Aaron
The night air was crisp as I stepped onto the balcony of my chambers in Mallory Palace. The city stretched before me, bathed in the silver glow of the moon, its streets alive with the flickering light of torches. From up here, everything seemed peaceful—calm, even. But I knew better.
Beneath the polished marble floors of this palace, beneath the regal smiles and flowing gowns, lay a battlefield of schemes and hidden daggers. And right now, at the center of it all, was Elena.
I took a slow sip of my wine, my keen eyes scanning the courtyard below. The guards moved about in their usual routine, oblivious to the storm brewing within these walls. My brother, Giovanni, had told me everything—every whispered word Elena had fed him, every attempt she had made to turn him against our moth
