No Way Home
800 Words
Chapter Three
Seraphina stood at the window of her assigned chamber in the eastern wing, arms folded tight across her chest. The room was fit for a queen, but it felt like a coffin. Luxurious, yes if suffocation could wear silk and smell like roses.
The forest beyond the walls was darker here. Wilder. It didn’t hum with life like Crescent Moon territory. It brooded.
A knock pulled her from her thoughts. She turned, expecting a guard. Instead, it was the same quiet maid from earlier the one with pale eyes and a stitched mouth of silence. She walked in with a covered tray.
“You’re back,” Seraphina said coolly. “I was starting to think you’d vanished.”
The maid said nothing, simply placed the tray on the table. Seraphina narrowed her eyes. “You don’t talk much, do you?”
No answer. The girl turned to leave.
“Wait. What’s your name?”
A pause. Then, so faint Seraphina almost missed it: “Elsa.”
Then she was gone. Seraphina sat on the edge of the bed, untouched food beside her, fists clenched in her lap. Elsa’s silence wasn’t unusual. It was trained. Conditioned. Like everything else in this godsdamned place.
She stood suddenly.
No more waiting. No more playing docile.
If she was going to be treated like livestock, she had at least make her voice heard. She stormed through the halls, ignoring the guards who stiffened at her pace. When she reached Kael’s office, she didn’t knock.
She barged in. And immediately regretted it. A girl barely older than Seraphina herself was on her knees behind the desk, her head bobbing between Kael’s spread legs.
Kael didn’t even look up. He was signing papers. Calm. Detached. As if the girl’s mouth was just background noise to him. Seraphina froze, disgust flaring through her like fire.
Kael didn’t say a word to stop the girl. Didn’t flinch. Didn’t apologize. He finally glanced up at Seraphina, bored. “You’re early.”
Her jaw clenched. “Clearly.”
The girl moaned softly but didn’t stop. Neither did Kael.
“I came to speak with you,” Seraphina said coldly. “But it seems you’re… busy.”
He didn’t look away from his documents. “You’re in my territory now, Seraphina. Get used to it.”
The girl made a wet, lewd sound beneath the desk. Seraphina refused to flinch, though her spine was rigid with rage.
“What I came to say won’t take long,” she said, voice clipped. “I want to return home. Just for a day. To collect my things. My parents—”
“No,” Kael interrupted flatly.
“I wasn’t finished.”
“I was.” He signed something with a flourish. “You’re not going back. You think I don’t know what you’re really planning?”
Her nostrils flared. “You assume too much.”
He leaned back slightly in the chair, still not bothering to zip his pants or acknowledge the girl at his feet. “You’re not the first woman who thought she could play me. You won’t be the last.”
“I came here to help forge peace. Not to be used like some—”
“Peace?” He chuckled darkly. “There is no peace here. There’s survival. And you, dear Seraphina, are here to ensure my bloodline continues. Not to make speeches.”
The girl’s head finally lifted, a bit dazed, mouth red and wet. Kael casually placed a hand on her head and shoved her aside without another word. She scurried out, not sparing Seraphina a glance.
Seraphina stared at him, her voice cold as ice. “You disgust me.”
Kael finally stood, eyes gleaming. “You’ll learn to respect me.”
“I would rather die.”
He stepped forward. “Careful. In this place, words like that are an invitation.”
“I don’t need an invitation,” she said, stepping toe-to-toe with him. “One day, you’ll be the one on your knees.”
Kael smirked. “I’ll enjoy breaking that mouth.”
Her hand twitched by her side, and Ember surged inside her growling, ready to snap. Not yet. We need to survive. Then we strike. With a final glare, Seraphina turned and walked out without asking to be dismissed. Back in her chamber, she shut the door and slumped against it.
The fury inside her was no longer just a spark. It was a blaze. Kael had humiliated her, dismissed her, and shown her exactly what she meant to him: nothing.
Fine. Let him believe that. She will play the part. Smile when needed. Nod at orders. But inside, her mind would be sharp. Watching. Calculating.
And when the moment came?
He wouldn’t see it coming.
- Writer
