Seraphine's POV
The summons arrives on a Tuesday.
I'm scrubbing floors in the east wing when a servant I don't recognize finds me. He doesn't look at my face, just thrusts a sealed letter into my hands and walks away like I might be contagious.
My name is written across the front in my father's precise handwriting. Lord Ashford requests your presence in his study. Immediately.
My stomach drops.
I haven't been called to Father's study in five years. Not since the day he told me I'd never be acknowledged as his daughter. Not since he made it clear I was a mistake he wished he could erase.
I stand slowly, my knees aching from kneeling on cold stone. The other servants won't meet my eyes. They know something I don't, and their pity is worse than their usual contempt.
I should run. Every instinct screams at me to disappear into the servant quarters and pretend I never received the letter. But there's nowhere to run in Ashford Manor. There's nowhere to run in the entire Northern Kingdom.
I'm trapped, and I've always been trapped.
The walk to Father's study feels like walking to an execution. My worn shoes make no sound on the marble floors that I've polished a hundred times. Portraits of Ashford ancestors stare down at me from the walls, proud, legitimate bloodline stretching back centuries. None of them look like me.
I knock on the heavy oak door.
Enter. Father's voice is cold and formal. It's always cold when he speaks to me.
I push open the door and step into a room I haven't seen in years. Nothing has changed. The same dark furniture. The same smell of pipe smoke and old leather. The same man sitting behind the massive desk, looking at me like I'm something unpleasant he found on his shoe.
But there's someone else in the room.
My half-sister Elise stands beside Father's chair, and she's smiling.
That smile tells me everything I need to know. This is bad. This is very, very bad.
Close the door, Seraphine. Father doesn't look up from the papers in front of him.
I obey, my hands trembling. The click of the latch sounds like a cell door locking.
Elise's smile grows wider. She's beautiful today in a gown of deep blue silk, her blonde hair perfectly arranged, every inch the proper lady I'll never be. We share the same father, but that's where our similarities end. She's legitimate. Wanted. Loved.
I'm none of those things.
I suppose you're wondering why we called you here, Elise says sweetly. Her voice drips with false kindness, the way it always does when she's about to destroy me.
I say nothing. Speaking without permission has earned me slaps before.
Father finally looks up. His eyes—the same violet color as mine, the only proof I'm actually his daughter—are empty of emotion. The war with the Southern Empire is ending. A treaty has been negotiated.
My heart pounds. The war has raged for fifteen years, since before I was born. Everyone knows about the war. Everyone knows about the Blood King who rules the South with fire and death.
That's wonderful news, I whisper, because I'm expected to say something.
Indeed. Father's expression doesn't change. The treaty requires certain... assurances. To demonstrate our kingdom's commitment to peace.
The way he says it makes my skin crawl.
Elise can barely contain her excitement. They're sending a peace bride to the Southern Empire. A symbol of unity between our kingdoms.
My mouth goes dry. Peace brides are offerings. Sacrifices dressed in silk and sent to enemy kings. Everyone knows what happens to peace brides sent to Daemon Karvath.
They disappear.
They die.
No, I breathe.
Father's jaw tightens. You will leave for the Scorched Border in three days. The exchange will happen at the border fortress. You should feel honored to serve your kingdom.
The room spins. This can't be happening. I'm nobody. I'm less than nobody. Why would they send me?
Then I see Elise's face, and I understand.
This isn't about peace. This is about getting rid of me.
Father, please. My voice cracks. Please don't do this. I'll do anything. I'll leave the manor. I'll go work in the fields. I'll disappear. Just don't—
The decision is made. He's already looking back down at his papers, dismissing me like I'm a servant who's overstayed her welcome. Elise will explain the arrangements. You're dismissed.
Father! I step forward, desperate. You're sending me to die!
His head snaps up, and for just a moment, I see something flicker in his eyes. Guilt, maybe. Or just irritation that I'm making this difficult.
Everyone dies eventually, Seraphine. At least this way, your death will mean something.
The words hit like a physical blow.
Elise takes my arm, her fingers digging in hard enough to bruise. Come along, sister. We have so much to prepare.
She drags me from the study before I can say another word. The door closes behind us with a final, damning click.
In the hallway, Elise's false sweetness evaporates. Three days, she hisses in my ear. Three days until you're finally gone. Do you know how long I've waited for this?
I can't speak. Can't breathe. Can't think past the roaring in my ears.
The Blood King kills every woman sent to him, Elise continues cheerfully. They say he drains their blood for dark rituals. Others say he feeds them to monsters. Either way, you'll be dead within a week.
She releases my arm and smooths her perfect hair. Oh, and Seraphine? Don't even think about running. Father has guards watching every exit. You're not escaping this.
She walks away, humming a light tune, leaving me standing alone in the cold hallway.
That night, I lie awake in my tiny room in the servant quarters. The walls are thin. I can hear other servants whispering about me, already talking like I'm dead.
Maybe I am.
Maybe I've been dead for twenty-three years, and I just didn't know it.
A soft knock makes me sit up. It's past midnight. Nobody should be at my door.
Seraphine? Elise's voice, soft and deadly. I have something for you. A parting gift.
My blood turns to ice as my door slowly opens.
Elise steps inside, and in her hands is a small crystal vial filled with dark liquid that seems to shimmer in the moonlight.
Her smile is pure poison as she closes the door behind her.
Let me tell you about your real mission, dear sister. The one that might actually let you live.