Selene's visit had left a strange feeling in my chest. Her confession, her words, still burned in my mind like embers I couldn't put out.It wasn't love… not yet. But it was a dangerous spark.
Only minutes later, the door opened again.
This time Kaelis Moura, my second betrothed, stepped inside.
The contrast with Selene was stark. Kaelis wasn't dressed modestly: she wore a dark, military-style outfit with leather pauldrons and silver accents, more like a warrior than a noblewoman. Her posture was rigid, her green eyes shining with an untamed fire.
"Nyx Veyra Nocthra." She said my name as though spitting it out.
I tensed instantly. There was no sweetness in her voice, no hint of fascination like in Selene. Only judgment, and a restrained hostility.
"Kaelis," I replied coolly, lifting my chin.
She looked me over, pausing at my mismatched eyes and the sharp horns still glowing faintly with carmine light. Her expression hardened.
"So it's true." She advanced a few steps, her boots echoing against the marble. "The shadows obey you. The entire castle is talking about you as if you've awakened some forbidden power."
"And what do you think?" I asked, not looking away.
"That you're dangerous," she answered bluntly. "And that this engagement… was a mistake."
It felt like a knife to the chest, though it shouldn't. I had always known Kaelis despised me, even before my awakening. To her, I'd been a burden, an obstacle her clan had forced upon her.
But now, seeing the coldness in her eyes, I understood the distance between us wasn't only political — it was personal.
"You could leave, if you hate it so much," I murmured, folding my arms.
Kaelis raised an eyebrow, a bitter smile curving her lips."And give everyone the pleasure of saying I abandoned the clan's abomination? No, Nyx. I'll stay. But not for you."
"Then why?"
"Because if the world fears the creature you've become, someone has to watch you. And I'd rather it be me than someone else."
Her voice was harsh, but behind her words there was something else. Not love, not attraction. A sense of duty… or perhaps pride.
Selene had looked at me with fascination. Kaelis, instead, looked at me like an enemy who had to be contained.
Both were my betrothed. Both tied to me by decisions none of us had chosen.But now, with my hybrid eyes and my shadows pulsing around me, I felt the paths before me branching endlessly.
Love? Hatred? Loyalty? Betrayal?
I didn't know yet.The only thing certain was that neither of them would ever see me as the useless girl I once had been.