Chapter 10: Silent Witness
Lyria's POV
I paused.
Not because Jacinta's slap still burned faintly on my cheek, or because the warm basin was beginning to strain my wrists — but because I finally saw him.
Corvin.
He was seated casually against the edge of Jacinta's bed, one arm braced behind him, blonde hair slightly tousled as if sleep had only recently released him. His tunic was nowhere in sight. Pale skin stretched over firm muscle, marked by faint red impressions along his chest and collarbone.
Bite marks.
The realization landed quietly — not with shock, but with a strange stillness that settled behind my ribs.
My gaze shifted slowly to Jacinta.
She was watching me now with open, gleeful anticipation.
Her lips curved into a slow, wicked smirk — the kind that meant she had been waiting for this exact moment. Waiting for my eyes to widen. Waiting for my breath to catch. Waiting for discomfort or embarrassment or jealousy to crack through my carefully controlled composure.
Waiting for me to react.
But it seemed that even after all the years of tormenting me and thinking she could break me, Jacinta still didn't know who I was.
I wasn't going to give her the sick entertainment she sought from me.
I lowered my eyes to the floor instead and crossed the room, moving with measured calm toward the marble washstand beside the tall window. The basin rested into its carved hollow with a soft porcelain click as I settled it into place, steady and precise, just as I did every morning.
Steam continued to drift upward in pale curls.
Only then did I straighten.
"I'll call the maids to assist you," I said evenly. "You'll need help dressing."
Jacinta's smile faltered for half a breath.
Her brows knitted together slightly as she turned fully toward me. "Who told you to put the basin down?"
"No one," I replied. "T...that's what I always do each morning."
Her eyes sharpened. "But I never told you to put it down."
"That's because you don't tell me to do so. I always do so," I told her calmly.
"You do not put that down without even greeting the other person in the room," she told me firmly.
My eyes widened in shock then, and I turned to Corvin.
"I'm sorry," I said, lying through my teeth. "I didn't see you there."
Then I turned to Jacinta. "I did not realize you had a man in the room with you. I never would have stepped in and would have given you privacy," I told her.
She huffed a laugh. "Are you pretending not to know who he is? And besides, you saw him just a few minutes ago."
"Sometimes the mask I wear obstructs my vision. I thought he was a sculpture or something," I told her calmly with a nonchalant shrug of my shoulders.
To be honest, I was pretending not to be affected right now. I was feeling minutes from breaking down, but again, I wasn't going to give Jacinta or Corvin that sick satisfaction that they apparently craved.
I felt betrayed by Corvin. He was supposed to be my best friend regardless of rank. He was supposed to be my ride or die.
I controlled my breathing. Thinking about this would make me falter. I couldn't do that. I couldn't show Corvin and Jacinta how seeing the both of them together made me feel.
Jacinta's gaze flickered to Corvin, then to me.
"You do realize that Corvin isn't on your rank or level and that you should greet him appropriately, right?" she asked me with thinly veiled irritation.
I inclined my head slightly and turned toward him. My eyes remained respectfully lowered as I bent into a shallow bow.
"Good morning, Lord Westreach."
Normally, I would greet him in a more enthusiastic way, calling him by his given name, but it seemed we were not on that level anymore... perhaps we were never even there.
Corvin didn't reply to me, though I could feel his stare on me. It was like he was waiting for something else from me, but that wasn't going to come.
"Are you not even a little bit curious as to why he's here?" Jacinta asked me in disbelief.
I already knew why he was in the room. They had spent the night in each other's arms. I was sure of it, especially with the bite marks on his chest as evidence.
"There's no need," I said calmly.
Her lips parted slightly. "Excuse me?"
"He is one of your mate candidates," I continued evenly. "I have no right to question why he's in your chambers. You will need to know whether he is suitable for you eventually. It's only natural that you would… explore compatibility."
The words tasted bland on my tongue.
Jacinta stared at me as though I had spoken in a foreign language.
Slowly, she turned to Corvin.
He lifted one shoulder in a shrug, like he also could not understand what was going on. Well, if they asked me, I could explain it, but I didn't matter to them, so... oh well.
Jacinta looked like she couldn't believe what was happening right now — like everything I was saying and doing did not align with how she thought I'd behave when I finally found out that she had spent the night with Corvin.
It hurt, though. It hurt a lot to see my best friend whom I had confessed to go with my stepsister who hated me. But I felt more betrayed than anything, because I never expected that Corvin of all people would treat me like this.
I shifted slightly and gestured toward the bell. "Shall I ring for the maids now? You'll need to be dressed early if you intend to meet the others this morning."
Jacinta's gaze snapped back to me — sharp, incredulous, almost offended.
She didn't answer immediately.
Instead, she turned to Corvin.
He pushed himself off the bed and stood.
Completely naked.
I noticed — of course I did — but my eyes dropped instantly to the patterned carpet beneath his feet. My pulse spiked traitorously, thudding louder in my ears than I liked, and I forced my breathing into steady control.
I had learned long ago how to still my face.
How to still my body.
How to make my thoughts invisible.
Still, I could feel the weight of his gaze as he moved closer. It brushed across my awareness like heat — curious, searching, confused.
He stopped near Jacinta.
I remained perfectly still.
His fingers slid into her hair, and their mouths met.
Jacinta moaned into the kiss loudly. I was very certain she did it deliberately so it could echo through the chamber and so I could hear it very clearly too.
I didn't make any move or give off the fact that I could hear them clearly.
My gaze remained fixed on the floor.
A moment later, she pushed him away lightly, lips curved in sly amusement. "Go get dressed. We actually have things to do today."
He laughed under his breath. "I'll see you later."
She nodded lazily.
He moved away to gather his clothes, dressing quickly and without embarrassment. As he fastened the last piece, he glanced toward the door and then back at Jacinta.
"Your guards won't say anything?"
She shook her head. "They know better."
He leaned in and pressed a quick kiss to her lips. "Nothing's going to distract me today. I'll be ready early."
She laughed softly. "The only distraction you would've had was my sister — but she knows her place."
Corvin chuckled as he spared me a glance. "That she does. You do teach her quite well how to stay in her place."
Jacinta chuckled as she leaned in for a kiss from Corvin again before he slipped out through the doors.
Immediately after he left, she turned to me with a sigh. "Corvin is so dreamy. It's not a surprise he wants me and not you," she told me with a wide smile.
I nodded. "Shall I ring for the maids now?" I asked her, and that seemed to annoy her more. I should have known that the morning wouldn't be as smooth as I thought it would be.