I slumped onto my bed.
Perfect. Just according to plan.
Elijah was secured. The Duke was interested. Landon was distracted.
And Claude… Claude was unpredictable.
Damn it. Why is Landon friends with everyone?
A knock sounded at the door.
Claude.
Of course.
"I heard the Duke took a liking to you," he said as he stepped inside without waiting.
"I suppose," I replied flatly.
He closed the door behind him. "Too bad you're mine."
"Only for four months."
He stilled.
The shift was immediate.
I watched confusion flicker across his face as he crossed the room and sat at the edge of my bed.
"What do you mean?"
"Did you forget?" I said coolly. "Four months. That was the contract. Then we divorce. The world continues spinning."
Silence stretched.
"Oh… right."
"That's the only reason I married you," I added bluntly. "It certainly wasn't for your face."
A lie.
A ridiculous one.
He was devastatingly beautiful.
But he didn't need to know that.
His jaw tightened briefly before softening. He reached up and brushed his thumb lightly against my cheek.
"It's healed," he murmured. "What happened that night? Why did you come home crying?"
So he is direct.
"None of your concern."
I turned away and pulled the blanket over myself. "I'm tired."
Instead of leaving.
He lay down beside me.
Patting my back.
Humming.
What is wrong with this man?
He leaned close, voice low near my ear.
"If you ever need to talk… I'm here."
Too late, I told myself. I'm almost done tracking down Eliana. After that, I'm done with him.
"You should go to your room."
"I'll be leaving soon," he said quietly. "Battle season. I'll be in the southern wing. We won't see each other much."
A pause.
"Do you want to move your room closer to mine?"
"No."
Immediate.
He didn't argue.
"As you wish, Princess."
The humming continued. Slow. Steady.
And despite myself.
I fell asleep.
I jolted upright suddenly.
Claude blinked up at me, disoriented.
"…What now?"
"I want to meet the best musician in the land."
His hand stilled.
The softness in his amber eyes vanished instantly.
"The musician?" he repeated slowly.
"Yes. I heard he'll be visiting the Emperor."
"That information is not public" he said sharply.
"I have my ways."
He pushed himself up on one elbow, studying me like an unfinished war map.
"You understand what you're asking?" he said quietly. "He is not simply a musician. He's existed longer than most bloodlines. He stabilizes the royal family. Every word you say will be evaluated."
"I know."
"Then why?"
"Because he's powerful," I said simply. "And I need powerful people."
His eyes sharpened.
"You're building something."
"Maybe."
He held my gaze.
"And maybe," I continued carefully, "he'll confirm that my ability is real."
Silence.
"Maybe then," I added, softer now, "you'll believe me completely."
"Reanna."
His voice shifted.
Gentler.
"I already believe you."
I smiled faintly.
"My name isn't Reanna."
A pause.
"I know."
"Then stop calling me that."
He leaned back against the headboard, ignoring my irritation.
"Would you prefer I call you Chaos instead?"
"No. I would prefer my name, Rihanna"
A quiet exhale escaped him.
Granting me access to the musician was no small thing. It meant trust. Or risk.
Finally, he looked back at me.
"You're unbelievable."
"Is that a no?"
"That's a yes."
I stilled.
"Thank you."
"I'll arrange it," he said. "But once you stand before him, you are no longer playing court politics. You will be seen."
Good.
"That's fine. I'm sure with his dark magic… he'll know I'm not pretending."
Something unreadable flickered in his eyes.
"Sleep," he murmured, guiding me gently back down.
"You should leave."
"I'll stay until you fall asleep."
"I'm in the castle. Nothing is dangerous here."
His gaze sharpened slightly.
"Is there somewhere that is?"
"…Ignore me."
He watched me carefully.
"I wish you would stop carrying everything alone," he said quietly.
But I was already drifting.
The last thing I heard
"I'm on your side, Rihanna. Whether you believe it or not."
Darkness pulled me deeper
Claude remained still long after her breathing.
Slow.
Steady.
Asleep.
Only then did his expression shift.
The faint mark along her cheek had faded.
But he remembered it clearly.
The night she returned past midnight.
Eyes swollen.
Voice composed too composed.
"Who did that to you…" he murmured under his breath.
No answer.
His gaze lowered slightly.
The eastern flower fields.
That's where she went when she wanted no witnesses.
And yet she always returned from there changed.
Quiet.
Calculated.
Sometimes with tears she pretended weren't there.
"You don't fall apart without reason," he said softly.
His thoughts moved carefully now.
The visiting royals from the Middle East.
The Prince was observant, diplomatic but not reckless.
Princess Samirah…
No. Samirah genuinely liked her. He had seen it in their shared laughter, their easy conversation. There was no malice there.
Elijah, the Duke.
Cold. Dangerous. Calculating. Strategic.
But reckless? Never. And certainly not in a way that would leave visible traces.
Which left…
Landon?
It could be a possibility. Their families were close.
Claude's jaw tightened almost imperceptibly.
Landon had proximity. Influence. A habit of being near when tension rose.
Even so, something about it didn't fully settle his instincts..
Then there was… Aisha.
His childhood best friend.
Trusted. Constant. Still close to her.
A subtle flicker of doubt appeared.
Aisha had access without question. She was welcomed in private spaces.
But… she had seemed perfectly cordial. Warm, even.
And yet… Claude exhaled slowly.
No.
If she wanted to hurt her, he reasoned, she would have done so openly. She always had. For now, he dismissed it. But he would watch. Always.
All of them.
His gaze returned to her sleeping figure.
In court, he always used her formal name. Proper. Professional. Wrapped in authority.
But here, alone, watching, aware of her vulnerability…
"Reanna…"
The nickname left him softer than he intended.
She didn't stir. She didn't know.
Tonight, while she slept, Claude had begun rearranging the board.
And when he moved pieces, he did so quietly. Deliberately. Never without reason.
"If someone thinks they can break you," he murmured under his breath,
"They've forgotten who you're standing beside."
The night stretched on, silent except for her even breathing.
Claude remained awake. Thinking. Calculating.
Every tear she had shed, every mark left on her, every subtle change he had noticed he cataloged it.
Aisha? Dismissed… for now.
The royals? Impossible.
Elijah? Controlled.
And yet…
Something lingered at the edge of his mind.
A pattern he couldn't yet name.
But Claude never ignored patterns.
And he never underestimated danger.
Tonight, he had begun to pay attention.