I woke on Day Five to someone knocking on my door with the kind of polite insistence that suggested they'd been at it for a while.
What the FUCK.
It's barely dawn.
Who knocks on doors at DAWN?
If this is another skeleton butler with a breakfast summons, I'm going to—
"Lady Isabel?" A maid's voice, nervous and apologetic. "I'm terribly sorry to disturb you, but... Princess Elara Solcrest has arrived and is requesting an audience."
I sat up so fast I nearly gave myself whiplash.
WHAT.
THE PRINCESS IS HERE?
AT MY HOUSE?
AT DAWN?
"Tell her I'll be down in ten minutes," I said, already scrambling out of bed.
The fourteen-year-old princess just showed up at Ravencrest Manor.
Unannounced.
At the crack of fucking dawn.
This is either BRILLIANT or INSANE.
Probably both.
I threw on a dark purple dress—elegant but not overly formal—and let my hair fall loose. No time for elaborate styling.
Why is she HERE?
Did Aldric send her to spy?
No, wait. She's fascinated by dark magic.
She asked me about it at the reception.
The princess is infiltrating my house under the guise of diplomacy.
I fucking LOVE this girl.
Nyx stirred on my pillow, lifting his head with sleepy irritation.
"The princess is here," I told him.
"At dawn?" Nyx's tongue flicked out. "Royals have no sense of proper visiting hours."
"She's fourteen and obsessed with dark magic," I said. "I don't think 'proper visiting hours' are high on her priority list."
"Fair point," Nyx conceded, slithering onto my shoulders. "This should be entertaining."
Damn right it will be.
I made my way downstairs to the main receiving room, where I found Princess Elara Solcrest standing near the window, looking absolutely TINY in the vast, dark space of Ravencrest Manor.
She was dressed in a pale blue gown that looked almost luminous against the dark stone walls, her blonde hair pulled back in a simple braid. Her lady-in-waiting—a young woman with dark hair and sharp eyes—stood a respectful distance behind her.
The princess brought ONE attendant.
Not a full retinue. Not a dozen guards.
Just her lady-in-waiting.
She's trying to be DISCREET.
Elara turned when she heard me enter, and her face lit up with genuine excitement.
"Lady Isabel!" she said, and there was no formality in her voice. Just enthusiasm. "I'm so sorry for arriving unannounced. I told my parents I was conducting a diplomatic investigation into House Raven's... historical contributions to the kingdom."
Diplomatic investigation.
That's her EXCUSE.
The princess lied to her parents so she could visit the scary dark magic lady.
I'm so fucking PROUD of her.
"A diplomatic investigation," I repeated, trying not to smile. "How very... official."
"It's complete nonsense, of course," Elara said cheerfully. "But it got me past the guards. They're waiting outside, by the way. Mother insisted I bring them, but I told them they weren't allowed inside. Too many... sensitive materials."
She's LEARNING.
She's using bureaucracy and protocol as a WEAPON.
This girl is going to be DANGEROUS.
"And your lady-in-waiting?" I asked, glancing at the dark-haired woman.
"Lady Margot," Elara said. "She's been with me since I was ten. She knows about my... interests. And she won't tell anyone."
Lady Margot inclined her head politely, her expression carefully neutral.
A lady-in-waiting who keeps secrets.
Either she's loyal or she's gathering blackmail material.
Either way, she's useful.
"Welcome to Ravencrest Manor, Your Highness," I said, gesturing to the room around us. "I assume you didn't come here just to admire the architecture."
"I want to see everything," Elara said, and her eyes were practically glowing with excitement. "Your library. Your training chambers. The places where you practice... the magic you showed me."
She wants a TOUR.
The princess wants a tour of the dark magic house.
This is the best day of my reincarnated life.
"Everything?" I asked. "That's a tall order. Ravencrest Manor has been in my family for centuries. There are rooms even I haven't explored yet."
