I swear something was wrong with the sky that morning. It had that weird grey-purple color that looks like it's about to rain but also like it's holding its breath. Honestly, the whole capital felt like it was waiting for something to break. Maybe that "something" was us.
Elara hadn't said a word since last night. Not one. And normally she's quiet in the mornings anyway, but this was different. This was the type of quiet that feels sharp. Like she was trying really, really hard not to think about something.
Even her hair was tied differently today—she had pulled it into a messy braid instead of her usual neat one, like she didn't even bother. That alone told me how messed up she felt.
Aetherion walked beside us. Or more like… beside her. He kept glancing at her every few seconds, pretending he wasn't, but I saw it. Man thinks he's sneaky but he's literally the least subtle guy in the kingdom. Anyone could tell he was worried.
The moment we stepped onto the training grounds, the whispering started.
"She's the Wynford girl—"
"The cast-away one."
"Didn't she poison her own sister?"
"I heard she tried to kill her parents too—"
I wanted to shout at them. Actually shout. These idiots don't know anything, but they talk like they're getting paid for every rumor they spread.
Elara heard them too. I know she did, because her fingers twitched once. Just once. Like she wanted to summon flames and burn the entire arena down. Honestly, I wouldn't even blame her.
But she didn't break. She didn't flinch. She just kept walking like all that noise was nothing but wind.
Aetherion, on the other hand…
He stopped walking completely.
Everyone went silent because Aetherion stopping usually means someone's about to die.
"If I hear one more rumor," he said, voice SO calm it was terrifying, "I will personally ensure the person repeating it cannot speak again. Ever."
Man said it so casually you'd think he was talking about breakfast.
The recruits paled. One dude literally dropped his sword. Like straight-up clang.
But Elara? She just glanced at him once, her expression unreadable. Almost like she was thinking, Why are you defending me? You weren't supposed to.
Training began but something was off about her today. Not weak—Elara is never weak—but unfocused. She moved like someone who was half stuck in a memory. Her sword swings were sharp but had this tiny delay, like she'd hear a noise and suddenly be elsewhere.
She got grazed twice. TWICE. And that never happens.
Aetherion noticed immediately. He kept watching her like if she fell even a little he'd teleport across the arena to catch her. Dude was tracking her like a hawk on caffeine.
Then the air shifted.
You know that feeling when someone walks in and everything just… changes? Like the world drop-kicks your mood?
Yeah. That.
Because Seraphina Wynford stepped in.Elara's stepsister.The kingdom's #1 professional victim.And honestly the most dramatic liar I've ever seen.
She walked like she was floating. The parasol. The stupid smug smile. The pretty dress with seven thousand ribbons. It made me want to puke.
"Elaraaa," she sang.
Elara stiffened like she got stabbed in the spine, and Aetherion tensed beside her, hand inching toward his sword.
"Father wants to invite you for tea," Seraphina continued, fake sweet.
Tea. TEA.After YEARS of kicking her out?After framing her?After spreading lies that almost ruined her life?
Bro the audacity is unbearable.
Elara didn't even bother being polite."I'm busy."
Seraphina pouted dramatically. "Oh come on, sister. Don't be so dramatic. Father is finally willing to forgive you."
Forgive?FORGIVE HER??They literally threw her out like trash.
My blood boiled so hard I swear I heard my heartbeat in my ears.
Aetherion stepped forward, voice ready to end someone's life."She said she's busy. Leave."
But Seraphina looked him DEAD in the eyes and didn't even flinch. That's when I knew she didn't come here to just "invite" Elara. She had something planned.
Something nasty.
"Oh Your Highness," she said with a little laugh, "you should hear what Father found. Something about Elara's birth records."
I swear time stopped.
Elara froze. Not her whole body—just enough that someone who really knew her would notice. Like the moment before a storm breaks.
Aetherion's eyes snapped to her instantly.
Seraphina smirked like she'd won a war."Something she has been hiding her whole life."
Then she leaned closer, whispering loud enough for us to hear:
"It might change everything about who she really is."
And she walked away. Just like that.A bomb dropped and she sashayed out of the arena humming.
I watched Elara's face and for the FIRST time since we met her…she looked terrified.
Not just scared—terrified.
Aetherion slowly stepped toward her."Elara… what did she mean?"
Elara swallowed. Hard. "I don't know."
But it was a lie. I don't know what exactly she was hiding, but she definitely knew something. Her hands were shaking. She quickly hid them behind her back.
She turned and walked away before either of us could stop her.
I looked at Aetherion and for once, The Frozen Prince actually looked shaken. Like he didn't know how to help her and that made him furious at himself.
We tried following her but she disappeared into the upper gardens. Aetherion wanted to go after her but the head instructor called him. He hesitated—first time I've ever seen him do that.
Elara wandered alone in the upper gardens, cloak fluttering behind her like some lost shadow. She was walking fast, like she was running away from her own thoughts. She kept touching her chest, right where her heartbeat would be wild right now.
And then she stopped under a white willow tree and just… sat. Quiet.
Like everything finally weighed too much.
I couldn't hear her from where we stood, but I could see her shoulders shake once.
Just once.
It hurt to watch.
Because the truth is:Elara doesn't break.She bends, she takes hits, she stays silent—but she doesn't break.
So whatever Seraphina hinted at…
It must be something huge.Something that even Elara feared.
Aetherion clenched his jaw so hard I heard it crack. He didn't move from his spot, but his eyes never left her. Not once.
He wanted to go to her.He really did.But he didn't know if she'd let him. And the idea of her pushing him away? That scared him more than any battle.
I watched them both and couldn't shake the feeling that something big was coming.
Something that would drag all of us into the dark whether we're ready or not.
And then Aetherion whispered—so low I almost missed it:
"I won't let them take her from me."
He didn't even realize he said it out loud.
But I did.
And suddenly everything made sense.
The tension.The way he watches her like she's sunlight and he's terrified to touch it.The way he defends her even when she doesn't ask.The way he looks at her when she's not looking.
Aetherion Wyncrest, Crown Prince of Arvendale…
is already ruined for her.
And he doesn't even know it yet.
But the question that kept punching my brain was:
What exactly is Elara Wynford's birth secret?And why is it dangerous enough to scare her?
Because Seraphina wasn't bluffing.She was too bold.Too smug.
They found something.
And when Elara finally faces it…I don't think any of us are ready for what comes after.