Chapter 82
Because I didn’t want to see the guilt in her eyes.
Not when my own heart already felt like a battlefield.
AD
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5.10 PM
Chapter Sa
Chapter 83
Two weeks passed. Two full, dragging, frustrating werks
And in that time, I had done nothing but play the perfect little maid
I scrubbed floors, polished staircases, carried trays, stood in corners during meetings I wasn’t allowed to hear, and smiled politely whenever someone looked at me twice. It was exhausting. It was infuriating.
But most of all it was pointless.
Because despite all my efforts, Handen had barely looked at me.
Not after that night in the garden.
He went about his life like nothing had happened. Like he hadn’t almost kissed me. Like he hadn’t said those quiet, soul–stripping things that made my heart ache days later.
Instead, he lived his royal life. His well–orchestrated, structured, unbearably repetitive royal life.
Wake up. Sword training. Meetings with the Council. Midday inspections around the castle. A ball or a diplomatic dinner. More training.
Bed
Every day.
It never changed.
He danced with noblewomen at the events. He spoke with guards and advisors. He gave out commands like a man born to lead, and yet, none of it felt…real. There was a hollowness to him when he wasn’t speaking to soldiers or planning routes. Like he was running from something. Or someone. Or it was preplanned nonsense.
Meanwhile, I kept my head down. I played the part. I learned the layout of the castle, memorized names and routines, and made mental notes of who Harden trusted the most.
And still…nothing.
Nothing to send back to Alaric.
Nothing to justify my presence here,
And yet, every night, I felt it.
That pressure. That weight in the air.
Like someone was watching me.
Sometimes I caught a flicker of movement beneath the crack in my door, A shadow. Gone in an instant. Other times, I swore I heard footsteps behind me when I walked through the halls late at night after my duties.
But when I turned–no one.
I told myself it was just nerves. The paranoia of spying. The fear of being caught.
But today! Today felt different.
I had just finished mopping the back wing of the east corridor. My arms were sore, my dress was damp near the hem, and my fingers were raw from the cleaning solution. I pulled my cloak tighter around my shoulders and began walking back toward the servant’s wing
And that’s when I heard it
Footsteps.
Soft and calculated. Always 10 steps behind me. Following me
Islowed They slowed
I turned a corner sharply Waited.
- Then peeked back.
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Chapter 84
Not slose enough for me to make
out their face, but definitely there. Cloaked, Hooded. Watching
Inarrowed my eyes, heartbeat quickening.
Okay, enough.
1 steppest out from the shadow, my chin lifting as I walked toward them. My pulse roared in my ears, but I didn’t stop.
Treached a few feet from the figure, arms crossed tightly.
Hello, I said, voce steady.
They didn’t respond.
Just stool there like a ghost, draped in a cloak to long for their frame. I couldn’t see their face–not even a flicker of movement.
“I said hello.”
Still nothing
I clenched my jaw. I was tired. Tired of being followed. Tired of secrets and shadows and the feeling of never being in control. This had gone on long enough.
“You’ve been watching me,” I said coldly. “Every night, Every hallway, I see the shadow under my door, and I’m not stupid. Who sent you? Was it Amira! Harden?”
The figure still didn’t move.
I stepped closer 100 a
angry to
be afraid now
now, “Fine. You don’t want to speak? Then I’ll make you
you,”
I grabbed the hem of their clook and yanked it back-
Empty
Just fabric. Weighted carefully. Balanced like someone had built it to stand.
I blinked, stumbling back, the realization settling like cold water in my stomach. A decoy.
A fucking distraction
And I’d taken the b
bait.
Jturned sharply on my heel, fury building with every step as I stormed through the hallways, up the stairs, and straight to the door!
wasn’t supposed to enter
The rebel king’s office.
I didn’t knock. Didn’t pause. I shoved the door open and marched in.
Harden stood near the window, his back turned. He didn’t flinch, didn’t even bother to turn around.
“Bold” he said mildly “You better have a good reason for barging in like that.”
“I do.” I snapped. “You’ve been spying on me.
Slowly
His expurssion was unreadable, ban there was no warmth there. None of the teasing, none of the quiet softness he gave me during our Last night in the garden.
He folded his arms across his chest. “Explant”
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Chapter 83
“I know someone’s been following me,” I said. “Every night. I’ve seen the shadows. And tonight tonight I tried to confront them and they led me away with a fake setup. It was intentional and planned”
He didn’t say anything.
“Tim not stupid,” I went on, chest rising and falling with my anger. “You have eyes everywhere. You’re the king of this land. Nothing happens without your knowledge.
