Not everyone who serves the King trusts me.
Some smiled at my face.
Others didn’t even bother pretending.
“Fire!”
The frightened scream echoed through the palace.
Without thinking, I ran toward the smoke.
“Aria, wait!” Kael called behind me.
I ignored him.
By the time we reached the storage hall, several guards and servants were already carrying buckets of water. Thick black smoke filled the corridor.
“My luggage!” I gasped.
The wooden chest that held everything I owned was already burning.
The few dresses I had.
My childhood blanket.
The small wooden comb my mother had once used.
Everything.
Gone.
A servant poured the last bucket of water onto the flames, but it was too late.
Nothing could be saved.
I stared at the ashes.
For a moment, I couldn’t speak.
Kael stepped be
