The rewritten tales

Chapter 11: Changed Rules

The letter stayed underneath my pillow all night.

I didn't sleep.

Not properly, anyway.

Every time I closed my eyes, I saw those three lines again.

You think you know the story.

You think you know what happens next.

But you forgot that stories can change.

The first two lines were unsettling.

The last one was terrifying.

Because whoever had written that letter knew something they shouldn't.

Mira and I had spent days laughing about the fact that we knew the future.

We'd used it like a weapon.

We knew where Seraphina would be.

We knew what she would say.

We knew which misunderstandings she'd create.

We knew which buttons to push on our husbands.

We knew which scenes to avoid.

But we'd never considered the possibility that someone else might know.

And worse—

someone who knew enough to warn us.

I rolled onto my back and stared at the ceiling.

"Stop thinking."

I said it aloud.

The room remained silent.

"Excellent advice."

I pulled the blanket over my head.

It lasted approximately ten seconds.

Then I threw it off again.

I was going insane.

There was a knock on my door.

I sat up.

"Who is it?"

"Me."

Cassian.

My heart immediately did something stupid.

"Come in."

The door opened.

He stepped inside.

He was wearing a dark shirt with the sleeves rolled to his elbows.

Of course.

Because apparently the man had decided my ability to think clearly was optional.

His eyes immediately found mine.

"You haven't slept."

It wasn't a question.

I looked away.

"I'm fine."

He walked toward me.

"You're lying."

"I'm not."

"Aria."

I sighed.

"I had a lot on my mind."

He stopped beside the bed.

"Seraphina?"

I looked at him.

"No."

That was true.

It wasn't Seraphina.

Not entirely.

His gaze remained on me.

"Then what?"

I hesitated.

The letter was still under my pillow.

I could tell him.

I could hand it over.

But something stopped me.

If he saw it, he'd ask questions.

Questions I couldn't answer.

How do you know what happens?

What story are you talking about?

Why did you say Seraphina would do this?

I wasn't ready to lose the only person who made this strange world feel real.

So I smiled.

"Nothing important."

Cassian's expression hardened.

"You've said that twice."

"Maybe I'm bad at explaining things."

"Maybe you're bad at trusting me."

That hurt.

I looked at him.

"I do trust you."

"Then trust me with whatever is frightening you."

I stared at him.

He sat beside me.

For once, the cold, intimidating Duke Blackthorne wasn't there.

Just Cassian.

My husband.

The man I had originally planned to manipulate into loving me.

The man who was now making me wonder whether I'd accidentally fallen in love first.

"I don't know how to explain it," I whispered.

"Try."

I looked down at my hands.

"I feel like something is coming."

His fingers covered mine.

"Then we'll face it."

"You don't even know what it is."

"I don't need to."

I looked at him.

He squeezed my hand.

"You don't have to face anything alone anymore."

My throat tightened.

That wasn't fair.

He couldn't say things like that when I was trying not to fall in love with him.

I leaned against his shoulder.

For several minutes, neither of us spoke.

Then Cassian kissed the top of my head.

"Sleep."

"I can't."

"Then close your eyes."

"What if I dream?"

"I'll wake you."

I smiled.

"And if you aren't here?"

His arm tightened around me.

"I will be."

I believed him.

That was the problem.

I really believed him.

---

I eventually fell asleep.

And woke up three hours later to shouting.

I sat up so quickly I nearly fell out of bed.

Someone was arguing in the hallway.

I recognized Mira's voice.

"Don't you dare speak to her like that!"

I threw open my door.

Mira stood in the corridor.

Adrian was beside her.

And across from them—

Seraphina.

Her eyes were wet.

Of course they were.

"I wasn't insulting her," Seraphina said softly.

"You called her manipulative!"

"I said I was concerned."

"You implied she was using Adrian!"

Seraphina's lips trembled.

"I would never—"

"Enough."

Adrian's voice cut through them.

Everyone went silent.

His playful expression was gone.

"I don't want to hear another word about my wife."

Seraphina stared at him.

"But Adrian—"

"My wife."

He repeated the words.

Slowly.

Deliberately.

"You don't get to question her intentions."

Seraphina looked hurt.

"You've changed."

Adrian smiled without humor.

"Maybe I finally noticed some things."

Her face went pale.

Mira looked at me.

I looked back.

Something had shifted.

Seraphina had spent years knowing exactly how to control Adrian.

But now he was beginning to recognize the pattern.

And that was dangerous for her.

She looked toward me.

For a second, our eyes met.

There was no sweetness in hers.

Only calculation.

Then she turned and walked away.

Mira watched her disappear.

"Well."

Adrian sighed.

"That went well."

Mira looked at him.

"You defended me."

"Obviously."

"You didn't even ask what happened."

"I trust you."

Mira's expression softened.

Adrian smiled.

"Besides, I'm starting to dislike anyone who makes you angry."

Mira laughed.

"That's possessive."

"I've been told."

She kissed his cheek.

He looked delighted.

I smiled.

Then I noticed Cassian standing behind me.

His expression was thoughtful.

"What's wrong?" I asked.

He looked toward the corridor where Seraphina had disappeared.

"She's losing control."

I nodded.

"And?"

His eyes returned to me.

"People become unpredictable when they realize they're losing."

My stomach tightened.

He was right.

Very right.

---

That afternoon, Mira and I sat in the garden.

Neither of us spoke for several minutes.

Finally, she sighed.

"We have a problem."

"I know."

"She's escalating."

"I know."

"She's already tried to make Cassian doubt you."

"I know."

"And now she's trying the same thing with Adrian."

"I know."

Mira frowned.

"Do you have any other response?"

"No."

She threw a leaf at me.

I laughed.

Then she became serious.

"Do you think the letter was from her?"

I looked at her.

"I don't know."

"She knew you were outside the study."

"She knew what she was doing."

"But does she know about the book?"

"No."

I was certain.

"Then someone else sent it."

Mira shivered.

"I hate that."

"Me too."

"What if someone knows?"

"Knows what?"

"That we're not supposed to be here."

I stared at her.

Neither of us said anything.

Then footsteps approached.

We both turned.

Cassian.

Adrian.

They walked toward us.

Cassian stopped in front of me.

"I need to speak with you."

My heart sank.

"What happened?"

He glanced at Adrian.

Adrian nodded.

Cassian looked back at me.

"Someone has been asking questions about you."

I froze.

"What kind of questions?"

"Where you came from."

My blood turned cold.

"Why?"

"We don't know."

Mira stood.

"Who?"

Cassian's jaw tightened.

"We're investigating."

Adrian's expression was unusually serious.

"They've been asking servants about both of you."

I looked at Mira.

She looked terrified.

Cassian reached for my hand.

His fingers closed around mine.

"You're safe."

I looked at him.

"But someone is looking for us."

"Yes."

"Why?"

"We don't know."

My heart raced.

The letter.

The questions.

Seraphina's sudden escalation.

Everything was happening at once.

I looked toward the estate.

And there, standing behind one of the upper windows—

was Seraphina.

Watching us.

Her expression was unreadable.

Then she slowly smiled.

Not sweetly.

Not innocently.

Knowingly.

I felt Cassian's hand tighten around mine.

"Aria?"

I couldn't look away.

Something was wrong.

Something was very wrong.

Because the woman in that window wasn't looking at me like an enemy anymore.

She was looking at me like she had finally figured something out.

And then—

she mouthed four words.

I know what you are.