Chapter 19
1007 Words
Selene’s POV
The palace was alive with laughter, music, and the glitter of gold. Everywhere I turned, there were smiling faces, raised goblets, and congratulations whispered like poison through the air.
It was the grandest celebration the palace had seen in years. They spared no expense: chandeliers dripped with light like jewels, long tables groaned beneath the weight of decadent feasts, and nobles from every corner of the kingdom danced beneath silken banners bearing Kairo’s crest.
At the center of it all, she stood like a queen already crowned.
Liana.
Dressed in shimmering silver and blood-red silk, her hair twisted in perfect waves atop her head, she looked every bit the Luna she had always craved to become. Radiant. Untouchable. Smiling like she had already won.
Because she had.
She had Kairo.
She had the power.
And me?
I was nothing more than the maid refilling wine and cleaning up after their joy.
“You there!” one of Liana's handmaidens snapped her fingers at me. “Hurry up with those drinks. The future Luna’s guests must not be kept waiting.”
I swallowed my pride, bowed my head, and did as I was told. What choice did I have?
Laina made sure of that.
She had instructed the staff this morning with a smile too sweet to be sincere: “Give our dear Selene the most tiring tasks today. After all, a little hard work is good for reminding people of their place.”
Her words echoed in my skull as I weaved between nobles, careful not to spill the golden wine that sloshed in the heavy goblets I carried. My arms ached. My feet burned. But none of it compared to the pain beneath my ribs.
Because tonight, I had to serve drinks while watching the man I loved dance with the woman he was about to make his Luna.
When I passed near them, I heard her laughter — loud, shrill, victorious. She clung to his arm like a trophy she had finally claimed after years of hunger.
“I can’t believe it’s finally happening,” Liana cooed as they circled the marble dance floor, “After all this time, you’re mine.”
Kairo’s smile was polite. Empty. His eyes, when they lifted, seemed far away, fixed on something only he could see.
Me?
No. That was foolish.
He hadn’t looked at me once all night.
Not when I passed near enough for our shadows to touch.
Not when Liana whispered cruel promises loud enough for me to hear.
Not when my hands trembled from exhaustion beneath the weight of his guests’ demands.
He was somewhere else tonight. Somewhere beyond duty and obligation. Somewhere I couldn’t reach him.
I bit down hard on the inside of my cheek to keep the tears from rising.
“You look like you’re about to faint, maid,” Liana’s voice dripped with mock concern as I knelt to refill her goblet. “Are the duties too much for you? Poor thing. Maybe I should relieve you… permanently. Once I’m Luna, of course.”
Her lips curled in a smile sharp enough to cut. “I’m sure you’ve heard by now. The punishment for disobedient servants will be far more… creative under my reign.”
I forced my gaze to the floor. “Yes, my lady.”
“Good girl.” She flicked her fingers dismissively. “Now run along. I tire of looking at you.”
As I walked away, the laughter behind me burned hotter than any whip.
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Kairo’s POV
Dance after dance. Toast after toast. Smile after hollow smile.
I stood beneath the weight of expectation, surrounded by my people, my council, my future bride — and I felt nothing but emptiness gnawing at my bones.
Liana looked stunning tonight. She always did when she tried. Every curl in place, every gem carefully chosen to flatter her. On her arm, I appeared the perfect Alpha. Strong. Respected. Dutiful.
But inside, I was rotting.
She clung to me with possessive pride, her laughter rising above the music like a dagger pointed straight at Selene. I noticed it even when I tried not to. How she watched Selene stumble beneath heavy trays. How she whispered orders designed to humiliate her. How she smiled every time Selene bowed low, another piece of herself breaking beneath Liana’s heel.
And me?
I let it happen.
Because this was what duty demanded. This was how I honored my parents. This was the price I paid for their vengeance.
Still, when Liana pressed closer, her lips brushing my ear as she teased me with promises of our wedding night, I couldn’t stop my eyes from searching the crowd for someone else.
Selene.
I found her across the room, her shoulders tense, her face pale with exhaustion. A tray trembled in her grip as nobles plucked drinks from it without so much as a thank you.
She didn’t look up. Not once.
Not at me. Not at anyone.
As if she’d folded herself small enough to vanish entirely.
My stomach twisted. I forced my attention back to the dance, my steps mechanical, my mind drowning in thoughts I wasn’t allowed to have.
“She looks miserable,” Liana said sweetly. “I wonder why.”
I didn’t answer.
I didn’t have to.
Liana’s satisfaction filled the silence between us. She wanted me to see. She wanted me to hurt. She wanted Selene gone — burned from this palace like an infection.
And tomorrow, when we announce the engagement formally, she’ll get her wish.
Unless…
Unless I stop pretending this isn’t killing me.
But what good would that do? I couldn’t give Selene anything but more pain. I couldn’t undo what had been done. I couldn’t rewrite bloodlines or betray the dead for the living.
All I could do was finish this dance. Smile through the poison. Seal my fate with a kiss.
And try not to look at the woman whose heart I had already broken beyond repair.
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End of Chapter 19
- Writer
