Lily
Sara had just left to fetch some fruits when I sat down to eat. But the moment I lifted my spoon, a strange sensation rippled through me. The scent and the energy was wrong. My instincts coiled tight like a drawn bowstring. I set the spoon down, pulse steady but alert.
When Sara returned, she noticed the untouched plate immediately. "What's wrong?" she asked, brows knitting.
"Who made this?" I asked, my eyes on her, not the food.
She blinked. "I did, of course."
"Did anyone else enter the kitchen while you were cooking?"
Sara thought, then nodded slowly. "Yes… the other maids were there. I stepped out briefly to fetch some herbs."
There it was. A gap. Just enough time for a snake to slither in. "Summon all of them," I said quietly. "Now."
Sara hesitated, but something in my tone made her obey. She returned with three kitchen maids. My gaze landed on one in particular; Maris, Princess Zeena's shadow in human form. I didn't waste words. "What did you add to my food?"
They exchanged uneasy glances. Sara interjected, "I watched them cook, Lily. There's no way…"
"I'm not asking you," I cut in smoothly. My eyes stayed on the maids. "I'm asking them."
"Nothing, my lady," one stammered.
I leaned back. "Then prove it. Taste it."
I pointed at Maris. She froze. "Go on," I urged.
Her hands shook. Sara's patience snapped. "Why are you hesitating?"
"I…" Maris's lips trembled. Then she dropped to her knees, sobbing. "Please! Forgive me! It wasn't my idea! I was ordered to do it!"
Sara gasped. The others backed away as if poison might leap from her skin. I didn't so much as blink. "Who ordered you?"
Her voice broke. "Princess Zeena. She… she gave me the poison. Told me to mix it into your food."
The air turned heavy. Even the walls seemed to listen. Sara's fists clenched. "That witch…" I lifted a hand, silencing her.
Maris crawled closer, clutching the hem of my dress. "Please don't tell the King! She'll kill me if she finds out I failed. I had no choice."
"You want me to spare you?"
"Yes, my lady," she whispered, tears streaking her cheeks. "I'll do anything."
A slow smile curved my lips. "Then from this moment forward, you belong to me. You will no longer serve Zeena. You will serve me."
Her breath hitched, but she lowered her head. "Yes, my lady."
Sara stared at me, bewildered. "You're letting her go just like that?"
"Oh, no," I said softly. "I'm not letting her go at all. Zeena will know what happened. She just won't be able to do a damn thing about it." I turned to the others. "This stays between us." They nodded furiously. The pact was sealed.
From that day, Maris shadowed me instead. She fetched my tea, carried my baskets, and tended to me with an obedience that was almost eager. And every time Zeena saw us together, her fury flared behind her perfectly practiced smile.
I could feel her rage when she passed me in the halls without her maid trailing behind to hold her cloak. I could see the humiliation in the way her steps faltered when the guards bowed to her, but their eyes followed me. The palace had started to whisper again, not loudly, but enough. Enough for her to feel it.
Zeena had believed she could poison me and walk away clean. She had not expected to lose her most trusted servant without spilling a single drop of blood. Now she walked alone. And I walked with Maris. This was more than survival. This was war. And I had already taken my first piece from her board.
***
Sara and Maris weren't my only eyes in the palace. The other two kitchen maids who had been present during the poisoning, ones who had sworn their silence and allegiance to me had proved themselves more useful than I'd imagined. That evening, they came to my chambers after the corridors had emptied. They didn't knock like ordinary servants; they slipped in like shadows.
"My lady," one of them began, glancing at the door before speaking. "We've seen her."
"Zeena?" I asked, already knowing the answer.
They nodded. "She's been… different. Angry. We see it in her face whenever she spots you with Sara and Maris. It burns her. She doesn't hide it well."
I didn't need them to tell me that. I had seen Zeena's fury myself how her smile would freeze when Maris held my basket or poured my drink. How her eyes lingered a second too long, as if trying to pierce my skin. But the maids had more.
"She tried to replace Maris," the other whispered. "No one would take the post. Everyone saw how Maris switched sides. They don't want to risk being caught between you and her."
"So now she moves alone," the first added. "And she hates it. She feels the shift in the palace. The fear that used to follow her… it's gone."
I could almost picture it; Zeena walking the halls without her shadow, the guards bowing but their eyes sliding elsewhere, the maids curtsying without trembling. She had been dethroned without anyone needing to touch her crown.
"And that's not all, my lady," one of them said, leaning closer. "We overheard her speaking with a man in the courtyard at dusk. Tall. Dark hair. Not one of the palace guards. She called him 'Lord Jose.'"
The name stilled my breath for a fraction of a second. "What did they talk about?" I asked.
"They spoke low, but we caught enough," she said, voice tightening. "Zeena was complaining about you. She told him you'd taken everything from her; status, influence, even her pride. She said she couldn't move against you openly, not after what happened with Maris. She told him she would have to work in the shadows."
"And what did he say?" I pressed.
Their eyes darted to each other before the second maid answered. "He said… you were the key. That the Alpha King's strength and calm come from you. He told Zeena that if you were gone, the King would be vulnerable."
My fingers curled around the armrest of my chair, but my voice stayed calm. "Go on."
"He said he was planning against you but didn't have to take you by force. That he could lure you away from the palace. And once you left the King's side… you'd never return."
Silence settled over the room. So. Alpha Jose had finally stepped into the light or at least into my awareness. Every attempt on Elis's life had failed, and now he thought to come for me instead. I leaned back, letting the quiet stretch until I saw the unease flicker in their eyes.
"You've done well," I said finally. "You'll keep watching her. And him. Every word, every look, every meeting, bring it to me."
They nodded quickly, relief softening their faces. When they were gone, I stood by the window, looking out into the moonlit courtyard where they said Zeena had met him. If Jose thought I would be easy to lure, he had made his first mistake. If Zeena thought she could hide behind him, she had made her last. This wasn't just their game anymore. It was mine. And I would play to win.