As though stung, Alina dropped the wyverian’s arm and took a stumbling step back. She looked up at Kai, eyes wide with something like dread. Was she imagining things? Was her mind beginning to unravel?
Because if not…
Then there was only one person who knew that song.
One girl who had once braided her hair while humming that very melody. One who had stolen Ash’s heart only to crush it beneath lies and betrayal.
A girl who had worn friendship like a mask.
A witch hidden in plain sight.
Adara.
One ought to be wary of phoenixians. They hide behind their masks of civility and intellect, cloaking themselves in the illusion that their only pursuit is knowledge.
But knowledge is a quiet blade.
And power, once grasped, has a habit of corrupting all who wield it.
Tabitha Wysteria
Everyone had agreed to retreat to their chambers to rest and refresh before lunch. Alina had meant to do the same. Yet with her heart pounding like a war drum and her thoughts unravelling into chaos, she found herself slipping silently through the palace’s grand corridors, becoming once more a shadow within its stone veins.
She had traced her way to the wyverian’s quarters—an elegant chamber, expansive and serene, with an enormous bed draped in gauzy fabric and tall curtains that fluttered in the breeze. Just beyond, a small private garden unfurled like a secret, complete with a bathing pool glinting beneath the dappled sunlight.
Alina stood against the wall leading to the garden, her body still as stone, her gaze fixed on the main doors. Her fingers curled tightly around the hilt of her dagger. She waited.
When Dawn finally entered, she moved without caution, beginning to undress with the ease of someone alone. That should have been Alina’s first warning. No true wyverian would step into a room and fail to sense another’s presence. And so, Alina clicked her tongue softly.
Dawn startled, eyes wide. ‘What are you doing in my room?’
Alina tilted her head, voice low and measured. ‘It’s curious, isn’t it? How we forget so much, and yet the smallest of details cling to us like shadows.’ She stepped away from the wall, slow and deliberate, noting the flash of recognition, of fear, as Dawn caught sight of the dagger.
‘Kai isn’t here,’ Dawn said, her tone cautious.
Alina rolled her eyes. ‘This has nothing to do with him.’
‘Doesn’t it?’
‘No,’ Alina replied, her voice turning cold as steel. ‘But I’ll not allow you to break him the way you broke my brother.’
Dawn’s brow creased. ‘I don’t understand.’
‘Oh, stop,’ Alina snapped, raising the dagger between them. ‘You forget, we spent far too long together. I know the truth. I knowyou.’
‘I—’
‘Show me,’ Alina commanded, her voice now a whisper laced with fury. She stepped closer, eyes blazing. ‘Show me your true face, Adara.’
Dawn’s eyes flashed, just for a moment, with the glint of resistance, as if she still contemplated the charade. But then came a weary sigh, soft as a breeze before a storm. Her pale hands shimmered with green light, and in an instant, thewyverian illusion melted away. In its place stood a witch, unmistakable and defiant. Runes curled like living vines across her arms, aglow with faint magic, and those infamous purple eyes gleamed with a familiar fire.
‘How did you know it was me?’ she asked quietly.
Alina’s voice was cold, steady. ‘I’ve never heard anyone sing that song… except you.’
‘I’m here to help.’
‘Don’t insult me with lies.’
