The king slowly shook his head, a mournful gesture.
‘Then how are they to be stopped?’
A faint smile ghosted across the king’s lips—tired, knowing, and touched by the weight of fate.
‘They are not,’ he said simply.
Love can so easily turn poisonous.
Tabitha Wysteria
After luncheon, Kai took his leave with a clipped nod and strode swiftly through the corridors towards Dawn’s chambers. She had failed to appear at the table, and though he could not say why, a gnawing sense of dread had rooted itself in the pit of his stomach.
He could not forget the way Alina had reacted earlier, the sudden grip she’d placed on Dawn’s arm, the sharp, whispered question about that old melody. It had been more than suspicion—it had been recognition. And later, the words she’d hurled at him, veiled beneath a half-smile:truth.
His pace quickened. By the time he reached the door, he barely paused before slamming it open.
‘Dawn!’ he called, voice echoing off stone and silence. The room stared back at him, still and hollow.
‘She’s not here.’
He spun around sharply, muscles tensing as he saw Alina leaning against the threshold, arms crossed, expression carvedfrom fire and steel.
‘What did you do?’ he demanded, voice low with warning.
‘What didIdo?’ she snapped, pushing off from the doorway with the grace of a desert storm. ‘What didyoudo?’ In a blink, she closed the distance between them, her desert blade drawn, its curved edge gleaming in the golden light. ‘You brought a witch into this palace, Kai! And not just any witch.Her.’
‘Alina, just let me explain—’
‘You will not explain anything to me,’ she cut in, raising her blade until it pointed accusingly at his chest. Her voice trembled. Not with fear, but with betrayal. ‘I trusted you, Kai. From the moment we met, I believed in you. And you’ve shattered that trust like it was nothing.’
‘It’s not that simple.’
‘Is it not?’ she shot back, her eyes wide with disbelief, blazing with fury. ‘The witches murdered my parents. Your sister, Haven. And the witch you now shield with your silence was part of that slaughter!’
‘You’re right,’ he said, lifting his hands in surrender as she advanced. ‘I’ve hated her for it, loathed her for months. But then…’
‘She’s a witch, Kai.’
‘I know.’
Shock crossed Alina’s face before it hardened into suspicion. ‘Don’t you dare tell me you have feelings for her.’
Kai’s jaw tightened like a trap set to spring.
‘She’s a witch!’ she cried, her voice rising. ‘There is no changing that.’
‘She’s different.’
‘Her eyes are purple, Kai! Purple! That’s the mark of what she is. There is no difference.’
‘My sister Mal has purple eyes,’ he replied quietly. ‘Wouldyou call her a monster?’
He stepped closer, the blade in Alina’s grip brushing the fine white silk of his shirt, the edge whispering against flesh where no armour protected him.
Alina turned her face away. ‘Then ask your witch if her hands are clean. If they are not slick with the blood of innocents.’
‘And are yours?’ he asked, voice low, steady. ‘Are mine?’
