The Grand Equinox Ball was tradition.
Gold leaf on the pillars. Crystals swinging from chandeliers like captured stars. Nobles dressed in illusion—lace, feathers, power stitched into brocade.
It was the night when the court forgot politics and remembered vanity.
And I? I remembered everything else.
I stood at the top of the marble staircase, draped in moon-silver silk that hugged my waist like a secret. A single sapphire ring gleamed on my finger.
Not for beauty. For memory.
It had been on my hand the day I died.
"Shall I escort you down?" Cladus asked behind me, voice even as ever.
"No," I murmured. "Tonight I want them to see me alone."
He didn't respond. But I felt his presence settle at my back like a shield—silent, immovable.
Let them whisper.
Let them wonder why the duchess no longer came arm-in-arm with her sister.
Let them wonder who her knight really was.
---
At the base of the staircase, they parted for me like silk in water.
I saw Serina first—radiant in rose gold, face painted with innocence.
Her smile froze the second she saw me.
"Elara," she said sweetly. "I hadn't realized you would attend."
"I find it rude to reject the crown's invitation," I said. "Even if it arrives late."
She blinked.
I turned to greet the Duke of Maren before she could respond.
---
The music swelled.
Strings and harp, laughter like crystal shattering in rhythm.
I was halfway through a harmless waltz with a minor lord when he arrived.
Auren.
Wearing midnight and arrogance like tailored armor.
And still—somehow—more golden than the sun.
He swept into the ballroom like a flame given form.
The music shifted.
And with every step, I could feel the court rearranging around him.
He didn't look at anyone else when he walked toward me.
Only me.
"Lady Elara," he said, bowing over my gloved hand. "May I steal this dance?"
"Would you return it?" I asked, lips barely curved.
"That depends," he said, offering his arm. "Would you give it freely?"
---
I took it.
Because I wanted the eyes.
Because I wanted the silence when we took the floor.
And maybe—because a part of me wanted to remind him what it was he had ruined.
---
We moved together, like memory.
Not lovers. Not strangers.
Something more dangerous.
Auren smiled too easily. Held me too gently.
"You're quiet tonight," he said as we twirled. "Planning something wicked?"
"Always."
"Should I be worried?"
"If you aren't, you're not paying attention."
He laughed softly.
But his gaze searched me. Not flirtation. Not lust.
Recognition.
Fear.
"There's something different in your eyes," he said. "You've stopped looking at me like I'm the sun."
"That's because you're not," I said, letting the music carry my words. "You're just a man. And men burn."
---
The music slowed.
But Auren didn't let go.
"Tell me something, Elara," he whispered. "If you could undo it all… would you?"
"No," I said.
And I meant it.
He didn't ask why.
He didn't need to.
Because he knew now—I wasn't the girl he remembered.
And he... was still becoming the man I never got to see.
---
As the final note fell, I slipped from his arms with a smile.
And walked away.
Not toward Cladus.
Not toward Serina.
But toward the darkened edge of the ballroom—where no one looked.
Where power hid.
Where truths waited.
---
In the shadows, someone placed a folded scroll into my palm.
Unmarked.
Unsealed.
For your eyes only, it read inside.
I looked back once, over my shoulder.
Auren still watched me.
But it was Cladus I felt.
Just out of reach.
Just close enough to catch me, if I fell.