Isaac left with reluctance written all over his face.
“I’ll be quick,” he said, already halfway out the door. “Bandages. Salves. Something that smells less like death.”
Zaeran waved him off without looking at him, one hand braced behind her on the bed, the other clenched tight in the sheets. Her legs dangled over the edge, bare feet skimming the floor, posture rigid with barely contained fury.
The door closed.
The latch clicked.
Silence fell.
I turned the lock.
Zaeran’s head snapped up instantly. “What are you doing.”
I didn’t answer right away. I crossed the room instead, slow, measured, until I stood a few paces from her. Close enough to be heard. Far enough not to be struck.
She narrowed her eyes. “If this is another lecture, save it.”
“It’s not,” I said.
That caught her attention.
I folded my arms. “You deserve to know the truth. Not Odessa’s version. Not Isaac’s guesses.”
Her jaw tightened. “Then speak.”
I inhaled.
And crossed the line.
“Rostamir didn’t agree to the proposal out of devotion,” I said quietly. “He agreed because Odessa promised him protection. Wealth. Political immunity.”
Zaeran stilled.
Not a blink. Not a breath.
I pressed on.
“She offered him security against rival courts. Expanded territory rights. Favor in future disputes. He gains everything by marrying you.”
Her fingers dug into the mattress. “You’re lying.”
“I’m not finished,” I replied.
Her gaze burned into me, violent and warning.
“It was Odessa who sent him after you,” I continued. “Into the woods. Not coincidence. Not fate. A retrieval.”
Zaeran shot to her feet so fast the movement was pure instinct.
“Shut the fuck up-!” she snapped.
Then pain ripped through her.
She gasped sharply, stumbling, a strangled sound tearing out of her as her injured ankle gave way. I moved on reflex, but she caught herself on the bed, collapsing back down with a hiss, breath uneven.
Her hands shook.
She glared at me like she wanted to kill me.
“Say one more word,” she said through clenched teeth, “and I will end you.”
I met her gaze.
“He already has a wife,” I said.
The words landed like a blade to the chest.
Zaeran froze.
“What,” she said flatly.
“A political one,” I clarified smoothly. “Not publicly acknowledged. A binding alliance in the Elysium Veil’s inner courts. Easily set aside on paper, but not without consequences.”
Her expression didn’t change.
That was worse.
“You’re lying,” she repeated, quieter this time.
I shook my head. “Odessa doesn’t care. You’re the Empress’s daughter. Your claim overrides any inconvenient woman.”
Zaeran laughed once
It was hollow. Sharp. Broken.
“So I’m a crown,” she said. “Not a bride.”
I said nothing.
She dragged a hand down her face, then looked at me again—really looked at me.
“And you,” she said softly. “Why are you telling me this?”
There it was.
I stepped closer.
“Because I’ve watched men like him,” I said. “Men who smile and kneel until the leash loosens. Men who take what they’re given and ask for more.”
Her eyes flickered.
“You don’t trust him,” she said.
“No,” I answered. “And neither should you.”
Silence stretched.
Zaeran leaned back, staring at the ceiling, jaw tight, eyes glassy but dry. When she spoke again, her voice was colder than I had ever heard it.
“I will not trust him,” she said. "He doesn't deserve to be. I was a fool."
Her gaze slid back to me.
“And if I find out you lied to me,” she continued, “I will destroy you.”
I inclined my head.
Fair.
Footsteps sounded faintly in the corridor.
Isaac.
I stepped back, expression smoothing into something neutral, composed, loyal.
The door unlocked moments later.
Zaeran didn’t look at me again.
But I felt it.
The shift.
The wall slamming into place.
And as Isaac re-entered with bandages and concern, I realized something with sick certainty—
I had succeeded.
And whatever trust Zaeran once had for me…
I had just killed it with my own hands.
Emerald tendrils swirled around me and took me away to a place far from here. Somewhere I could think.
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