The shadows of the forest still clung to Cherry as she returned to her chambers.
Her body dissolved from the clearing into a curl of black smoke, reforming within the silken darkness of her royal bedroom. The moonlight poured faintly through jeweled windows, glinting against the silver embroidery of her bedding.
She crossed the room slowly, her mind a restless storm. Jasmine's survival gnawed at her like a festering wound. A lost child should have ended her. A scandal should have broken her. But somehow, Jasmine endured. And worse, Rose's kindness, the Queen's softness, was still a threat.
If Jasmine came here… if Rose laid eyes on her… everything would unravel.
Cherry paced, long nails trailing along the velvet arm of a chair. She needed to act before her sister's mercy destroyed the careful balance she had built.