Still, nothing
Just that cold, steady stare.
I swallowed. “You had me watched.”
And then, finally, he spoke,
“I didn’t.
My heart faltered. “What?”
-I didn’t send anyone
to spy on y
on you,” Harden said, voice clipped. “But maybe I should have.”
The slap wasn’t physical–but it may as well have been. My mouth parted slightly. “Excuse me?”
“You’re reckless. Emotional. You disappear at night, sneak around this castle like a ghost, and then come storming into my office like a child throwing a tantrum.”
“You think I’m making this up?”
“I think you’re letting your paranoia get the best of you,” he replied flatly. “And I think you’ve forgotten your place. I could kill you right now, be glad that 1 even allow you roam and sleep in a good bed..
1 flinched at that.
He saw
saw it.
And didn’t care.
His eyes were hard now, sharp enough to cut. “Don’t ever barge in here like this again.”
For a second, I couldn’t move. Couldn’t breathe.
And then I did the only thing I could do.
1 turned and left.
I didn’t look back, even as tears blurred my vision and the weight of everything I had been holding in threatened to crush me.
He didn’t follow.
Of course he didn’t.
He hadn’t meant a single soft word he ever said. The garden. The teasing. The near–kiss. It had all been meaningless. Just a game to him.
By the time I reached the servant’s quarters, I wasn’t even sure if I wanted to scream or crawl into bed and disappear.
But one thing was clear.
Harden wasn’t the only player in this game.
And I wasn’t the same scared little maid who’d first walked into his court.
Not anymore
I blinked away the burn in my eyes and forced a breath through my lungs. The hallway was dim, nearly empty. A servant brushed past me, head down, silent as ever. I didn’t move until the faint sound of their steps disappeared.
Then I turned
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Chapter 83
I didn’t go back to the quarters.
I went the other way.
Upstairs. Toward the guest wing. The one place I was told to avoid unless summoned.
But tonight, I didn’t care.
Knocking lightly on the far door, I waited, nerves twisting, fists clenched.
a crack.
The door opened a
Bright, pale eyes met mine.
“Elena?” the girl whispered.
Texhaled. “Hi. I didn’t know who else to talk to.”
Harden’s sister blinked slowly, then stepped back and opened the door wider.
“You l
look like you want to scream,” she said simply.
“I kind of do.”
“Come in.”
I stepped into her chamber. It smelled of jasmine and some herbal oil I couldn’t name. The walls were lined with books, silks draped the windows, and a soft golden lamp flickered gently. She looked better than the first time I saw her. Still pale, still fragile–looking–but less ghost, more girl.
“I didn’t wake you, did 1?” I asked.
“No. I hardly sleep. I hate the dreams.”
I gave her a tired smile. “I get that.”
She sat on the low cushion near her window and patted the space beside her,
“I don’t usually talk to people,” she said, “but you don’t feel like most people.”
I sat beside her. “You don’t either.”
A small grin tugged her lips. “Lucky us.”
We sat in silence for a while. The quiet wasn’t heavy. Just there. She didn’t pry, and I didn’t know how to explain what had just happened
anyway.
So I asked something else
“Do you ever wish you weren’t born into this?”
She raised an eyebrow, “Into what?”
“All of it Court. Family. Bloodlines. Curses. Expectations.”
She nodded slowly. “Every day.”
“Does it ever stop hurting?” I asked
“No,” she whispered. “But you learn where to place the pain.”
I looked down at my hands. “I don’t know what I’m doing anymore.”
“Yes, you do,” she said. “You’re just scared to do it”
That startled in
She tilted her head, her voice softer. “I can see it. You’re holding everything in. Like if you let go, the whole world will crack open”
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Chapter 51
My throat tightened. “I already did. I just luven’t admitted it yet.”
She smiled gently. “You’re stronger than you
I breathed. Just sat with her and breathed.
And for the first time since arriving here, I didn’t feel entirely alone.
Maybe Harden’s sister could be my in.
A friend. A doorway. Someone who saw more than what others did.
This this could be another way to win.
Get close. Eam trust. Be valuable.
Not as a threat. Not with a dagger.
With something much harder to fake.
Loyalty.
Kindness.
Friendship.
Even if it wasn’t real. Even if it had to be this way,
-Thank you,” I
I murmured.
She looked at me with a knowing gaze. “Don’t thank me yet. Just be careful.”
“Why?”
“Because I think my brother likes you,” she whispered, “and that never ends well for anyone.
My heart skipped a beat. “What?
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