Elena
The flickering candlelight cast long shadows against the walls of my chamber, the golden glow dancing across the polished surfaces. I sat by the vanity, running a comb through my dark hair, deep in thought. Tonight had been… enlightening.
Zoraya was weaker than I remembered, more fragile, yet still frustratingly resilient in her silence. She should have been broken by now. But no—she lingered, surviving against all odds under the Queen’s protection.
And Giovanni… He was beginning to question things, just as I wanted. But something still felt off.
I had sensed it earlier—the weight of unseen eyes, the shift in the air when I spoke to him. I had been so focused on planting seeds of doubt in his mind that I had failed to look over my shoulder.
A mistake I wouldn’t make again.
I p
