The Villain's Life Is Now Mine

The Devil

The breeze rolled over the balcony, carrying the scent of night-blooming flowers. and the distant echoes of music and laughter. For a fleeting moment, Raven let herself close her eyes.

The air was colder here. Quieter. Farther from the prying eyes, the spinning dancers, the wine-laced whispers. Farther from Kael and his questions. Farther from everything that made her feel like a foreigner in her this skin. She leaned against the cool stoned railing and looked out at the royal gardens. The lamps lining the pathway below flickered in soft golden arcs, casting dancing shadows across trimmed hedges and ivy-covered statues. Beyond them was darkness, fields stretching into nothingness.

And just for a second, she wasn't Raven. She was Emily. She pictured her parents' kitchen. The comforting clatter of pans, the scent of instant coffee and warm laundry. Her mother always humming something, her father glued to the news with a soft frown. Her best friend's teasing voice. Her textbooks piled like towers around her room. Midterms. Sleep deprivation. Panic. Laughter. Life.

The ache that bloomed in her chest was sudden and sharp.

It came from nowhere and everywhere all at once. She clutched the edge of the railing and exhaled slowly, grounding herself. That life was gone. That girl was gone. And now she was Raven. A villainess in a world where smiles were weapons and truths were buried in silk. "I didn't ask for this," she whispered to the wind. She turned, wanting to slip away before anyone else came looking for her. But as she moved to step back into the ballroom, she paused.

Someone was watching her.

Her eyes swept the sea of nobles, and landed on him Temir Windsor. The Crown Prince. He stood near the far end of the room, half-shadowed by a column, surrounded by ministers and masked nobility. But his gaze wasn't on them. It was locked on her. Smirking.

Not polite. Not charming. It was the smirk of someone who knew something. Who had power and reveled in the discomfort it brought.

A devilish, crooked twist of lips that made her twin crawl. Raven didn't move. She just stared. His eyes sparkled, like he was amused by her hesitation. And then, that smile said. To the game only we understand. And then, he raised his glass to her in a silent toast. Cheers, that smile said. To the game only we understand.

Her fingers twitched. Everything in her screamed to look away. And she did. She turned sharply, walking back onto the balcony with her spine straight and her chin high. She refused to let him see the chill that crept through her bones. She wouldn't give him the satisfaction.

Behind her, the music swelled once again. But the night had shifted. The wind carried secrets now. And Temir Windsor was still watching.