I slid the nightgown down from my shoulders, letting the fabric fall loose around my body.
A long breath left me as I looked at my reflection. I was exhausted. Today had drained me. I had spent hours with Artemisia. She was kind, warm, easy to be around. Yet every time Kairan's name surfaced, she behaved weird.
Maybe she still loved him.
The thought irritated me more than it should have. If that were the case, why had her family never sent a marriage proposal to the Ashbournes? Both were royal houses. A prince and a princess. On paper, it made perfect sense.
I shouldn't care. I knew that. And yet my mind refused to let it go.
It wasn't only Artemisia. Kairan himself had been strange too.
I turned away from the mirror and sat on the stool before the vanity, slowly combing my hair. I loved this hair. Soft, wavy, heavy between my fingers.
A knock interrupted my quiet.
I glanced toward the door. "Yes?"
"Eri, it's me. Misa. May I come in?"
I stood and walked over, opening the door. Artemisia stood there in a simple nightgown much like mine, her hair tied into a long braid that fell over her shoulder.
"Misa? I thought you'd already gone to sleep," I said, holding the door open.
She scratched the back of her head, a little sheepish. "I tried. But honestly, I've never slept alone in Valkathra before."
I tilted my head. "Is something wrong?"
She shook it quickly. "No, no. I just… I've always slept with you. I'm not used to being alone here." Then she smiled, bright and hopeful. "Can we sleep together? Like old times?"
I couldn't bring myself to refuse. I simply nodded and stepped aside.
She entered immediately, her gaze sweeping across the room. Then she paused.
"Wait," she said slowly. "You've completely changed."
My stomach dropped.
Oh, shoot.
"What do you mean?" I asked, forcing a casual smile. "Of course I've changed. I'm more responsible now."
She shook her head. "Not that. Your room."
She gestured around. "It doesn't look like you anymore. It's… untended. Almost ordinary."
I pressed my palm to my face. Right. Meredia's near-obsessive neatness.
Books were scattered near the desk, the wardrobe doors stood wide open, a vanity drawer was half-pulled out. Worst of all, an inner garment lay abandoned on the sofa.
I grabbed it instantly and shoved it into the wardrobe, closing the doors with perhaps too much enthusiasm.
"I've just been busy lately," I said, shrugging. "I don't really get time to arrange everything now."
Misa hummed and seemed like she was not convinced, but she didn't push further.
I exhaled quietly.
After a few minutes, Artemisia went to bed and to my surprise, sleep claimed her almost immediately.
I lingered, watching her face soften into something calm and unguarded.
She must have been exhausted from the journey.
Reaching for the book on the side table, I opened it at random. It turned out to be a novel. A romance novel.
I blinked more than once as I skimmed a page, mildly stunned that this era produced stories with such unapologetically intimate scenes.
At some point, curiosity replaced shock. I found myself wondering what kind of person could write with such boldness.
I wouldn't mind meeting the author.
For reasons I couldn't immediately explain, Evelisse came to mind because of this.
Perhaps because I couldn't spent much time with her today. My attention had been entirely on Artemisia from morning till night.
I miss her already.
We even had planned to cook some blah blahcookies of her family recipe. And even though knew zero shits about cookies I liked spending time with her.
Evelisse was shy and timid but she had a awkward side too and that side talked about very intimate stuff.
The other day she told me about kissing using tongue. Ancillin must have taught her all that. I turned the page or book, not even reading this stuff.
My eyes went to the curtains, beginning to stir slowly even though the balcony doors were firmly shut.
I knew what that usually meant.
With a quiet sigh, I closed the book and set it back on the table. My gaze drifted to the bed once more, checking on the princess. Her breathing was even and face peaceful.
Careful not to disturb the stillness, I slipped out of bed and moved toward the balcony. I brushed the curtains aside just enough to peer through.
No one stood there.
Still, I knew.
Kairan was here.
I unlatched the door and stepped out, the cool night air brushing my skin. Leaning over the railing, I scanned the garden below. Guards moved along the boundaries, lanterns swaying gently.
Nothing was out of place.
My gaze lifted to the sky, and I frowned.
The moon looked wrong.
Its light was dulled, ashen, as though something had reached up and muted it.
What does that mean now?
Were the colours a sign only Valkathra understood, or did other kingdoms read it the same way too?
Strange.
Something moved behind me. I turned sharply.
"Your Highness…" I exhaled, pressing a hand to my chest. "You scared me."
Kairan leaned against the wall, one foot braced behind him, arms folded completely unapologetic as if this whole world belonged to him.
"I didn't intend to."
Sure. And I am the moon.
"What happened?" I asked, settling into the chair positioned opposite him. The exhaustion finally began to seep into my bones.
He didn't answer.
I shifted, angling the chair so I could see his face properly. He was staring off into the distance, jaw set.
"Your… Highness?"
