SERA'S POV
My hands wouldn't stop shaking.
I slammed the office door shut and leaned against it, gasping for air like I'd been underwater too long. Like drowning. Like dying all over again.
Five years of training. Five years of becoming someone else. Five years of building armor around my heart, layer by layer, until I thought nothing could penetrate it.
And one look from Kael Draven had shattered it like glass.
Get it together, Sera.
But I couldn't. Because the way he'd stared at my scar he'd noticed. Recognized it. And if he noticed that, what else would he see? What else would unravel?
My carefully constructed identity was built on a foundation of lies. One crack and the whole thing would collapse.
I pressed my hand to my chest, feeling my heart hammering against my ribs. Counted breaths. In for four. Hold for four. Out for four. The meditation technique Mira had taught me when the panic attacks got too bad.
A knock made me jump.
It's me, Mira's voice came through, familiar and grounding. Our agreed-upon signal.
I unlocked the door. My best friend slipped inside carrying boxes of files, her dark eyes worried behind her glasses. She was dressed as my assistant conservative suit, hair pulled back, looking nothing like the deadly spy she actually was.
You look like you've seen a ghost, she said, locking the door behind her.
I feel like one. I sank into the chair behind the desk my desk now, at least temporarily. This was a mistake. Coming here. Seeing him I thought I was ready. I wasn't.
Mira set down the boxes and pulled the other chair close to mine. Took my shaking hands in hers.
Breathe. Just breathe.
I obeyed. Focused on her steady presence. Mira had saved my life five years ago. She'd pulled my half-dead body from the water, hidden me from the soldiers searching for remains, nursed me back to health in a peasant's cottage for six months while I learned to walk again. To breathe again. To want revenge more than death.
During those months, when infection had set in and fever had ravaged my body, when I'd begged her to let me die because the pain was too much she'd refused. Held my hand through the worst of it. Told me stories about my mother to keep me fighting.
She was more than my friend. She was my sister. My salvation. My anchor to sanity.
He was staring at you the entire Council meeting, Mira said quietly. Does he recognize you?
Not yet. But he suspects something. I rubbed my face, careful not to smudge the makeup that changed the shape of my features. I showed him the scar. Stupid. So monumentally stupid.
You pulled your sleeve up deliberately?
No, it just... I gestured helplessly. Happened. And he saw. I watched recognition dawn in his eyes.
Mira was quiet for a moment. Then we be more careful.
She pulled files from the boxes and spread them across the desk like battle plans. Like evidence in a murder investigation. Which, I supposed, was exactly what they were.
Three faces stared up at me from the photographs.
Duke Casimir. Silver-haired and distinguished in his official portrait. Sixty-two years old. Never married. No children. His entire life devoted to accumulating power. The mastermind who'd murdered my mother and orchestrated the coup. He controlled the Council, controlled Lyanna, controlled the entire kingdom from the shadows like a puppeteer pulling strings.
Princess Lyanna. My twin sister. Twenty-three years old, same as me, but we'd aged differently. She looked soft still. Untouched by the horrors that had hardened me. Beautiful in her official portrait the kind of beauty that came from never having to fight for survival. She wore Mother's crown in the photo. My crown.
She'd stood by while our mother was killed. She'd taken my throne and called it justice. She'd watched me get executed and then gone to sleep in the palace that night like nothing had happened.
Lord Viktor. Thirty years old. Charming and handsome in that aristocratic way that made people trust him instinctively. Perfectly styled hair, expensive suit, a smile that had fooled me completely. My former fiancé who'd betrayed every secret I'd ever whispered in the dark.
I'd loved him once. Or thought I had. Before Kael. Viktor had been safe, appropriate, approved by everyone. And I'd been young enough to think that mattered.
Phase One, Mira said, pulling me back to the present. Gather evidence. We need proof before you reveal yourself.
I know. I touched Casimir's photo, my finger trembling with rage. Right now, it's just my word against theirs. The word of a dead princess means nothing.
Especially when the dead princess is supposed to be, you know, dead.
Despite everything, I smiled slightly. Mira always knew how to cut through my darkness with dark humor.
She pulled out a tablet showing camera feeds. I've planted bugs in Casimir's office, Lyanna's chambers, and the Council room. Audio and video. We'll catch them eventually.
Eventually isn't fast enough. I stood and paced, restless energy needing an outlet. That anonymous message last night someone knows I'm alive. Someone's watching. Waiting.
Could be a bluff. Could be someone fishing for information
Could be Casimir playing with me, I finished. Testing to see if I'll break. If I'll run.
That was his style. Cat and mouse games. Psychological warfare. He'd done it to my mother too, in those final months before the coup. Anonymous threats. Mysterious messages. Driving her paranoid until she didn't know who to trust.
Mira studied me with the intensity of someone who'd watched me claw my way back from death. Can you really do this? Destroy your own sister?
The question hit like a physical blow.
My mask slipped. Pain flashed across my face before I could stop it. My hands clenched into fists.
She watched our mother die, Mira. My voice came out rough, raw. Didn't lift a finger to help. Didn't scream or fight or try. She just stood there while they murdered the woman who gave birth to us both. Then she stole everything my crown, my life, my future.
