The dream came softly. No sound. No warning. Just the silver hush of moonlight slipping over skin.
She was in the palace, but it wasn't the one she knew, the ceilings soared higher, the air shimmered with music too faint to name. Petals fell from nowhere, each one glowing faintly, and the scent of something old and honeyed filled the air.
And he was there.
Prince Riven.
But not the cold shadow of a ruler she knew. This version of him stood in the moonlight, his features soft, expression unreadable. Not cruel. Not distant. Just... watching her.
Keira moved toward him. Or maybe he moved toward her. The dream blurred things. It didn't follow the rules of her waking world. She felt drawn to him, like a thread pulled taut.
His hand touched her cheek. Gentle. Soft
Then his lips met hers.
It wasn't rushed. It wasn't angry or confused. It was deliberate, intimate in a way that made her chest ache. Her body responded like it had been waiting for it, as though it wasn't the first time, as though she had done this before.
And then—
She gasped awake.
Her breath tore through her chest as she shot upright in the bed, soaked in sweat. Her heart was pounding. Her face flushed.
"What just happened?" she whispered.
The dream clung to her like cobwebs. She could still feel the press of his mouth against hers, could still taste the faint trace of wine and frost. It wasn't just vivid. It felt real.
"No. No, no, no," she muttered, dragging a hand over her face. "That didn't happen. That can't happen."
Prince Riven.
The Fae she had tried to kill.
The prince.
She stared at the floor, willing her heart to slow.
"What kind of cursed dreams are these? Gods, what is wrong with me?"
The door creaked.
Sera stood there. Pale. Trembling. Her eyes swollen from tears, her lip trembling. The twinkle that had been in her eyes during their journey was gone.
There was only fear.
"Sera?" Keira whispered.
The other girl stepped forward, and crumpled. She fell to her knees, sobbing so hard her shoulders shook.
Keira was at her side in seconds, wrapping her arms around her.
"I—I thought you were—" she couldn't finish.
"They said five people died," Keira breathed. "Sera, I thought you were gone."
Sera clung to her. Her body was ice-cold.
"I got lucky. They stopped after the next two pairs died. I want to go home," she whimpered. "I want to go home, Keira. I don't want to be here. Please. Please, can't we just run?"
Keira closed her eyes.
"We can't."
"Why not?"
"Because there is no 'out.' There never was."
Sera shook her head, refusing to accept it. But Keira had nothing more to give, no hope, no plan, no escape. Just silence.
Eventually, Sera's breathing slowed. She sat beside Keira on the bed, wiping her eyes. The silence between them wasn't comforting. It was just... hollow.
~
Sera was asleep now, curled like a child against the far corner of the bed, breath shallow from crying. Keira sat on the edge, staring into the dark like it could give her answers. Her hands trembled in her lap, though she had no reason to be cold.
Then, there was a knock.
A sharp knock.
The door creaked open before Keira could rise. A female Fae stood there, tall and bone-thin, dressed in midnight blue. Her hair was wound in braided coils like thorns, her ears long and severe. But it was her eyes that caught Keira. Blue. Unblinking. Ugly with disdain.
"The Prince has summoned you," she said.
Keira froze. The chill that touched her spine was colder than fear.
Not Aeren.
Not Cael.
Riven.
Her heart began to pound, hollow and hard. She barely managed to nod. "Now?"
The Fae turned. "He doesn't like to be kept waiting."
Keira rose with the feeling of something tightening around her ribs. Sera stirred, half-awake, watching her with wide eyes. Keira didn't speak. What could she say?
She followed the servant through the winding halls, down passageways slick with silence. Her footsteps felt too loud, her breath too shallow.
Maybe this was it.
Maybe she had been allowed to live… just long enough to be made an example of.
The doors to the throne room opened soundlessly.
Inside, firelight flickered against high marble walls. Torches burned a pale violet. Shadows curled like serpents across the floor.
And at the center, on the obsidian throne, he sat.
Prince Riven.
Clad in black.
His gaze met hers instantly.
Her body moved without thought, spine bending into a bow so deep her forehead touched the cold floor.
The servant stepped aside and disappeared. The great doors shut behind her with a click that sounded far too final.
Keira stayed kneeling.
For a long moment, Riven said nothing.
Then he spoke. "Look at me."
She raised her head slowly.
His eyes glinted, no longer cold, but sharpened. Like ice that remembered fire. There was no kindness there. No cruelty either. Just a force too old to name.
"Do you know why I summoned you?"
Keira swallowed. "To… pass judgment."
His brow twitched. "Judgment was passed three days ago. You're still breathing."
He stood then, fluid and commanding. His coat swept behind him like a shadow with weight. Every step echoed as he descended toward her.
"Tell me," he said, voice softer now, "do you wish to serve me?"
Keira blinked.
What?
"I—"
"Or do you wish to serve him?"
The air dropped a degree. No name needed.
They both knew who he meant.
Keira's lips parted. Her voice barely rose above a whisper.
"I wish to serve his Lord Aeren."
Something in Riven twisted. It didn't show on his face, only in the slight turn of his mouth, the clench of his jaw, the narrowing of his eyes like wind pulling clouds over the moon.
"So be it," he said.
He stepped closer. She could see the faint lines of magic tracing up his hands. The crown on his head pulsed once, dark and angry.
"You are no longer mine."
The words stung more than she'd expected.
"You will not step foot in my halls. You will not bear my seal. You are released from all service beneath the Throne." He paused. "You will report to the High Ledge from this day forward."
Keira frowned faintly. "What is the High Ledge?"
His smile didn't reach his eyes. "A place where servants of Aeren go when they forget who holds the true power in this court."
He turned from her.
"Go."
The doors opened.
Keira rose shakily, her legs barely obeying. She bowed once more, lower this time, and left without a word.
Behind her, Prince Riven remained still.
But the flame near his throne flickered violently.