He glanced at me briefly before looking away. "It's not your concern."
Of course it isn't.
"I came to tell you," he paused. "the material for your sword has arrived at my palace."
My breath caught. "Really?" My hands gripped the armrests. "Then when will it be ready?"
"I'm deciding," he said, unfolding his arms and sliding his hands into his pockets, "whether I should forge it myself...or delegate it."
I stared at him. My jaw nearly hit the floor.
What do you mean forge it yourself?
"You can forge it yourself?" I leaned forward.
He nodded once. There it was...that quiet pride he never announced but never hid either. "We're taught at the academy."
"…That's impressive," I murmured before I could stop myself. I was not interested in it, but it was a pretty cool skill. I'd like to see how Kairan made a sword.
Then, gently, almost hopefully, "Can I see it?"
He looked at me properly. One brow lifted, the corner of his mouth curving..not a smile, but close enough to unsettle me.
"See me forge it?"
I nodded. "I've never seen a sword being made."
"It's dangerous."
"I won't interfere," I said quickly, rocking faintly in the chair. "I just want to watch. It is my sword."
"No."
One word. No.
I turned away, rolling my eyes toward the dark garden. Sometimes he was unbearably rigid, like affection itself was something he had to deny on principle.
I sighed. "Fine. I'll go back inside. The princess might wake up."
"Hm."
I stood, smoothing my gown almost absentmindedly, but the moment I turned toward the room, he pulled me back.
His grip closed around my wrist.
I gasped softly, looking down at his hand wrapped around mine. The heat of his skin seeped was comforting, and even though I tried to pull back, he didn't loosen his hold.
"Your Highness…" My voice came out quieter than I intended. Wth. What happend to my voice?
He didn't release me. Instead, his eyes met mine, and for a moment the world shrank until it was just us. "Do you truly remember nothing of your past?"
I froze. Lying to Kairan was never easy. I could deceive almost anyone without a second thought...but his gaze made every word feel like a test I was bound to fail.
My heart slammed against my ribs. I parted my lips, the lie catching in my throat.
"I… I don't—"
His eyes told that he didn't believe me even for a second. He read every flicker of my hesitation. Crying emoji.
He stepped closer himself until I had to tilt my head back to meet him, and even that angle made my pulse spike.
"Nothing?" His voice was soft yet intimidating.
I shook my head, swallowing. "Nothing… only that I was born after the war, and I lived in poverty."
"What war?"
"That… between two countries." My voice trembled slightly. My neck ached from looking up at him, but I couldn't look away.
"Hm." His lips curved faintly as he studied me. "How long has it been since you came into this world?"
I looked down, trying to focus. Months passed since waking in Meredia's body, seasons folding into one another, but none of it seemed real while he stood there.
And then his hand moved from mg wrist to my hand, thumb brushing over my palm. A shiver ran up my arm..
"It's… six or seven months, I think," I murmured, aware of how his eyes burned into mine and rough skin of his rubbing over my hand.
"Hm."
He let go of my hand, but I felt the absence immediately, like heat had been pulled away. My palm tingled, and I rubbed it against my other hand, trying to chase the warmth that lingered even in empty space.
It's warm.
He stepped back slightly but not fully. His posture, the tilt of his shoulders, the way he exhaled slowly...it was all normal. And yet it made my chest tighten in ways I couldn't name.
I leaned slightly toward him, drawn like a magnet. "Why do you ask?"
He shook his head, lips parting as though to answer but then nothing came. The silence was like a soft pulse between us.
I studied his face then, up close. The sharp angles, the chiseled line of his jaw, the faint shadow of a stubble catching moonlight. It was striking, and every subtle movement of his body was almost predatory, yet hot in ways that made it impossible to ignore.
And for reasons I couldn't explain, my breath hitched, my pulse raced, and my mind refused to think straight.
He tilted his head just slightly, a faint arch of an eyebrow, eyes holding mine.
"I was curious."
"Then…" I let my gaze linger on his face for half a heartbeat too long before looking away. "I should return to my bed before the princess is disturbed."
He inclined his head, folding his arms across his chest again.
I paused, then lifted a finger and pointed at him, narrowing my eyes. "And you. When exactly do you plan to leave?"
He scoffed lightly, voice unbothered. "An independent world. An independent will. I will leave when I choose."
I scoffed and rolled my eyes, turning on my heel. I stepped back into my room, closed the door quietly, and pulled the curtains together.
Then, because I apparently had no self-control, I parted them just enough to peek.
He was still there, staring out into the night.
And then, as if he had sensed it, he turned his head and looked straight at me.
I jumped back instantly, heart racing, and rushed to my bed, pulling the covers up as though they could hide me from his gaze.
What a strange, infuriating man.
I lay there staring at the ceiling, pulse slowly settling, very aware that sleep was not coming anytime soon.