The dining hall feels smaller this morning with just the royal family present. No courtiers, no political maneuvering - just the intimate family gathering around the ornate table while I kneel in my usual place beside Kael's chair. Servants move quietly around us - maids refilling goblets, footmen clearing plates between courses, the soft rustle of their movements a constant background to our conversation.
"More wine?" Queen Elenora gestures to a waiting maid, who immediately steps forward to refill Kael's goblet. Her dark eyes flick to me briefly, calculating. "You seem... tense this evening."
"I'm fine, Mother." Kael cuts into his meat with perhaps more force than necessary. A footman quietly removes his empty bread plate. "Just anticipating tomorrow's council meeting."
"Ah yes, the grain shipments from the eastern provinces." Prince Damon leans back in his chair, allowing a servant to refill his wine. "Though I hear Lord Blackwood has concerns about the trade routes."
The conversation flows around mundane court business, but there's an undercurrent of tension that makes even the servants move more carefully.
The Queen sets down her goblet with deliberate precision. "Perhaps we should focus on more... immediate concerns."
"Such as?" Kael's tone suggests he already knows what's coming.
"Lady Seraphina's visit, of course. She'll be arriving tomorrow morning." The Queen's words cause a visible stir among the servants - whispered conversations, meaningful looks exchanged.
The temperature in the room drops noticeably. Kael goes perfectly still. Even the servants seem to sense the shift, moving more carefully around the table.
"Tomorrow? I thought her visit was scheduled for another month."
"Plans change." The Queen's smile is sharp as a blade. "She's... eager to see how you've been occupying your time."
"I see." Kael's voice is dangerously quiet. "And what exactly prompted this sudden... eagerness?"
"Perhaps certain parties have concerns about your recent... acquisitions." The Queen's gaze flicks to me meaningfully. The servants around us have all but stopped moving, clearly aware this conversation concerns more than just politics. "Questions about your priorities."
"My priorities are perfectly clear."
"Are they? Because from the outside, it might appear that you've grown... attached to things that shouldn't matter."
The words hit like stones thrown in still water. I keep my breathing steady, my expression neutral, but my pulse hammers against my throat. Around us, the servants have frozen entirely, sensing danger.
"I'm not attached to anything," Kael says, but there's something strained in his voice.
"Good." The Queen's smile is satisfied. " Then you won't mind proving it.
Before anyone can ask what she means, Kael pushes back from the table. His chair scrapes against stone, making several servants jump. "If you'll excuse me, I have correspondence to attend to. Important matters that can't wait."
He strides from the room without another word, leaving me kneeling beside an empty chair. The remaining family members sit in uncomfortable silence for a long moment, while servants hover uncertainly, unsure whether to continue serving or retreat.
"Well," Damon says finally, gesturing for a maid to refill his wine. "That went well."
"Which is exactly the problem." The Queen rises gracefully, causing all the servants to bow. "Lyra, see that she returns to Kael's chambers. I'm sure she has... duties to attend to."
"Actually," Lyra says quickly, standing as well, "I was hoping she might assist me with something first. In my chambers."
The Queen's eyes narrow. "What sort of assistance?"
"I'm having trouble with grandmother's necklace. The clasp is quite intricate."
It's a transparent excuse, but the Queen merely nods. "Very well. But don't keep her long. Kael will expect her back before he retires."
As the Queen sweeps from the room, followed by a procession of bowing servants, Damon catches my eye.
*****
Lyra's chambers are a haven of soft colors and gentle light, so different from the stark elegance of Kael's rooms. She closes the door behind us and immediately turns to face me, her violet eyes bright with worry.
"I'm sorry," she whispers. "I'm so sorry for what's coming."
"What do you mean?"
"Seraphina." The name seems to stick in her throat. "She's not just beautiful and cultured. She's... cruel. In ways that would make Kael look merciful."
A chill runs down my spine. "Why are you telling me this?"
"Because you need to know what you're facing." Lyra moves to her window, gazing out at the courtyard below. "She doesn't just eliminate threats to her position. She destroys them. Completely."
"I'm hardly a threat. I'm just-"
"You're everything she's not." Lyra turns back to me, her expression fierce. "You're real. Genuine. You make him feel things he's never felt before."
Before I can respond, the sound of horses and carriage wheels echoes from the courtyard below. Lyra's face goes white.
