personal.
"My brother prepared for you for years," he said. "The obedient princess. The perfect betrothal, an easy arrangement. His entire existence has led up to this."
Akhile's jaw tightened.
"And now?"
Norman's mouth curved faintly.
"Now he's… distracted. It's like you're not behaving like yourself…like you're a different person completely."
Akhile's stomach flipped.
"And this is no offence to you, Cora. I think you're great. just the way you are."
He said it again, this time it was so flimsy and easier.
Norman's gaze dropped briefly to her hand resting on the stone.
"You're going to fall in love with someone in this house," he said quietly.
Akhile froze. "Excuse me?"
Norman didn't smile.
"I'm not teasing you," he said. "I'm warning you."
Akhile's throat tightened.
"About what?" she asked.
Norman's eyes darkened slightly.
"About forbidden love," he said, voice low. "About choosing the wrong brother."
Akhile stared at him, breath shallow.
"Wrong for whom?"
Norman's gaze held hers, intense but gentle.
"Wrong for the blood moon cycle," he said.
Akhile's temple pulsed faintly, as if the word cycle had touched something inside her.
Norman got up slowly. The conversation was ending, but the tension wasn't.
"You don't have to trust Nathaniel," he said softly. "But don't underestimate why he's scared. Or why doesn't he want you snooping around in the library?"
Akhile's voice came out quiet.
"He's scared? What is he scared of, Norman?"
Norman's mouth twitched.
"It's hard to explain right now," he said. "He just doesn't call it being scared. Fear is subjective to him, it's just a concept. Fear means that he has to be vulnerable. My brother cannot be caught without his control. Just like our father."
He stepped back.
"I should go back inside," he added. "Before he wonders where I am."
Akhile stared at him.
Norman turned, and then paused.
"And Cora?"
She looked up.
"3 am is the perfect time to go snooping in the library.. While the Estate is conserving energy."
Then he walked away.
Akhile remained by the pond, the holographic fish swimming beneath the surface.
She thought about Nathaniel at breakfast, his hand hovering near her temple like he wanted to touch something he wasn't allowed to feel.
Could he notice that she wasn't actually Princess Cora? Or that something with her was amiss? Is that why he mentioned he didn't trust her yet?
She didn't know which brother frightened her more.
And that was the conundrum, really.
Because somewhere beyond the Estate walls, her impending marriage was looming in the distance.
And six months wasn't as far away as it seemed.