Elis
I sat at the long mahogany dining table, staring at my plate of roasted venison and seasoned vegetables, untouched. The aroma was rich, perfectly spiced, but it stirred nothing in me. The golden chandeliers overhead glowed softly, casting flickers of warmth that failed to reach my chest.
Eunice stood quietly beside me, pouring dark wine into my goblet with a familiarity born from years of service, calmly, steady, and constant. And then the heavy dining doors creaked open.
I looked up. Lily.
She walked in without a word, without a guard's announcement, without hesitation. Barefoot. Bold. Unstoppable. Her dress was a deep, muted pink, modest and simple but it moved with her like it had been woven from the wind. And goddess, there was something about her. Something in the way she held herself. She didn't just walk in. She arrived with the weight of something unseen curled around her shoulders. She looked different. No. She felt different.
Eunice tensed. "Lily?" she said, blinking. "How did you get in?"
I frowned. No one had announced her. No steps echoed down the corridor. My guards are loyal and trained, they should have stopped her.
"I walked in," she replied simply. Her voice was soft. Calm and unwavering. I rose halfway from my chair, a reflex I didn't control. I wanted, no, needed to move toward her. To touch her. To know this was real. But something in her stillness told me she wasn't here for comfort.
She met my eyes and said, "Your Majesty."
It hit like a slap. Lily never called me that. I felt my stomach tighten. My jaw clenched.
"You've changed," I said quietly, studying her. She tilted her head slightly. No smile. No challenge. Just a quiet power radiating from her skin.
Eunice cleared her throat. "Would you like to eat with the king? I can bring you a plate…"
"No, thank you," Lily said. Not cold. Not warm. Just… final. My hand tightened around the goblet. This wasn't a visit. This was something else. "I need to speak with the king," she added. Not Elis. Not my name. The king. She was drawing a line. And I knew, even before she spoke, that something was about to unravel.
I set my goblet down slowly. Deliberately. Never taking my eyes off her. "Then speak," I said, voice low. "I'm listening."
***
The doors shut behind us with a soft thud, sealing us in. I turned to face her, but I already knew whatever this was… it wouldn't be easy.
And then she said it. "When were you going to tell me about your curse?"
I went still. The air left my lungs, and I felt it…her…pressing in. I looked into her eyes, and they were sharper than I'd ever seen. Not angry. Not scared. Just certain.
"The curse that wiped out your lineage," she continued. "That's still inside you. Eating away at you. When were you going to tell me, Elis?"
I couldn't move. Couldn't speak. How the hell did she know? Only Eunice knew. No one else. I'd made sure of it. "How…?" I started.
"No one told me," she said. "I found out. On my own."
And then she walked past me like she owned the room, the palace and me. She sat on my bed like it was her throne. Calm. Composed. But the fire in her eyes told me she wasn't done.
"I was going to tell you," I said. Even I heard the weakness in my voice.
She didn't give me an inch. "When? When you were dying?" My throat closed. She leaned forward, elbows on her knees. Her voice dropped, but her words struck like arrows. "I know the origin of the curse, Elis. I know who cast it. And I know it's still working; blocking your shift, poisoning your bloodline, stopping you from mating, and from producing an heir. It wasn't meant to just hurt you." Her gaze met mine. "It was meant to end you." My breath hitched. She knew. All of it. "Isn't that right?" she pressed.
I closed my eyes. "Yes."
The word was a wound. Then she said it; softly, too softly. "Have you ever asked yourself why you're still alive? Why you didn't die after we mated, like your brothers did after theirs?" I had. Gods, I had. "I survived you," she said. "Your blood didn't reject me. The curse didn't kill me or you." I looked at her.
"Because you're different," I said hoarsely. I meant it. Every word. "Because you're a…"
"Witch," she finished. There it was. The truth that had always sat between us, unspoken. I tensed. And my heart pounded. She stepped into the silence. "You've always suspected," she said.
I nodded. "Yes."
Her expression changed; just a flicker, like a shadow passing behind her eyes. "And yet you passed that law."
The accusation hit harder than any blade. "Lily…"
"Don't." Her voice cracked through the air like a whip. "You declared my kind criminal. Even healing spells are punishable by death. Did you think I wouldn't find out?"
I dragged a hand down my face, shame cutting deep. "I was trying to protect the kingdom."
"And what about me?" she asked, voice rising. "What about who I am?"
"I never meant to hurt you."
She inhaled slowly. Her breath shook, but she stood tall. "I wanted to leave. I needed to go to my grandmother's cottage, Elis. To learn. To understand what I am. You didn't just say no. You trapped me here. and caged me like I was something to fear." Her voice lowered, bitter and raw. "Was that your plan? Keep me hidden until I was harmless? Or until I was tame?"
Something cracked in my chest. Two steps and I was in front of her. Close enough to feel the fire in her, the fury and the fear and the truth of everything I'd done wrong. I wanted to reach for her. Gods, I did. But I didn't. My hands curled into fists at my sides. My voice dropped, stripped down to its bones. "I would burn down the entire kingdom before I let anyone touch you." Her breath caught. "I don't care about the council. Or their fear. Or their laws." I met her gaze and let her see it; all of it. "You are mine to protect. And I will protect you, Lily. Even if it means going to war with my own court."
Silence. Hot. Thick. And charged. She didn't speak. And I didn't move. But something passed between us…something wild and final. The war had begun.