NOT THE SAME GIRL

Scarlett pov

The knock at the door was sharp. Too sharp.

Reed’s mouth stilled against my throat. The heat between us fractured like glass meeting stone.

We froze.

Then another knock—louder. Demanding.

I blinked, breath catching in my throat as reality came crashing back like a tide. My dress was half undone, Reed’s body pressed against mine, the bond between us still thrumming like it had teeth. And someone was on the other side of the door.

“Scarlett?” came Kael’s voice.

Not a guard. Not Lucian.

Kael.

Reed stepped back slowly, his jaw tense. “We’ll finish this later,” he murmured, voice low and rough, still tinged with something I didn’t dare name.

I nodded, but the air between us was too thick, too scorched. I turned my back, fixing the torn strap of my dress just as the door creaked open.

Kael didn’t wait to be invited.

He stepped inside like he had a right to, like he hadn’t forfeited that right the day he let them send me away. His eyes took in the scene—me flushed, disheveled, the unmistakable scent of heat in the air. Reed standing too close. His nostrils flared.

Something in him snapped, and it showed on his face.

“You’ve got to be kidding me,” Kael said.

“Shut the door,” I told him.

“Why? So you can roll around with your new royal keeper without an audience?”

Reed didn’t move, but the room suddenly felt colder.

“Watch your tone,” he said.

Kael scoffed. “Oh, I’m sorry. Do I need to bow first before I call you what you are? An opportunist?”

“Kael.” My voice was a warning. I wasn’t sure if it was for him—or myself.

He turned to me. “Scarlett, this isn’t you. You don’t fall into someone’s bed because the Moon Goddess says so. You fight harder than that.”

My cheeks burned. Not from shame. From anger. “Don’t you dare talk to me about fighting. I fought alone for five years while you stood by and said nothing.”

His expression twisted. “You think I didn’t want to go after you? I begged them. I begged Reyes. Your mother—” His voice broke. “And you still think I chose them?”

“You didn’t choose me,” I said quietly. “That was enough.”

For a long, bitter moment, none of us spoke.

Then Reed’s voice cut through the silence. “You didn’t come here to apologize. Why are you here?”

Kael’s eyes flicked to him. “Because Darius is here. He wants to speak with Scarlett.”

Reed didn’t even blink. “He can wait.”

“No,” I said. “Let him in.”

Kael’s brow furrowed. “You don’t need to talk to him.”

“I need to end whatever games he’s still playing,” I said, standing straighter. “Let him in.”

Kael’s jaw tightened, but he nodded once and stepped aside.

A moment later, Darius entered like he owned the room.

He was dressed in black, his blond hair neat, the ceremonial ring he never earned gleaming on his finger. His expression was smug—but his eyes were cautious.

“You’re hard to find, dear sister,” Darius said. “Even harder to predict.”

“I’m not your sister,” I replied. “And you should stop pretending I’m a problem you can outsmart.”

Darius smiled like I’d complimented him. “The King’s letter arrived, didn’t it?”

Reed stepped forward. “You’re remarkably informed for someone without allies left.”

Darius spread his hands. “I just want to talk.”

Kael stood beside the door, arms crossed. His eyes never left Reed.

I was done being cornered. “Say what you came to say.”

Darius looked between the three of us, then settled on me. “Oakwood can’t survive another attack. You know that. The council is fractured, the people scared. Your return has power—but power makes enemies.”

“That’s not news,” I said.

“But it’s a reason to be careful who you trust.” He looked at Reed now. “Especially those who claim they can protect you in exchange for obedience.”

“You’re afraid of losing control,” Reed said simply. “She doesn’t owe you power. Or loyalty. Or even acknowledgment.”

“You speak like you know her,” Kael muttered. “But you weren’t here. You didn’t know her before all this.”

“No,” Reed said calmly. “But I know her now. And that’s enough.”

Kael’s hands clenched. “You don’t get to act like you care.”

Reed turned to him. “And you don’t get to act like you did.”

I stepped between them. “Enough. Both of you.”

The silence that followed felt like a held breath.

Darius raised an eyebrow. “This is fascinating. Truly. But perhaps I should return when emotions aren’t so… heightened.”

“No,” I said. “Say whatever threat you planned on dressing up as concern and be done with it.”

He smiled faintly. “I’m simply suggesting that you think carefully before you tie yourself to anyone. Especially someone the Crown sees as disposable.”

Reed didn’t flinch.

But I saw it in his eyes.

He was holding something back.

“Out,” I said.

Darius shrugged and left without a fight. That, more than anything, unsettled me.

Kael lingered.

“I’m not trying to control you,” he said finally. “But he’s dangerous.”

“So am I,” I said.

He stared at me for a long time. “You’re not the same girl I lost.”

“I’m not the girl anyone lost,” I said softly. “I’m the woman who survived.”

He left without another word.

When I was alone, I sat down on the edge of my bed.

The silence was deafening.

But this time… it didn’t feel empty.