Chapter 3
I clutched his hand with all my strength, eyes bloodshot. “Please… Alaric… I’m begging you..
“Don’t do this. You cannot do this to me.
I couldn’t remember the last time I’d spoken his name aloud.
Alaric lowered his gaze, emotion flickering behind his eyes.
I couldn’t read it–only that he seemed to hesitate. So I continued bowing, my forehead hitting the ground with a crack
Thud. Thud. Thud.
Until the stone beneath me was soaked in crimson–brighter than the roses scattered across the courtyard.
Blood dripped from my nose, spilled from my mouth, and even tears–red as wine–streamed from my eyes.
It wasn’t until that moment that Alaric realized just how much blood I’d lost.
He frowned and asked one of the maids nearby, “Was she made to do heavy work in the courtyard today?”
“Your Majesty, Her Grace the Queen was considerate of Lady Seraphina’s condition. She only asked her to sweep the tallen petals. Every servant in the palace can attest to it.”
Alaric released me immediately, then let out a cold, bitter laugh. “Another one of your cursed fits, is it?”
“Well, you’ve had that little affliction for years. Since it hasn’t killed you yet, learn to live with it!”
I lay there, watching him step over my body without a second glance, disappearing into the royal hall.
A breath escaped my lips–soft, quiet,
I curled into myself, unmoving. Until night fell and chill crept in, those rose petals blanketed me like snow.
Through the lattice window, I saw candlelight flicker. And then her voice–playful, coy, unmistakable.
“Your Majesty, no… I’m still with child…”
“You beast… if you insist, then at least promise you’ll be gentle, won’t you?”
Shadows danced behind the window. And I, silent, watched them entangle through the night.
I remembered our wedding night. No vows. No ceremony. He’d thrown me down on the open plains, beneath the stars, wild and violent.
Back then, I thought it was the way of his people–and I swallowed my shame without complaint..
But during Evelyne’s coronation, I finally understood. He cherished and respected her.
The wind felt like it passed right through my hollow chest.
Dawn was near.
This would be my final day.
Alaric… I’m going to die. And the Ravenshire line you despise will be wiped out completely.
Congratulations.
Suddenly, the great doors of the hall swung open
Alaric stepped out, looking down on me from the top of the stairs.
“This is how you serve the Queen? By shirking your duties?”
www.
Word had already been sent. Alaric was due to handle state affairs, and I was to prepare Her Grace’s bath and garments.
I carried the water in. Evelyne’s cheeks were flushed with color.
When no one else was watching, she looked at me her eyes stripped of all false kindness. Unmasked. Mocking
Our eyes locked. Silently, I mouthed the word: traitor.
She didn’t flinch. Instead, she smirked, gaze slowly drifting over my filthy, bloodied appearance.
“Seraphina, you’re still the same, aren’t you? just a whiff of rose pollen and your skin erupts in those ugly red blotches.”
She had once been my closest companion–daughter of a noble house renowned for its military legacy.. My father had trusted her father more than most. And yet… when the kingdom fell, it was the Hargraves who betrayed us first.
I remembered the first days of my imprisonment in the Forsaken Wing. She had visited me alone and whispered through the bars, “A seer once told me the daughter of House Hargrave is destined to be queen.”
“Pity your father and brother didn’t know their place.”
So that was her reason for treason.
Evelyne now pulled the wolf fang talisman from her sleeve and dangled it before me with smug delight.
“The taste of a thousand hexworms devouring your heart… not pleasant, is it?”
you know why he turned cold
“Perhaps you didn’t know. Ten years ago, it was you who saved Alaric in Duskwither Woods. But do yo toward you ever since?”
“Because he thought it was me who saved him ”
She watched closely, waiting for my pain–my heartbreak.
But I didn’t even blink
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Between us lay blood and vengeance, betrayal and genocide.
What was one life–saving favor in the face of all that?
I let out a cold laugh.
“If I’d known then what I know now… I would’ve let him die in that cursed forest.
Behind me, a low, mirthless chuckle echoed
Iturned–just in time to see Alaric’s hand close around my throat. His gaze
“You hate me that much?”
glacial,
“You think I don’t have the guts to kill you?”
The hand that once caressed every inch of my skin now crushed my windpipe without
I couldn’t speak Couldn’t breathe.
But from the dead stillness in my eyes, Alaric understood.
I dared him. Go aljord–kill me if you can
