Chapter 6
282 Words
The palace was a masterpiece. Silver archways, marble statues, stained-glass murals stretching two stories high. Water flowed through indoor fountains that sang like crystal. Every servant she passed bowed. Every hallway seemed endless.
This is what he’s built, she thought. What he took from me.
But she didn’t let the awe show.
Instead, she turned to her maid and asked softly, “When do the queen’s lessons begin?”
The maid flinched, as if startled by Ava’s voice, then glanced down.
“At midday, Your highness,” she said. “With the Royal Preceptor. In the sapphire chamber.”
Ava gave a small nod. “Good. Show me the way.”
They moved through the corridors—each one more ornate than the last. The air was laced with rose and myrrh, and somewhere, a harp played softly. Ava’s heels clicked against the polished stone like a metronome, steady and cold.
When they reached the sapphire chamber, the double doors parted with a creak. Inside, light filtered through tall windows of blue glass, casting shifting waves on the floor. Books lined the walls, scrolls stacked neatly beside golden instruments of study. At the center sat a woman in crimson robes—older, stern, with ink-stained fingers and eyes like flint.
“You must be Ava,” she said. Not ‘Your highness.’ Not ‘Queen.’
Just Ava.
The maid bowed and vanished, leaving them alone.
“I am Selene,” the woman said. “I trained kings. You’ll be no exception.”
Ava straightened. “Then I hope you’re not afraid of ghosts.”
Selene’s mouth twitched, almost a smile.
“I buried mine. Let’s see if you can bury yours.”
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