Seraphina's POV
King Caspian's ice-blue eyes burned into mine, and I couldn't breathe.
The entire ballroom had gone silent. Hundreds of nobles and guests stood frozen, staring at the Winter King like he was a dangerous animal that might attack at any moment.
But he wasn't looking at them.
He was looking at me.
My heart hammered so hard I thought everyone could hear it. The horrible servant dress suddenly felt like it was strangling me. My burned hand throbbed where it gripped the doorframe.
Why was he staring at me?
Then Cook Margaret's angry hiss shattered the moment: "Don't just stand there like an idiot! Get the drinks!"
I jumped and stumbled backward, breaking eye contact with the Winter King. My face burned with embarrassment as I grabbed a tray of crystal glasses filled with sparkling wine.
Keep your head down, I told myself. Stay invisible. Survive.
I pressed myself against the wall, trying to disappear into the shadows. The ballroom was packed with nobles wearing expensive gowns and suits covered in ice crystals. Magic sparkled everywhere—frozen flowers bloating in the air, ice sculptures that moved like they were alive, snowflakes that never melted.
I was the only person in the room without magic. The only failure.
I kept my eyes on the floor as I moved along the wall, offering drinks to guests who barely glanced at me. Some took glasses without saying thank you. Others looked at my stained dress and wrinkled their noses like I smelled bad.
I was used to it.
But I could still feel those ice-blue eyes watching me from across the room.
Suddenly, trumpets blasted so loud that I almost dropped my tray.
"Presenting Her Royal Highness, Princess Elise of the Glacial Kingdom!" the announcer shouted.
Everyone turned toward the grand staircase.
And there she was.
My sister Elise descended the stairs like she was floating. Her ice-blue gown sparkled with thousands of diamonds. Her silver-white hair was piled on top of her head in perfect curls. She looked like a goddess made of winter itself.
The crowd gasped and whispered in amazement.
"She's so beautiful!"
"The most powerful ice mage of her generation!"
"Perfect match for the Winter King!"
Elise smiled—the kind of smile that looked sweet but had poison underneath. Her eyes found mine in the crowd, and that smile grew sharper.
She raised her hand, and ice magic exploded from her fingertips.
The magic swirled through the air like a winter storm, forming shapes and patterns that made everyone gasp. Then, right in the center of the ballroom, a massive fountain made entirely of ice burst up from the floor.
But this wasn't a normal fountain. The ice water flowing through it sparkled with magic. Frozen fish swam through the streams. Ice flowers bloomed along the edges. The whole thing glowed with blue light.
The crowd erupted in applause and cheers.
"Magnificent!"
"Extraordinary!"
"She's a true master!"
Elise curtseyed gracefully, soaking in the attention like a flower soaking in sunlight. Then she walked straight toward where Mother sat on her throne at the front of the room.
Queen Isolde stood up, her face glowing with pride. She pulled Elise into a hug—a real hug, full of love and warmth.
My chest ached watching them.
Mother had never hugged me like that. Not once in my entire life.
"My brilliant daughter," Mother said loud enough for everyone to hear. "You make me so proud."
More applause. More cheers.
I pressed harder against the wall, trying to make myself smaller. Invisible.
But then I heard a noble woman near me whisper to her husband: "I heard Queen Isolde has another daughter. Older than this one."
My stomach dropped.
No. Please no.
"Really?" the husband whispered back. "Where is she?"
"I don't know. Maybe she couldn't make it tonight?"
I held my breath, praying they would stop talking.
But the woman raised her voice just loud enough: "Your Majesty! Pardon me, but don't you have another daughter?"
The entire ballroom went silent again.
Mother's proud smile vanished like someone had slapped it off her face. Her eyes turned to ice—the same eyes that had called me worthless when I was five years old.
"Another daughter?" Mother repeated, her voice sharp and cold.
The noble woman nodded nervously. "Yes, I heard you had an older princess—"
"I have only one daughter worth mentioning," Mother interrupted. Her voice cut through the ballroom like a knife. "One daughter who brings honor to this family. One daughter who has power and grace and everything a true princess should have."
She paused, letting her words sink in.
Then she added: "If you've heard rumors about another child, forget them. She doesn't matter."
The court laughed.
They actually laughed.
Like I was a joke. Like my entire existence was something funny.
I stood there with my tray of drinks, frozen in place. Every pair of eyes in the room seemed to find me at once. They looked at my stained dress, my messy hair, my burned hand.
They looked at me like I was garbage.
Elise caught my eye from across the room and smiled. She'd planned this. She'd made sure I was wearing the worst dress so everyone would see exactly what I was—nothing.
Hot tears burned behind my eyes, but I refused to let them fall. I wouldn't give them the satisfaction.
But then a young noble boy pointed at me and said loudly: "Is that her? The defective princess?"
More laughter.
"I heard she was born without magic!"
"What kind of princess has no power?"
"She looks like a servant!"
The voices blurred together, stabbing into me from every direction.
I couldn't take it anymore.
I turned and ran.
The tray slipped from my shaking hands, and crystal glasses crashed to the floor. Wine splattered across my dress and shoes, but I didn't stop. I pushed through the crowd, ignoring the angry shouts behind me.
