Chapter 2: The Girl Who Should Not Have Spoken
953 Words
Liora Valen learned very quickly that silence, once broken, could never be reclaimed.
By the time she returned to her assigned quarters, the academy already knew her name.
Not officially.
Not in records.
But in whispers.
They followed her through corridors and clung to the edges of conversations, slipping between laughter and polite smiles.
That girl.
The one who spoke.
The one the Crown Prince noticed.
She closed the door behind her and leaned against it, exhaling slowly.
Her reflection stared back from the polished surface of the wardrobe composed, distant, untouched.
Inside, her chest ached.
“You said you wouldn’t interfere,” she murmured to herself.
The girl in the mirror did not answer.
She had known the moment she stepped forward that there would be consequences.
What she had not anticipated was how fast they would arrive.
The following morning, the academy dining hall buzzed with a different energy.
Students gathered in clusters that felt tighter, more deliberate. Conversations paused when she passed, then resumed with subtle shifts in tone.
Liora chose a seat near the window, alone.
She preferred it that way.
Her breakfast remained untouched as she listened.
“…embarrassed a senior officiator in front of everyone…”
“…does she think the law protects her?”
“…bold, or stupid?”
“…His Highness looked at her for a long time.”
That last whisper tightened something low in her stomach.
She did not want to be remembered for that.
She wanted to be forgotten.
A chair scraped softly against the floor across from her.
“May I?”
The voice was calm, polite, warm in a way that felt practiced.
Liora looked up.
The girl standing there wore her uniform with effortless grace, dark hair pulled back neatly, eyes bright with curiosity rather than calculation. She carried herself like someone accustomed to attention but not dependent on it.
This was not Maribel.
Liora recognized her instantly anyway.
Elowen Seris.
The original heroine of Crown of Thorns.
The girl the story had loved.
The girl Kael Arden was meant to destroy and then fall for.
Liora inclined her head slightly. “Of course.”
Elowen smiled and sat.
For a moment, they ate in silence.
Then Elowen spoke. “You’re Liora Valen.”
It was not a question.
“Yes.”
“You were very brave yesterday.”
Liora’s fingers tightened around her cutlery. “I was careless.”
Elowen tilted her head, studying her with open interest. “Most people wouldn’t know the academy statutes well enough to intervene like that.”
“I read,” Liora replied simply.
Elowen laughed softly. “So do I. But I’ve learned that knowing when not to speak is usually safer.”
There it was.
Not accusation.
Not praise.
A gentle warning.
Liora met her gaze. “Sometimes silence costs more.”
Something flickered in Elowen’s eyes—recognition, perhaps. Or curiosity sharpened by uncertainty.
“I suppose we’ll see,” she said lightly. “May I ask why you did it?”
The question was simple.
The answer was not.
Liora looked past her, out the tall windows where the academy grounds stretched wide and immaculate.
For a brief moment, another memory surfaced.
A different room.
A different life.
A voice accusing.
A crowd watching.
Her own silence sealing her fate.
“I’ve seen what happens when no one speaks,” Liora said quietly. “I didn’t want to see it again.”
Elowen watched her carefully now.
Not like a friend.
Not like a rival.
Like someone reevaluating a story they thought they understood.
“I hope,” Elowen said slowly, “that the cost isn’t too high.”
Liora did not respond.
Because she already knew it would be.
The academy made its displeasure known in subtler ways.
Her name appeared lower on lists than it should have. Invitations failed to arrive. Conversations ended just before she reached them.
None of it was over.
All of it was intentional.
Maribel Thorne found her that afternoon, eyes bright with gratitude and fear.
“They delayed the reassignment,” she said in a rush. “They’re reviewing everything. I—I don’t know how to thank you.”
“You don’t,” Liora replied gently. “Just be careful.”
Maribel hesitated. “They’re watching you now.”
“I know.”
She did not add I expected that.
What she had not expected—
Was the summons.
The message arrived just before evening bells.
A simple seal.
Imperial.
Her pulse slowed as she read it.
His Highness requests your presence.
Requests, at the Imperial Academy, were commands.
As Liora made her way through the quiet halls toward the eastern wing, one thought repeated itself with steady clarity:
This is where the story begins to break.
Kael Arden stood by the window when she entered, hands clasped behind his back.
He did not turn immediately.
“Do you know,” he said calmly, “how rare it is for someone to speak in that hall without permission?”
“Yes,” Liora replied. “That’s why I did it only once.”
That earned his attention.
He turned, dark eyes assessing her anew.
“Only once?”
“Yes.”
“Why?”
She met his gaze steadily. “Because next time, I might hesitate. And hesitation is worse.”
Silence stretched between them.
Then
He smiled.
Not warmly.
Not cruelly.
But with interest.
“That,” Kael Arden said softly, “is exactly why you’re dangerous.”
Liora felt it then.
The shift.
The moment the story tightened around her.
And somewhere behind the walls of the academy, unseen but inevitable
Jealousy had just taken its first breath.
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