Chapter 3

That evening Dante came to the Wind clan house.

He stood below the terrace, still in the red cloak of the Fire clan heir.

"Get the contract back," he said.

"The contract can't be retrieved." I looked down at him from the terrace. "It already bears the Royal Court's provisional seal. No one can alter it unless the correction is announced publicly on the wedding day."

"Sophia isn't fit to be the lady of the Fire clan," he blurted.

I nearly laughed.

Of course he knew that.

Sophia knew nothing about managing a territory or negotiating with the Guild, and she had no Wind clan behind her. Love was all she could offer Dante, not power or prestige.

Dante had always wanted both.

"But you love her," I said.

"What use is love?" He frowned. "This is a critical time for the Fire clan. You have the Wind clan's support and understand the Council. Having you marry into the clan would be best for me and for the Fire clan."

"So what you need is the Wind clan's strength, not me."

"Evelyn, don't twist what I'm saying."

"I'm not twisting anything," I said. "In my last life, those words might have softened me. I might have told myself you were simply under too much pressure. But not anymore."

Dante looked at me for a long time.

"You'll regret this," he said at last.

"I've already regretted it once."

He turned and left.

I remained where I was, my palms slick with sweat.

It wasn't that I didn't fear him. I knew exactly what he was capable of. But I could no longer live as I had in my last life, waiting for him to decide my fate.

The next day, my mother came to see me.

She put a letter of appointment from the Royal Court on my desk.

"The Court needs an advisor on the wind currents," she said. "King Alwyn asked for you by name."

In my last life, Dante would not let me go.

He said the Court was too far, and that once married I should put the Fire clan first.

And I had actually turned it down.

This time I took the letter at once.

"Mother, I'll go to Duskhold."

My mother remained silent for a long time before asking, "Have you truly thought this through? Going to the Court means publicly distancing yourself from the Fire clan."

"I've thought it through."

I did not tell her I had already died once.

It sounded too absurd, and telling her would only worry her. I could only show her through my actions that I would never again sacrifice myself for Dante.

At last, my mother hugged me. "Whatever you do, the Wind clan will stand behind you."

My eyes stung.

In my last life, I had always felt that once I married Dante, I could not rely on my mother for everything. I worked to turn myself into a proper lady of the Fire clan and forgot that I was the Wind clan's heir in my own right.

This time, I would not take my family's love for granted.

Before I left, I did three things.

First, I recalled every patrol writ the Wind clan had lent the Fire clan. Those were our finest troops. In my last life, Dante had used them to build his own reputation without so much as a word of thanks.

Second, I had the steward stop supplying the Fire clan with our accounts and Guild intelligence. I had always thought of Dante first, so the Fire clan knew a great deal about the Wind clan's internal affairs. That channel had to be closed.

Third, I wrote down every vital account I could remember from my last life and entrusted it to my mother. I marked every mine, smuggling operation, moonberry-toxin transaction, and suspicious attendant around Dante that I could recall.

I could not guarantee that every event would unfold as it had before, but at least I would not be caught unprepared again.

My mother read the list, her expression grave. She did not ask how I knew any of it. She only said she would send her most trusted people to investigate.

I knew that from that day forward, I had finally begun building a future on my own terms.