The banquet hall is cathedral-like marble, mirrors, and masks. A thousand nobles gathered beneath golden chandeliers that drip with magic older than the kingdom. But the moment I stepped in, the air shifted.
Like the room had been waiting for me.
And I didn't disappoint.
My gown was midnight-black, silk whispering around me like rumors. Laced with veins of gold thread not sewn, but willed. My skin shimmered faintly with warding spells I didn't consciously cast. Even my shadow moved a breath too late, like it was considering other options.
Silence hit like a blade.
Then murmurs. Then fear.
Because I didn't walk to my seat at House Vale's table.
I walked straight past it.
To the high table.
The one left empty for ancestors and dead kings.
And I sat.
Let them choke on their etiquette. Let them guess what I was playing at.
Across the room, the Crown Prince stood. His sapphire robes gleamed like ocean-drenched steel. He was the only one who didn't pretend I wasn't there. The only one who looked directly at me—and smiled.
Predator to predator.
So. The game begins.
He crossed the room slowly, cutting through nobles who parted like a sea of cowards. When he reached me, he didn't bow.
He knelt.
And placed a goblet at my table.
"Drink with me, Lady Seraphina."
I held the goblet, studied the crimson swirl.
"Was it you who poisoned me in the last timeline?" I asked softly.
A flicker in his eyes.
"You remember?"
I smiled. "I remember everything."
"I didn't order your death," he murmured. "But I didn't stop it either."
"Good," I said, lifting the goblet to my lips. "That means I don't owe you mercy."
I drank it all.
Then kissed the rim with power.
It cracked.
A silent challenge.
His eyes burned with the hunger of a man who'd just seen something divine and dangerous.
"My lady," he said, voice hoarse, "what are you?"
I rose, stepped past him, and whispered near his throat.
"Something the gods buried. And now they'll regret it."