LilaThe sun filtered through the slats of the carriage window, turning the cobbled road outside into gold-dappled ribbons. An official break from palace walls, a sanctioned “cultural immersion” outing for the Luna candidates.The irony was that most of us spent the ride rehearsing how not to look o
The man reached us in a few long strides, all easy confidence and noble polish. He was handsome, I’d give him that—classic profile, wind-swept dark hair, eyes the color of expensive tea. Polished. Disarming.“Lady Elena,” he said first, bowing with an easy grace that struck a sour chord in my gut. “
LilaSince returning, I’d been walking through the halls like I was made of glass: all shine on the outside, all shatter just beneath.We hadn’t had another trial yet, which only ratcheted up my anxiety around being discovered. I wandered the gardens the first day, then decided I needed some sort of
And when the moment came—when it all broke open—I needed to be ready.The ambassador wing was colder than the rest of the palace, tucked away behind long halls rarely used by anyone but visiting dignitaries and overworked clerks. The light glowed lower here. The silence was denser.If the main palac
LilaThe palace felt colder now. Not in temperature, exactly, but in presence. The air had thinned. People whispered differently. Faces held fewer smiles and more calculation.I felt it as I moved through the halls, like each corridor had been swept clean of any sort of welcome and filled instead wi
DamonThe numbers stared back at me, neat and sharp and final.I tapped the edge of the parchment with the corner of my ring, the metallic clink loud in the otherwise quiet chamber. The candidate standings.An elegant way of saying who was rising, and who the court had begun to forget. And who I was
She was in four separate reports this time. Two from nobles praising her composure, one from the royal scribes noting her popularity spike in the northeastern packs, and one from an anonymous court whisper suggesting she was "already operating as if she’d won."Zane’s reaction didn’t fade. If anythi
LilaI wasn’t supposed to be in the servants’ corridor, not this late, not alone, and definitely not lingering near the warm sliver of light spilling from the kitchen doors.But I’d heard them. A pastry maid and one of the older chefs, speaking in hushed tones over cooling racks and sugar-glazed par
LilaThe candle on my nightstand had burned down to a stub, its flame trembling like it, too, wasn’t sure whether it should keep going.I lay on my side, fully dressed atop the blankets, my hair still damp from rinsing off the bathhouse steam. The air in my room had cooled, but heat still clung to m
I sat on one of the low, cushioned benches by the wall, arms wrapped around my knees, fingers absently tracing the embroidery on my gown. The moisture in the air clung to my skin, kissed my throat and collarbone, but couldn’t soften the burn sitting in my chest.The ranking hadn’t changed everything
LilaIt was like Emma had become a ghost. I searched for her everywhere but after an hour it was clear she wasn’t in any of the usual places, or any unusual ones either.So I settled into the archives to do a little light brooding and maybe learn a little more before the next trial, whatever it woul
LilaThe package was small—no larger than a folded napkin—but it gleamed like treasure in Emma’s hands.We sat in the lounge, the windows cracked to let in the early light. Morning wind carried the scent of fresh lemon blossoms from the courtyard, soft and sharp all at once. My tea sat cooling on th
DamonThe garden party was a performance. And I was its unwilling centerpiece.Music hummed from the far end of the garden—just loud enough to distract, not so loud it could mask the real conversations happening in whispers behind jeweled fans.I stood beside the advisory circle, a cluster of nobles
LilaThe gardens had never looked more curated.Even the air felt arranged—light, perfumed with blooming roses and honeysuckle, touched with just enough breeze to stir the silk banners strung between marble columns. Golden sunlight filtered through carefully trimmed topiaries and glittered against p
LilaThe trial room smelled like butter and cinnamon—warm, rich, deceptively comforting.Long tables stretched across the marble floor, already dusted with flour. Each station bore a small placard with a candidate’s name and a challenge directive: Create a dessert that reflects your roots.I stared
LilaI knew something had shifted the moment I stepped into the hall.It was in the silence that followed my footsteps. The way the girls at the end of the corridor stopped talking the second I came into view. A glance. A smirk. One of them leaned into the other’s ear like they couldn’t help themsel
By the time I returned to my room, dawn had fully broken. The palace buzzed with early activity, none of it touching me.I curled up on the edge of my narrow bed, the scent of caramel still clinging to my fingertips.After a short nap, I took the long way to the council wing. I told myself it was to