Chapter 12
380 Words
Days pass. Ava plays the queen with cold precision. Smiles when needed. Bows when required. But always watches.
In the palace garden, Ava finds Lady Maris surrounded by courtiers—laughing, pouring tea like she already owned the crown. The moment the crowd thins, Ava steps forward.
“Lady Maris,” Ava says sweetly. “You’re very popular for a guest.”
Maris smiles with teeth. “I simply have friends here. Some of us don’t need thrones to be heard.”
“And some of us don’t need to pretend,” Ava replies, voice velvet-smooth. “The king made his choice.”
Their gazes lock. Nothing kind between them.
“You wear his ring,” Maris says softly, “but I knew the boy before he learned to lie.”
Selene appears just in time, cutting in with a sharp look to Maris.
Later, Selene warns Ava again: “You’re winning hearts, but she’s building alliances. Be careful. Not all battles are fought with swords.”
That night, Ava dreams again.
She sees her childhood self laughing with Kaelen, pinky fingers entwined.
“No matter what happens,” he says in the dream, “I’ll protect you. I swear.”
She wakes with tears in her eyes. Kaelen is asleep again on the velvet chair, arms crossed — keeping watch.
This time, instead of sneaking to the balcony, she sits beside him. Quiet. Wordless. But closer.
Kaelen invites her to a royal banquet but whispers that afterward, he wants to show her something.
After the feast, he leads her to a secret tower — one he used to hide in as a boy. It overlooks the city, silent and golden under the stars.
“I used to come here to feel small,” he says. “When I thought the crown would crush me.”
Ava leans against the railing beside him. “It did.”
He looks at her, surprised.
“You’re not the boy I knew,” she says, barely a whisper. “But part of him… he’s still in there. Isn’t he?”
Kaelen reaches for her hand — slowly, gently.
“He never left you.”
Their fingers intertwine. No kiss yet. Just the weight of unsaid things, unshed tears, and the heat between them.
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