I had to get out. I had to breathe.
I burst through a side door and stumbled into a dark hallway. My chest heaved as I tried to suck in air. Tears finally spilled down my cheeks, hot and angry.
"Stupid," I whispered to myself. "Why did you think tonight would be different? Why did you hope—"
"That was quite a performance."
I screamed and spun around.
King Caspian stood at the end of the hallway, shadows covering half his face. He must have followed me out of the ballroom.
How did he move so quietly?
"I-I'm sorry, Your Majesty," I stammered, quickly wiping my tears. "I didn't mean to make a scene. Please don't tell the Queen—"
"Your mother is a cruel woman."
The words shocked me into silence.
Caspian walked closer, and with each step, the temperature dropped. Frost spread across the walls. My breath came out in white puffs.
But I wasn't afraid. Not of him, anyway.
"She's the Queen," I said quietly, because I didn't know what else to say.
"That doesn't give her the right to treat you like garbage." Caspian stopped a few feet away, studying me with those intense ice-blue eyes. "You're her daughter."
"I'm the daughter she wishes she never had."
The words came out before I could stop them. I immediately regretted saying them out loud to a stranger—to a king.
But Caspian didn't laugh. He didn't look disgusted.
Instead, something almost like understanding flickered across his cold face.
"I know what it's like," he said softly. "To be treated like a monster because of something you can't control."
I looked up at him, really looked at him. Behind the scary reputation and the dangerous power, I saw something I recognized—loneliness. Pain. The look of someone who'd been hurt too many times.
"Why did you choose to come here tonight?" I asked before I could stop myself.
Caspian's jaw tightened. "Your mother invited me to choose a bride. She thinks I'll pick your sister."
"You should," I said quickly. "Elise is powerful. Beautiful. Everything a queen should be."
"Is that what you think makes a good queen? Power and beauty?"
I didn't know how to answer that.
Caspian took another step closer, and now he was close enough that I could see tiny flecks of silver in his ice-blue eyes.
"When I walked into that ballroom," he said, his voice low and intense, "I felt the curse burning through me like it always does. Every breath hurt. Every heartbeat felt like ice stabbing through my chest."
He paused.
"But then I saw you standing in the doorway. And for the first time in ten years, the pain stopped."
My heart forgot how to beat.
"What?" I whispered.
"I don't know why," Caspian continued. "I don't understand it. But something about you makes the curse quiet."
He reached up slowly, like he was going to touch my face.
But then he stopped, his hand hovering in the air between us. Fear flashed through his eyes.
"I can't touch anyone," he said, his voice cracking slightly. "The curse kills everything I touch. But when I look at you, I feel..."
"Human?" I finished softly.
His eyes widened, like I'd read his mind.
Before either of us could say anything else, footsteps echoed down the hallway.
"Your Majesty!" Commander Frost's urgent voice called out. "The Queen is requesting your presence for the mate selection ceremony!"
Caspian's expression immediately went cold and blank again. The dangerous Winter King mask slipped back into place.
But before he turned away, he leaned close and whispered words that made my entire world tilt:
"What's your name?"
"Seraphina," I breathed.
He said my name once, slowly, like he was tasting it.
Then he walked past me toward the ballroom, leaving me shaking in the dark hallway.
I pressed my hand against the cold wall to steady myself. My mind spun with confusion and questions.
Why would the Winter King care about a powerless princess?
Why did I make his curse stop hurting?
What did he mean by—
Suddenly, Elise's cold voice cut through my thoughts from the shadows behind me: "Stay away from him, sister."
I spun around. Elise stood at the other end of the hallway, her perfect face twisted with rage.
"He's mine," she hissed. "And if you try to steal him from me, I'll make you wish Mother had killed you when you were born."
Ice magic sparked from her fingertips, sharp and threatening.
But before I could respond, before I could breathe, a servant boy came running down the hallway screaming:
"Everyone come quick! King Caspian is making his announcement! He's choosing his bride RIGHT NOW!"
My blood turned to ice.
Elise's angry expression transformed into a triumphant smile. She flipped her hair and walked past me.
"Come watch me become a queen, dear sister," she purred. "I want you to see everything you'll never have."
She disappeared around the corner toward the ballroom.
I stood there alone, my heart pounding so hard it hurt.
Part of me wanted to run away. To hide in my tiny servant's room and pretend none of this was happening.
But something stronger pulled me forward. Some tiny, foolish spark of hope.
I walked back toward the ballroom on shaking legs.
When I reached the doorway, I saw the entire court gathered in a circle. Queen Isolde sat on her throne, practically glowing with pride. Elise stood in the center of the circle, looking confident and beautiful.
And King Caspian stood facing them all, his expression cold and unreadable.
"The Winter King will now announce his chosen bride!" the announcer shouted.
The crowd held its breath.
Elise stepped forward, already reaching for Caspian's hand.
But Caspian's eyes swept across the room, searching. When they found me hiding in the doorway, everything inside me ignited.
He raised his hand and pointed.
Directly at me.
"I choose her."