I turned away, hiding the tears that threatened. What choice do I have?
You always have a choice.
Not anymore. I stared out the window at the palace gardens. The rose gardens where Mother used to walk every morning. She made her choice five years ago. Chose power over family. Chose Casimir over me. Now I'm making mine.
Mira was quiet for a long moment. Then: I'm not going to tell you what to do. I'm just going to remind you that revenge has a cost. Make sure you're willing to pay it.
I've already paid everything. I turned back to face her. I died in that ravine. Everything since has been borrowed time.
Mira sighed and pulled out her medical kit. Started cleaning my arrow wound from last night oh god, was that only last night? It felt like a lifetime ago.
We need to reassess. Casimir knows Viktor is dead. What does that change?
Everything.
He's eliminating loose ends, I said. Anyone who knows the truth about the coup becomes a liability.
Including Lyanna?
Especially Lyanna. I winced as Mira prodded the wound. She was useful when he needed legitimacy. A princess on the throne made the coup look like a succession rather than murder. But now? She's just another witness who could testify against him.
Mira began stitching with practiced efficiency. She'd learned field medicine during our years in exile. Had patched me up more times than I could count.
Viktor. We need him to flip on Casimir.
But Mira shook her head. Viktor's too scared. He'll never testify against Casimir.
Then we make him more scared of us than of Casimir.
How? The man's a coward. He'll run before he talks.
I smiled grimly. Then we make sure he has nowhere to run.
Kael's phone buzzed before we could plan further.
Wait. Not Kael's phone. My phone.
I grabbed it. Read the message. Went pale.
What? Mira demanded.
I showed her the screen.
Lord Viktor. Found dead in his mansion. Suicide, according to the report.
My stomach dropped like I'd swallowed stones.
Casimir's cleaning house, Kael's voice echoed in my mind from our earlier confrontation.
No. Not Kael's voice. That was earlier. This was now.
I shook my head, trying to clear it.
He's eliminating everyone who knows the truth about the coup, I said. Viktor. And soon
Lyanna. The realization hit me like cold water. She's next. If Casimir thinks she's a liability, he'll kill her too.
Good, Mira said coldly. Your sister betrayed you. Let Casimir deal with her.
No. The word came out harder than I meant it. She's still my sister. And she's a victim too.
Mira stared at me like I'd lost my mind. After everything she did
She was seventeen and manipulated by a monster. I grabbed my phone. I won't let her die because I'm too angry to save her.
Sera
I'm calling her.
I dialed the palace. Asked for the queen's private line. A servant answered.
This is Elena Frost. I need to speak with Her Majesty. It's urgent.
The servant hesitated. The queen isn't taking calls
Tell her it's about her uncle. Tell her she's in danger.
A long pause. I could almost hear the servant debating. Finally: Hold please.
Two minutes of silence. Then: Miss Frost? Lyanna's voice came through, shaking. What's wrong?
Lord Viktor is dead. Your Majesty, you need to listen carefully. Your uncle is eliminating loose ends. You could be next.
Silence on the other end. I heard her breathing change. Heard the fear creeping in.
I don't understand
Yes, you do. I softened my voice. Made it gentle. The way I used to talk to her when we were children and she had nightmares. Deep down, you know what kind of man he is. You've always known.
I heard her breathing change. Heard suppressed tears.
Meet me, I said. Alone. Tomorrow at dawn. The old temple garden. I'll explain everything.
I... I can't. Uncle would
Your Majesty, please. Trust me. I'm trying to save your life.
Another long pause.
How do I know this isn't a trap?
Good question. Smart of her to ask. Lyanna wasn't completely naive then.
Because if I wanted you dead, you'd already be dead. I let that sink in. Dawn. Come alone. Or don't come at all.
I hung up before she could argue.
Mira looked furious. You're really doing this? Trusting her?
I'm giving her a choice. Same choice nobody gave me five years ago.
And if she betrays you again?
Then I'll know for certain she's beyond saving.
Mira's encrypted phone buzzed. She checked it, and her face went white.
What? I asked, already knowing it was bad news.
Our informant in the palace. Her voice shook. Casimir has called an emergency Council meeting. Tomorrow at noon.
He's making his move, I said.
So are we. I looked at both of them wait, just Mira was here. My mind was playing tricks on me, overlaying conversations.
I shook my head to clear it.
Tomorrow. Lyanna at dawn. Council meeting at noon. We end this.
But Mira's phone buzzed again. She showed me the screen.
Breaking news alert.
We stared at it in horror.
The headline scrolled across: Breaking news from the palace. Duke Casimir claims to have evidence that Princess Seraphina Valorian is alive and has infiltrated the palace under false identity. He's calling for her immediate arrest
The screen went black.
Mira whispered, He just declared war.
My phone exploded with notifications. Text messages from numbers I didn't recognize. News alerts. Social media mentions. The entire kingdom's communication network going insane.
The entire kingdom now knew.
The dead princess lived.
And Casimir had just made me public enemy number one.
Everything I'd planned the careful infiltration, the quiet gathering of evidence, the systematic destruction of my enemies all of it was burning down around me.
He'd forced my hand. Made me react instead of act.
And somewhere in the palace, Casimir was probably smiling.