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Calista, a young adult with an artistic soul who brings her imagination to life on canvas, never imagined betrayal would come from her closest friend. When she discovers that her best friend is in love with her boyfriend, everything she knew shatters. Banished to the Rogue Lands and picked as a maid in the royal palace, Calista must survive blindfolded, navigating a world full of secrets, lies, and danger.
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“Oh, come on, Cali,” Vivi cooed as she tugged at my sleeve for the fifth time in ten minutes.
Viviana had been my best friend since childhood. Bold, dramatic, and always convinced the world revolved around her latest complaint.
“Let her be, Vivi,” Xavier said, gently pulling her hand off me.
My boyfriend. Calm. Patient.
The complete opposite of her.
“Ugh, Xavier,” she groaned, throwing her hands up. “Tell her we can’t just sit here doing nothing. Or watching her paint rocks. Or stones. Or whatever that thing is.”
“It’s a mountain, Ana.” I stretched the words, teasing, as if explaining something to a toddler learning shapes.
She rolled her eyes so hard I thought they might fall out. “Whatever. It still looks like a pointy rock.”
I smirked, not bothering to argue. Vivi didn’t understand art. She didn’t understand how sketching calmed the chaos in my mind, or how the world looked softer through strokes of charcoal.
Xavier, however, wasn’t paying attention to either of us.
He stood by the window, shoulders relaxed, gaze lifted toward the sky.
“The moon’s bright tonight,” he murmured.
Vivi hopped onto her toes to look through the window too. “Really?” She leaned so close her breath fogged the glass. “Oh! It really is.”
Her excitement filled the room instantly, but I tuned it out and returned to my sketchbook.
A quiet river and A towering mountain with the hint of mist curling around its base.nPatchy moonlight brushing the water.
One of my best pieces.
The lines were clean, the shading balanced. It felt like breathing, effortless and natural. I didn’t need training or fancy inspiration. My hands simply moved on their own.
“Beautiful,” a deep voice whispered behind me.
I flinched so hard my sketchbook nearly flew across the room.
Pressing a hand to my chest, I turned. “Gosh, Xavier! Don’t sneak up on me like that.”
He chuckled softly, the sound warm and familiar.
“Sorry,” he said, leaning slightly over my shoulder to get a better look. “It’s incredible.”
His closeness made the tiny hairs at the back of my neck stand. I swallowed and turned toward him, meaning to say something, anything but froze when I realized how near his face was to mine.
We were inches apart. Close enough to feel each other’s breath.
Close enough for my stomach to flip the way it always did around him.
His eyes dipped briefly to my lips, not in a bold way, just a questioning one.
A quiet moment hung in the air, fragile and confusing, like a thread pulled too tight.
He leaned closer and kissed me for a brief moment as if tasting a meal before devouring it. I pulled him back and kissed him. Hands roaming anywhere it could.
We were so lost in the moment that we didn't see Viviana looking at us.
Vivi’s voice exploded across the room.
“Ughhh! Can you two NOT do… whatever THAT is right in front of me?” she snapped.
Xavier and I both blinked and stepped back quickly, the tension snapping like a twig.
We exchanged embarrassed smiles.
“Yes, ma’am,” we said in unison.
Vivi huffed dramatically and marched over, grabbing Xavier’s wrist like he’d misbehaved.
She tugged him away from me, muttering something under her breath.
He stumbled slightly, surprised. “Vivi—what—?”
She pushed him with a small scowl. “Just stop being so… sticky.”
I bit back a laugh. Vivi was always like this, possessive over both of us in weird ways.
She hated it when Xavier and I got too close, too affectionate, too anything.
I never questioned it.
I just accepted it.
Vivi was Vivi.
But today… something felt off.
Xavier rubbed the back of his neck, looking awkward. “We should head out soon.
His voice was steady, but his cheeks were faintly red from embarrassment.
Vivi’s expression softened immediately toward him.
She rolled her eyes at me one more time, then looped her arm through his like it was the most natural thing in the world.
Jealousy should’ve flared in me.
But it didn’t.
This was normal.
This was how the three of us always were.
Vivi being overprotective, Xavier stuck in the middle, me pretending not to notice how strange their dynamic sometimes felt.
Still… something twisted faintly in my chest as I watched them.