"Then show me what you HAVE explored," Elara said. "Please. I need to understand how you... how you do what you do."
She's not asking as a princess.
She's asking as a student.
As someone who WANTS this.
How can I possibly say no to that?
"Fine," I said. "But if your guards ask, you spent the morning reviewing historical documents about House Raven's contributions to agricultural reform."
"Agricultural reform," Elara repeated, grinning. "Perfect. No one will ask follow-up questions about that."
Smart girl.
Very smart girl.
My brilliant little pet is learning FAST.
I led Elara and Lady Margot through the manor, starting with the main halls.
"Ravencrest Manor was built four hundred years ago," I explained as we walked. "The architecture is deliberately intimidating. High ceilings, dark stone, narrow windows. It's designed to make visitors feel small and unwelcome."
"It's working," Lady Margot murmured.
Elara, however, looked FASCINATED.
"It's beautiful," she said, running her hand along the dark stone wall. "It feels... powerful. Like the building itself is alive."
She's not wrong.
Ravencrest Manor has been soaked in dark magic for centuries.
The walls practically hum with it.
And my little princess can FEEL it.
We passed a portrait of one of my ancestors—a severe-looking woman with my purple eyes and a raven perched on her shoulder.
"That's Countess Morgana Raven," I said. "She lived three hundred years ago. She was executed for practicing necromancy."
Elara stopped, staring at the portrait.
"They executed her?" she asked softly.
"Publicly," I said. "Burned at the stake in the capital square. The Church of Radiance made an example of her."
"But she's still HERE," Elara said, gesturing to the portrait. "You still honor her."
"Of course we do," I said. "She was POWERFUL. She was LEGENDARY. The fact that they killed her doesn't change that. If anything, it proves she was dangerous enough to fear."
That's the Raven family philosophy in a nutshell.
Power is worth dying for.
Legacy is worth suffering for.
Fear is the highest compliment.
And I'm teaching it to a fourteen-year-old princess.
I'm so PROUD.
We continued through the manor, and I showed Elara the library—the vast, dark space filled with ancient tomes and forbidden knowledge.
"This is where I study," I said, gesturing to the shelves. "Most of these books are banned in Astervane. Necromancy, blood magic, curse work, summoning rituals. If the Church of Radiance knew we had these, they'd burn the entire manor to the ground."
Elara's eyes went WIDE.
"Can I...?" she asked, reaching toward one of the books.
"Carefully," I said. "Some of them are cursed. Literally."
Elara pulled her hand back immediately.
Smart.
She listens.
She LEARNS.
Lady Margot, meanwhile, looked like she was reconsidering her life choices.
Poor lady-in-waiting.
She signed up to serve a princess.
Not to tour a dark magic fortress.
We moved on to the training chamber—the room where Corvus had taught me blood magic and necromancy.
The moment we entered, I felt Elara tense.
She can feel it.
The death energy. The residue of dark magic.
This room has seen CENTURIES of forbidden rituals.
And my brilliant little princess is sensitive enough to recognize it.
"This is where I train," I said simply.
Elara walked to the center of the room, her eyes scanning the dark stone floor, the ancient symbols carved into the walls, the faint scorch marks from magical experiments gone wrong.
"It feels..." she started, then trailed off.
"Dangerous?" I supplied.
"Alive," she corrected. "Like the magic is still here. Still waiting."
She's RIGHT.
This room is saturated with dark magic.
It's been absorbing power for generations.
And she can FEEL it.
This girl is going to be INCREDIBLE.
"This is where I learned necromancy," I said. "Where I learned to raise the dead. Where I learned to channel death itself."
Elara turned to look at me, and her expression was a mix of awe and hunger.
"Can you show me?" she asked.
Oh, she's EAGER.
She wants to see it again.
She wants to LEARN.
My perfect little student.
Before I could answer, I heard footsteps behind us.
Oh FUCK.
Please don't be Mother.
Please don't be—
It was Mother.
FUCK.