The rewritten tales

Chapter 12: She doesn't know

I know what you are.

The words moved across Seraphina's lips.

Slowly.

Deliberately.

My entire body went cold.

For a moment, I couldn't hear anything around me.

Not the birds.

Not the fountain.

Not Mira whispering my name.

Not even Cassian.

All I could see was Seraphina standing behind that window.

Watching me.

Smiling.

She knew.

Or she wanted me to think she knew.

There was a difference.

And if there was one thing I had learned about Seraphina Laurent, it was that she never revealed more than she needed to.

"Aria."

Cassian's voice finally broke through.

I turned toward him.

"What?"

"You stopped listening."

"I'm sorry."

His eyes narrowed.

"What did she say?"

I glanced toward the window.

It was empty.

Seraphina was gone.

My stomach twisted.

"Nothing."

Cassian's expression hardened.

"You were staring at her."

"I thought I saw something."

"What?"

I forced a smile.

"Nothing important."

He didn't believe me.

I could tell.

But instead of pressing me, he took my hand.

"Come inside."

Mira followed.

Adrian walked beside her.

None of us spoke until we reached the sitting room.

The doors closed behind us.

Cassian turned toward me.

"Now tell me."

I looked at Mira.

She gave me a tiny nod.

I took a breath.

"Seraphina mouthed something to me."

"What?"

I hesitated.

"She said, 'I know what you are.'"

Silence.

Adrian's expression changed.

Mira looked pale.

Cassian's eyes became dangerously cold.

"What does that mean?"

"I don't know."

"Aria."

"I genuinely don't know."

He stepped closer.

"Did she threaten you?"

"No."

"Did she say anything else?"

"No."

Cassian's jaw tightened.

Adrian leaned against the table.

"That's not normal."

"No," Mira said quietly. "It isn't."

Cassian looked at me again.

"You're frightened."

I swallowed.

"A little."

His hand came up and cupped my cheek.

"You don't need to be."

I looked into his eyes.

"How can you say that?"

"Because she's not getting near you."

Something inside me cracked.

I had spent so long thinking about how I would make Cassian fall in love with me.

How I'd make him choose me.

How I'd prevent my death.

I hadn't prepared myself for what it would feel like when he actually did.

He wasn't supposed to care this much.

Not this soon.

Not when I still had secrets.

My eyes burned.

Cassian noticed immediately.

"Hey."

His thumb brushed beneath my eye.

"Don't cry."

"I'm not."

"You are."

I laughed shakily.

"You're terrible at comforting people."

"I know."

He pulled me against his chest.

And I let him.

For the first time since arriving in this world, I allowed myself to stop fighting.

His arms tightened around me.

Warm.

Steady.

Safe.

And that was when I realized something terrifying.

I wasn't afraid of dying anymore.

I was afraid of losing him.

---

Later that evening, Mira found me in my room.

She closed the door behind her.

"She's bluffing."

I looked at her.

"You think?"

"I know."

I sat on the edge of the bed.

"How?"

"Because if Seraphina actually knew we're transmigrators, she wouldn't have mouthed it through a window."

I frowned.

"What would she do?"

"Nothing."

I stared at her.

"Exactly."

Mira sat beside me.

"If she truly knew, she'd have proof. She'd confront us privately. She'd use it against us."

I nodded slowly.

"Instead, she wanted me to panic."

"Yes."

I exhaled.

"She's trying to get inside my head."

"And it worked."

"Completely."

Mira smiled.

"Then we know what she's doing."

I looked at her.

"What?"

"She's scared."

I thought about it.

Seraphina had never needed to openly attack us before.

She had always controlled things from the shadows.

But now Cassian was ignoring her.

Adrian was defending Mira.

Both brothers were becoming attached to their wives.

Her influence was disappearing.

So she was escalating.

And the letter—

That was different.

"Do you think the letter was hers?"

Mira shook her head.

"No."

"Why?"

"Because Seraphina wants you afraid of her."

She pointed toward the pillow.

"That letter made you afraid of someone else."

I stared at her.

She was right.

The letter wasn't threatening.

It was confusing.

Whoever wrote it wanted us to question everything.

"Then who sent it?"

Mira shrugged.

"That's the question."

A knock sounded.

We both froze.

"Who is it?"

Cassian.

I opened the door.

He looked at me.

Then Mira.

"I need to speak with Aria."

Mira smiled.

"Of course."

She walked past him.

Then paused.

"Try not to make her forget she's supposed to be mad at you."

Cassian frowned.

