Cassandra's POV
Adrian Ravenshade was waiting in my chambers.
The guards had escorted me to the East Wing—the married nobles' quarters. Your new rooms, my lady, they'd said.
I'd expected to be alone.
Instead, Adrian stood by the window, silhouetted against moonlight.
My heart kicked hard against my ribs.
What are you doing here? I demanded.
He turned. In the dim light, he looked dangerous. Beautiful in a way that made my breath catch.
I hated that I noticed.
We need to talk, he said. Really talk. Without the Queen's spies listening.
Get out.
Cassandra
That's not your right. To use my name. To be in my room. To
In five days, we'll be married. He moved closer. I stood my ground. Like it or not, we're bound together now. And if we don't figure out how to work together, we're both dead.
Dramatic.
Accurate. He stopped an arm's length away. The Queen wants us to destroy each other. That's the whole point of this marriage. She thinks we'll be so busy hating each other, we won't notice what she's really doing.
And what is she really doing?
Eliminating threats. Your father was one. I might be next. You definitely are. His eyes held mine. But if we pretend to hate each other while secretly working together...
We might survive, I finished.
We might find proof.
The idea was insane. Trust Adrian Ravenshade? Work WITH him?
But my father's journal had said the same thing.
Find A.R. Together, you might
How do I know you're not lying? I asked. How do I know this isn't another trap?
You don't. He reached into his coat, pulled out a folded document. But this might help.
I took it carefully. Unfolded it.
Trial evidence. My father's signature on a treasonous letter.
I've studied this for two years, Adrian said quietly. The ink is wrong. The date doesn't match other correspondence. The handwriting is almost perfect, but there's a slight hesitation on certain letters—like someone was copying rather than writing naturally.
My hands shook. It's forged.
I think so. But I can't prove it alone. I need help. Someone who knew your father. Someone who has access to his private documents.
Someone like me.
Yes.
I looked up at him. Really looked.
He gazed back with an intensity that made my skin heat.
Why didn't you say this at the trial? I whispered. Why testify if you had doubts?
I didn't have doubts then. They came after. His voice roughened. After I watched him die. After I saw your face in the crowd. After I couldn't sleep for weeks because—
He stopped. Jaw clenched.
Because what?
Because I kept seeing the way you looked at me. Like I was a monster. He exhaled slowly. Maybe I am. But I'm a monster who wants to fix this.
The raw honesty in his voice did something to my defenses.
Cracked them. Just a little.
If I agree to work with you, I said carefully, this doesn't mean I forgive you.
I don't expect forgiveness.
And it doesn't mean I trust you.
I'll earn it. However long it takes.
We stared at each other. The room felt too small. Too warm.
His eyes dropped to my lips for just a second.
My breath caught.
Then someone knocked sharply on the door.
We both jumped apart.
Visitors, my lady! a servant called.
Adrian moved toward the connecting study door. I'll leave through here. But Cassandra? He paused. Be careful who you trust. The Queen has spies everywhere.
I know.
Do you? His gaze was intent. Even among your friends?
Before I could ask what he meant, he was gone.
I opened the chamber door.
Helena stood there, smiling brightly.
Cassandra! I came as soon as I heard about the engagement!
She hugged me. I went stiff.
Adrian's warning echoed: Be careful who you trust.
I looked at Helena's face. Saw the satisfaction hiding behind sympathy.
And realized my best friend might be my worst enemy.
I'm so sorry about your father, Helena said, pulling back. It must be so horrible for you.
Thank you, I said carefully.
And this marriage— Helena glanced toward the door Adrian had used. To Lord Ravenshade of all people. The man who condemned your father. How awful.
Something in her tone felt wrong.
The Queen commanded it, I said. I had no choice.
Of course not. Helena squeezed my hands. But you're so brave. And Lord Ravenshade—well, he's not as terrible as people say. He's actually quite handsome. And powerful. Some women would consider themselves lucky.
Lucky?
I studied her face more carefully. Her eyes held something I'd never seen there before.
Not sympathy.
Satisfaction. Almost... envy.
You're right, I said slowly. I should count my blessings.
Exactly! Helena brightened. I knew you'd see reason. You were always so smart. She squeezed my hands again. I'll visit again soon. We'll plan everything together, just like when we were girls.
After she left, I stood frozen.
Something was deeply wrong.
A servant girl appeared, carrying fresh linens. She was young, maybe eighteen, with nervous eyes.
My lady, she whispered, glancing at the door. I shouldn't say this, but... that woman who just left?
Lady Helena?
She reports everything to the Queen. The girl's voice dropped even lower. Everything you say, everything you do. The Queen has spies everywhere. Trust nobody.
Before I could respond, she hurried out.
I sank onto the bed, mind reeling.
Helena. My best friend since childhood. A spy.
Who else? Who else in my life was working for the Queen?
That night, unable to sleep, I pulled out my father's journal. I'd barely looked at it since that first terrible entry.
Now I read more carefully.
Most entries were mundane. But certain phrases repeated.
A.R. suspects something.
Must meet with A.R. privately. Can't let Isolde know.
A.R. found discrepancies in the Northern trade agreements. We need to investigate together.
A.R. Adrian Ravenshade.
My father had been working with Adrian. Planning to investigate something together.
Then why had Adrian testified against him?
I flipped through more pages frantically. There—another entry.
Someone is feeding false information to A.R. He believes things that aren't true. Must warn him before it's too late. The Spider is closer than we thought.
The Spider. The mysterious figure my father had mentioned before.
My hands shook as I turned to the last page again.
If you're reading this, I'm dead. Trust no one. The truth is buried deep, but it exists. Find A.R. He suspects something is wrong. Together, you might
The entry ended there.
But now I understood.
My father had trusted Adrian Ravenshade. Had been working with him. And someone—the Spider—had manipulated them both.
Adrian had testified based on lies he believed were true.
Which meant...
A knock shattered the silence. Sharp. Urgent.
I shoved the journal under my pillow and opened the door.
A hooded figure stood there. Before I could scream, she pulled back her hood.
An older woman I didn't recognize. Lady Silvercrest, I served your father. He told me if anything happened to him, I should find you.
My heart pounded. Who are you?
That doesn't matter. But this does. She pressed a small key into my palm. Your father left something hidden. Something he wanted you to have. This key opens a lockbox in the royal library, hidden behind the fourth bookshelf on the east wall. Go there after the wedding. When everyone's distracted.
What's in the box?
The truth. She pulled her hood up again. And Lady Cassandra? Don't trust the Queen. Don't trust the Southern lords. But Lord Ravenshade... She paused. Your father trusted him. Perhaps you should too.
She disappeared before I could ask more questions.
I stared at the key, mind racing.
Evidence. My father had left evidence.
Another knock.
I opened the door again, expecting the old woman.
Instead, a servant handed me a folded note.
I unfolded it with shaking hands.
Adrian's handwriting:
I know you're awake. I can't sleep either. If you want answers about your father's investigation, meet me in the East Library at midnight tomorrow. Come armed if it makes you feel safer. But come. Please. We're running out of time. -A.R.
I clutched the note, pulse racing.
Tomorrow night. Midnight. The East Library.
A trap? Or the beginning of something that might actually save us both?
I looked at the key in one hand, the note in the other.
My father had trusted Adrian Ravenshade enough to work with him.
Enough to tell me to find him.
Maybe it was time I did the same.
Even if it killed me.