The conviction in his tone unsettles me.
“Then what are you, exactly?” I press, tilting my head. “And why are you here?”
He doesn’t flinch under my scrutiny. Instead, he moves toward the window, his silhouette striking against the pale glow of the moonlight. His body is coiled with an anxious energy, as though he’s waiting for something.
“Why are you here?” I ask again, crossing the room to pour myself a drink. The amber swirls in the glass as I lift it, my gaze never leaving him.
"Callum doesn’t trust Jason where you’re concerned."
I pause mid-sip, the words settling uncomfortably in my chest.
“Callum has far too much time on his hands if he’s worrying about me,” I reply, keeping my tone light as I set the glass down.
“And you?” I ask, taking a step closer. “What’s your name?”
He turns to face me fully, his eyes narrowing slightly.
“Malachi.”
I study him briefly, the frustration bubbling just beneath the surface.
“Why areyouwatching me, Malachi?”
His silence is maddening, every movement so calculated it feels like a game I don’t know the rules to. He steps toward the center of the room, his gaze briefly darting to the walls before returning to me.
“You ask a lot of questions,” he says, his words carrying a subtle warning.
“And you give a lot of nothing in return,” I snap, taking another step forward. “If CasperorCallum want something from me, they should come face me themselves—not send their shadows to linger in my chambers.”
For the first time, something shifts in Malachi’s expression. It’s fleeting—a glimmer of recognition, a crack in his perfect mask—but it’s enough to make my heart race.
“If Casper wants me to trust him,” I continue, “why send men like you to spy on me?”
Malachi tilts his head slightly, studying me as though weighing whether or not to respond. Finally, he moves toward the door.
“Wait,” I call, my voice softer this time. “Why does it feel like everyone in this castle knows something I don’t?”
He pauses at the door, glancing back over his shoulder.
“You sound just like her.”
Just like who?Before I can demand an explanation, Malachi slips out of the room, leaving me alone in suffocating silence. His cryptic remark hangs in the air, cutting deeper than I’d like to admit.
I move toward the bathing chamber, my steps slow as though each one is weighed down by the chaos churning in my mind. The air in the room feels cooler than usual, carrying the faint, soothing scent of lavender left by the maids. My fingers trail along the smooth edge of the marble tub, the solid surface grounding me for a fleeting moment. They hover briefly before I twist the brass tap, watching as steaming water begins to pour, filling the space with its soft, rhythmic gurgling.
I lower myself onto the edge of the tub, staring at the ripples forming in the water, though tranquility feels impossibly far away. Lies surround me, suffocating and inescapable.
Casper—his name alone makes something inside me clench. Casper, who kissed me like it was the end of the world, only to pull away as though it meant nothing. Casper, whose every touch and every glance is branded into me, even as he lets Vanessa flaunt herself by his side, drinking from her and making sure I see it all. The kiss we shared, the passion I thought was real, feels smaller now, overshadowed by the memory of them together.Was it ever real? Does he even care?
Even my father isn’t above this web of deceit. Clyde, who commands the world like a chessboard, hasn’t summoned me to a single council meeting. He makes decisions about my life without so much as a word, treating me like a pawn he can move as he pleases. And Lord Striden—his trusted ally—is no better. I saw him myself, meeting with guards in secret, his actions screaming betrayal, though I can’t yet piece together why. Whatever he’s planning, it isn’t for my father’s benefit, and I’m caught in the center of it all, blinded by the lies and unable to break free.
Then there’s Jason. His charm, once polished and pristine, cracked the moment he lied about the other woman. But in a world built on secrets and silence, he might be the only one who’s stopped pretending. He may be the only one trying to show me who he really is.
And it’s not just the living who haunt me. My gaze drifts to the shadowed corner of my room as I unclip the diamond earrings and place them carefully upon the floor before me. The ghostly woman who appeared there the other night is seared into my memory. Her translucent figure, the urgency in her voice, speaking words that refuse to leave me:He can’t have it.
Who was she? What was“it”?And why did her presence feel so familiar, yet so foreign? Why did it spark an excruciating need for answers?
My magic stirs uneasily beneath my skin in response. I haven’t told anyone about her—not Jason, not Casper, not even Sera. How could I? Who would believe me? That a ghost had appeared in my room, warning me about some unknown peril? And yet, the sense of foreboding she left behind clings to me, impossible to ignore.
