CHAPTER 25 — UNWELCOME ROYALTY
The palace was unusually restless that morning. Servants moved faster, guards whispered to one another, and even the air felt tight and expectant—as if the walls themselves knew a storm was approaching.
Aria sensed it the moment she stepped into the corridor. The nervous energy. The way people kept glancing toward the main gates. Something was happening.
But no one told her what.
She walked with her hands folded, trying to focus on her breathing, still shaken from the nightmare that clung to her like a cold shadow. Seraphina walked behind her, the soft rustle of the maid's skirts too calculated, too smooth.
Before Aria could ask a single question, the heavy doors of the main hall slammed open, and the guards dropped to one knee.
A tall woman stepped inside.
Beautiful. Cold. Sharp as a blade.
Her hair was raven-black, braided with silver rings that marked noble blood. Her eyes—icy blue—swept through the hall with thinly veiled disgust, pausing on everything and everyone as though they were beneath her.
Aria had never seen her before, but she didn't need an introduction. Power vibrated around her like frost.
A royal.
The woman clicked her tongue softly. "No one is here to greet me? How disappointing."
From the upper stairs, Alpha Kael appeared, his face tightening the moment he saw her.
"Lysandra."
His voice was clipped, cold.
Aria blinked. His sister.
Kael walked down the steps with the stiff posture of a man facing someone he tolerated, not someone he loved. There was no warmth. No embrace. Not even a polite smile.
"You didn't send word," Kael said.
Lysandra raised her chin. "I don't need permission to visit my own kingdom."
"It's not your kingdom," he replied calmly.
The tension between them thickened so sharply that even the guards swallowed hard.
Then Lysandra's gaze drifted—slowly, deliberately—until it landed on Aria.
Her expression darkened instantly.
"So… this is her," she said, her voice dripping with disdain. "The human."
Aria felt the weight of the insult. Seraphina stiffened behind her, though Aria couldn't tell if it was from anger or amusement.
Lysandra's eyes narrowed, assessing Aria like she was a stain on the marble floor.
"You married this?" she asked Kael openly. "A fragile little creature who can't even defend herself?"
Aria's cheeks flushed with humiliation. She lowered her gaze, but not quickly enough to miss the spark of irritation that flashed across Kael's eyes.
"Watch your words," he said quietly.
Lysandra laughed—a cold, humorless sound. "Why? Will the human wilt if I speak too harshly?"
Aria clenched her hands, but stayed silent. She didn't want to cause trouble—not when she already felt like she was drowning in unfamiliar rules and unwelcoming eyes.
Lysandra turned fully toward her, taking a step closer.
"You don't belong here," she said softly, too softly. "This world will eat you alive."
Aria felt her throat tighten.
She didn't respond.
She didn't trust her voice not to break.
Kael stepped in front of her, blocking Lysandra's approach with one smooth, dangerous move.
"That's enough."
Lysandra arched a brow. "You're really defending her?"
"I'm defending my queen."
The hall went dead silent.
Aria's heart stuttered painfully at the word queen. He'd never said it aloud before.
Lysandra's lips curved into something between a smirk and a sneer.
"Interesting," she murmured. "Let's see how long this fragile arrangement lasts."
And with that, she swept past them, her cloak snapping behind her like a talon.
Aria exhaled shakily, her spine still trembling. Seraphina leaned in just slightly, whispering in a too-smooth voice:
"Be careful, my lady. Some threats do not hide their teeth…"
Aria didn't answer.
Because for the first time, she realized she wasn't just unwanted here.
She was surrounded by predators—some obvious, some hidden.
And Lysandra had just made it clear:
The real danger had only just begun.