The meeting happened way past midnight.
While most of the palace slept under angry storm clouds—armed guards marching every hallway—a single candle flickered in a forgotten room buried deep under the western wing.
Nobody used it anymore. Dust coated everything. Cobwebs stretched over crumbling stone walls. Even the windows had been sealed shut ages ago. Servants never came near. Guards didn’t bother. Which made it just right.
A woman stood alone beside the candle, waiting. Listening. Smiling.
Celeste ran her fingers across the old wooden table as thunder growled overhead. The candlelight caught her reflection—sharp and blurred all at once.
Beautiful. Elegant. Deadly.
You’d never recognize her now as the sweet noblewoman she pretended to be by day. Masks were easier in the sunlight, y
