Serenity’s POV
The words hang in the air, suspended between us like a fragile crystal about to shatter: perform together.
My chest tightens instinctively, a rhythm I can’t control, like a drum echoing a warning from some instinct deep within me. Every fiber of me recoils and, at the same time, leans forward, drawn into the gravity of the offer.
Celestine’s smile glimmers in the dim light of the grand hall—a perfect, practiced smile, curated to appear generous and unassuming. It’s the kind of smile that would charm a fool, mask the venom beneath, and manipulate the narrative to her favor. My body stiffens at the thought of standing beside her, of being visible, exposed, under the watchful gaze of the Dravenharts, the Veyras, and Kaelen himself.
Yet, despite every instinct screaming cau