"I don't know what that means."

Mira winked at me.

Then disappeared.

I shut the door.

Cassian looked at me.

"Your friend is strange."

"You like her."

"I tolerate her."

"That's basically love from you."

His mouth twitched.

Then his expression became serious.

"I found something."

My stomach tightened.

"What?"

He handed me a folded piece of paper.

I opened it.

There was a list.

Names.

Dates.

Questions.

My eyes moved across the page.

Lady Aria's previous residence.

Lady Mirabelle's family connections.

When did the wives begin behaving differently?

Who has access to their rooms?

Which servants have noticed changes?

I looked up.

"Where did you get this?"

"One of the servants found it hidden in an unused corridor."

"Do you know who wrote it?"

"No."

I folded the paper.

"Could it be Seraphina?"

"Possibly."

"But you don't think so."

He studied me.

"No."

"Why?"

"Because Seraphina is many things."

His eyes hardened.

"But she's not careless."

I smiled faintly.

"That's exactly what Mira said."

"She's right."

He stepped closer.

"Aria."

"Yes?"

"There's something else."

My stomach tightened.

"What?"

"The questions aren't only about you."

I waited.

"They're about Mira too."

I looked at him.

"Why?"

"We don't know."

He took my hands.

"But we're going to find out."

I stared at our joined hands.

Then something occurred to me.

"Cassian."

"Hm?"

"If someone is watching us..."

"Yes?"

"Then maybe they know about the book."

He went still.

I immediately realized what I'd said.

Too late.

His eyes searched mine.

"What book?"

My heart pounded.

"The book?"

"You said the book."

I swallowed.

"I meant..."

I couldn't think.

Cassian waited.

I looked into those gray eyes and realized I couldn't lie convincingly to him anymore.

Not after everything he'd said.

Not after he'd trusted me.

"I'll tell you."

His expression softened.

"Tell me."

I opened my mouth.

And then—

a crash echoed through the hallway.

Cassian immediately turned.

Someone screamed.

He released my hands and rushed toward the door.

I followed.

Mira and Adrian emerged from their rooms at the same time.

"What happened?" Mira asked.

A servant came running toward us.

"Your Grace!"

Cassian caught him by the shoulders.

"What?"

"The west wing."

"What about it?"

"Someone broke into Lady Aria's room."

My blood froze.

"My room?"

The servant nodded.

"We found the door open."

Cassian's face went completely cold.

"Did you see who?"

"No, Your Grace."

Adrian looked at me.

"Stay here."

But I was already walking.

Cassian caught my wrist.

"Aria."

"That's my room."

"I'm coming with you."

We reached the west wing.

My bedroom door was wide open.

The lock had been broken.

Cassian stepped in first.

I followed.

Nothing appeared missing.

My jewelry was untouched.

My clothes were untouched.

The drawers were closed.

Then I noticed my bed.

The pillow had been moved.

My heart stopped.

I rushed toward it.

The letter was gone.

"The letter."

Cassian turned.

"What?"

"The letter I showed you."

His eyes sharpened.

"You kept it here?"

"Under my pillow."

He looked around the room.

"Whoever entered wasn't looking for valuables."

Mira appeared behind us.

"They were looking for the letter."

I nodded.

Adrian's expression darkened.

"Then someone knows about it."

I stared at the empty space beneath my pillow.

Someone had entered my room.

Someone had known exactly where to look.

And suddenly, the words Seraphina had mouthed came rushing back.

I know what you are.

Maybe she didn't know we were transmigrators.

Maybe she was bluffing.

Maybe.

But someone had just broken into my room for a letter that shouldn't even exist.

Cassian stepped in front of me.

His voice was quiet.

"From now on, you're not sleeping alone."

I blinked.

"What?"

"You're staying with me."

My cheeks warmed despite everything.

"Cassian—"

"I'm serious."

"I can protect myself."

"I know."

His eyes softened.

"But let me protect you too."

My heart betrayed me.

Again.

I nodded.

"Okay."

He took my hand.

And just as we turned toward the door, I noticed something lying on the floor.

A small piece of white paper.

I bent down and picked it up.

There was only one sentence.

My blood ran cold.

Because it wasn't written in the same handwriting as the letter.

The story didn't bring you here by accident.

I looked at Mira.

She read it over my shoulder.

Her face went white.

Cassian reached for the paper.

But I couldn't move.

Because for the first time, I wasn't wondering whether someone knew we had entered the story.

I was wondering something much worse.

Why had we been brought here at all?