They were not going home.
The scroll has said one night—but by morning, a royal degree was delivered:
The chosen guest are to remain at the palace for further celebrations and introductions.
That was all. No explanation. No request. Just an elegant command.
Lily had squealed with excitement.
Vivian had gone still.
Vivian moved quietly through the corridor, her boots muffled against the palace rugs. The shadow palace was beautiful, yes—but too beautiful. Perfect in a way of a spider's web
She didn't trust it.
And she didn't trust him.
She hadn't seen the king since the ball, though his gaze still lingered in her memory—sharp, amused, almost hungry.
She pulled her cloak tighter.
In the garden, she found Nathan.
He was alone beneath a silver-leaved tree, staring at a small sculpture in the shape of a wolf. His jaw tight.
"I was wondering when you'd slither out of that room," he said without looking at her.
Vivian raised an eyebrow. "I had to finish counting how many spoons the servants brought me. Seventeen, if you're curious."
Nathan glanced at her then, expression unreadable. "you're not afraid."
"should I be?"
"Most would be." He tilted his head toward the distant towers. "Especially after meeting him."
Vivian's mouth twitched. "You mean the king who stares like he's choosing between.bowing and biting?"
Nathan looked away. "Exactly."
There was something in his voice—a bitterness she hadn't noticed before.
"You've met him before?"
"Once. I didn't like the way he looked at you." His voice dropped. "Like you were already his."
Vivian didn't answer.
Because deep down, a part of her feared Nathan was right.
The king found her in the greenhouse. He didn't announce himself. He never did.
One moment, she was alone. The next, he was beside her—studying an orchid, as if it held the secrets of the world.
"You dress plainly for someone who turns heads so easily."
Vivian didn't flinch. "would you prefer emeralds sewn into my hair?"
He smiled slightly. "I'd prefer you stopped pretending you weren't curious"
She faced him, steady. "curiosity isn't the same as trust."
He leaned in, his voice soft. "Trust comes later. After fear."
"Is this your idea of courtship?" she asked, "Terrify them first?"
His eyes glinted, amused. "Only the worthy ones bite back."
Vivian looked away, unwilling to let him read more.
But her pulse betrayed her.
That night, her dreams twisted.
She stood in a forest of obsidian trees. The moon above was green.
A voice whispered, old and broken: "Daughter of fire, Child of ash—your blood was sealed. Now it calls."
She turned—and saw herself, cloaked in shadow, standing beside the king. Behind them, the palace burned. And above then, wings—dark, skeletal, not human—stretched across the stars.
Vivian jolted awake, breath caught in her throat.
Outside the same stars blinked coldly back.
She had never felt more watched.