"She's early," she breathes.
We both got to the window. Below, an elaborate carriage painted in deep emerald and gold has rolled to a stop. Liverymen in matching uniforms scramble to attend it, and as we watch, the door opens.
The woman who emerges takes my breath away. Lady Seraphina Volturi is beautiful in a way that seems almost otherworldly - raven-black hair, porcelain skin, draped in silk that catches the torchlight like captured starlight. She moves with the fluid grace of a predator, her dark eyes surveying the castle like she already owns it.
"I have to go," I whisper. "If Kael finds out I'm not in his chambers-"
"Wait." Lyra grabs my arm. "Use the servant's passages. They'll take you back without being seen."
But as I slip from her chambers and hurry down the main corridor, I hear voices ahead. I should take the servants' stairs, but it's too late - I've already rounded the corner.
Lady Seraphina stands in the main hall, still in her traveling cloak, surrounded by servants carrying her luggage. Maids curtsy and scurry around her like frightened mice, and I can see why. Even travel-worn, she's breathtakingly beautiful - and there's something in her smile that makes my skin crawl.
Her dark eyes find me immediately.
"Oh, hello there," she says, her voice like warm honey poured over steel. Sweet. Melodious. Perfectly pleasant. "I don't believe we've had the pleasure."
I freeze. Every servant in the hall stops what they're doing, sensing the shift in atmosphere.
"Yes, my lady?" I keep my voice respectful, hoping she'll dismiss me quickly.
She approaches slowly, her silk skirts rustling against the stone floor like whispered secrets. "I'm Lady Seraphina Volturi." Her smile is radiant, but her eyes remain calculating. "And you are?"
"I... serve in the prince's chambers, my lady."
"How wonderful." Her smile widens, revealing perfect white teeth. "And what exactly do you do in the prince's chambers? You seem rather... young for such an important position."
The maids exchange nervous glances. One of them - Mira - steps forward hesitantly. "My lady, perhaps I could show you to your rooms? The journey must have been exhausting-"
"In just a moment, dear." Seraphina's voice remains perfectly pleasant, but something cold flickers behind her eyes as she dismisses the maid with a graceful wave. "I'm having such a delightful conversation with..." She tilts her head expectantly.
"I clean, my lady. Serve meals. Whatever His Highness requires."
"How very... thorough of you." She circles me slowly, taking in my simple dress, my carefully braided hair, the collar around my throat. When she stops in front of me again, her expression has shifted subtly - the mask of politeness still perfectly in place, but something hungrier underneath. "Tell me, dear - that's quite an exquisite piece of jewelry you're wearing."
Her finger traces the edge of my collar with feather-light precision, and I have to fight every instinct not to flinch away.
"Now," she continues, her voice dropping to a conversational purr that somehow carries to every corner of the hall, "I should mention that I'm to be the next princess of this realm. Which means everything here will belong to me." Her smile never wavers, but her next words carry a razor's edge beneath the silk. "Including him."
She reaches out and cups my chin, her grip deceptively gentle but absolutely inescapable. "Look at me when I'm speaking to you, dear."
I meet her gaze, and watch the mask slip just enough to reveal what lies beneath. Pure predator wrapped in silk and pearls.
"How interesting," she murmurs, her voice still honey-sweet but her eyes like winter frost. "You have more backbone than most servants. But spines can be broken, you know. I've had such practice at it."
"Remove your hand."
The voice cuts through the hall like winter wind. Every servant in sight drops to their knees as if struck by lightning. Seraphina's grip on my chin tightens imperceptibly, but she doesn't turn around.
"Kael," she says, her voice returning to its musical sweetness as she finally releases me and turns with practiced grace. "What a delightful surprise. I arrived early and was just getting acquainted with your... household staff."
"I said remove your hand."
Kael stands at the top of the stairs like an avenging angel carved from marble and shadow. His dark eyes are blazing with something that makes the very air seem to crackle with danger.
"She's merely a servant," Seraphina says, but I catch the subtle calculation in her voice as she takes his measure. "Surely you don't mind if I familiarize myself with-"
"She's mine."
Two words, spoken quietly, without emphasis, but they land like thunderclaps in the suddenly silent hall, echoing off stone walls and settling into the bones of everyone present.