Chapter 14

SELENE POV

I knew before anyone told me.

The palace speaks, if you know how to listen.

Servants whisper when they think no one hears. Guards exchange looks. Even the air feels different when something shifts at the top of power.

They took her out, Into the city for a date.

The word burned, and felt so bitter as I mentioned it.

They never took me out, except it was a meeting.

I stood by the balcony as their car returned, watching from the shadows. She even had the gut to walk past them, like they didn’t exist.

It wasn’t my imagination anymore.

She had them, Not fully.

But close enough to threaten everything I had worked hard for.

Rumors were already spreading. That she laughed with them. That she dined with them. That she walked through the palace like she belonged there.

Belonged?

The audacity of such human to think she actually belonged.

I had built my place here brick by brick. Through loyalty. Through strategy. Through blood.

And she walked in with soft eyes and trembling hands and began undoing it.

Jealousy is an ugly emotion, but power born from jealousy is unstoppable.

I locked my chambers. No interruptions. I didn’t need someone coming in here to see what I was about to do.

The candles flickered as I began gathering ingredients. Rare herbs. Crushed nightshade. Powdered root from a plant that grew only in cursed soil. Venom diluted just enough to evade detection.

This would not be obvious. I wouldn’t make it dramatic. It would just be quiet and slow.

A gradual weakness. A sickness no one could explain. A tragedy that felt natural.

I crushed the final ingredient slowly, watching the color deepen into something almost black. My breathing steadied as control returned to me.

This was who I was.

Not the jealous woman watching from the shadows, I was the witch who shapes fate.

I poured the mixture into a small crystal vial and held it up to the candlelight.

One drop, that was all it would take to get everything under my control, and back to normal.

Hannah thought she was growing roots in this palace.

She didn’t realize I was already preparing the soil for her grave.

And when she takes her next sip of wine, or her glass of drink, She won’t even taste it.

She messed with the wrong witch, and I’ll show her what happens when someone messes with me.

HANNAH POV

I walked inside without looking back.

The moment my bedroom door shut behind me, I let out a shaky breath.

Why was I upset?

The car incident wasn't what I wanted. Fuck the me of before I got close to them would have cursed and wanted to strangle them. But I didn’t.

It wasn’t just how they reacted.

It was how I reacted.

I kicked off my heels and sat on the edge of the bed, pressing my palms against my eyes. The scene replayed in my head. the way Riven fingers were moving inside my pussy, his movement was exactly what I wanted. The way Kael choked me while kissing me. Gosh the scene alone made me wet instantly. the way Lucien tore my dress, and took my nipples into his mouth. I didn’t even think of pulling out, rather I wanted more. I even called them daddy.

“Fuck what has gotten into you Hannah.” I muttered to myself.

I should have been angry, I should have been offended.

But instead I wanted more, and thinking about it made my stomach flip.

And that made me even more upset.

A soft knock interrupted my spiraling thoughts.

“Hannah?” Tianna’s gentle voice came through the door.

I hesitated before letting her in.

She stepped inside with the kind of excitement that only someone who had been waiting all day to gossip could have. “Well?” she whispered dramatically. “Tell me everything.”

I rolled my eyes, but I couldn’t stop the small smile tugging at my lips.

“It was fine.”

“Fine?” she gasped. “You look like someone who just lived through a story.”

I sighed and sat back down. “They took me to the city. We had dinner . It was as normal as a date could get.

Tianna leaned forward eagerly. “And?”

“And I told them things,” I admitted quietly. “About my mum. About before. About Elias.”

Her expression softened immediately. “That’s a big step, Go girl.”

“They were angry about Elias,” I continued. “Like scary angry. But they stopped because I asked them to.”

Tianna nodded slowly.

“And then this waiter asked for my number.”

Her eyes widened. “In front of them?”

“Yes.”

“And?”

“Well let’s just say I paid the price.” I sighed.

Tianna covered her mouth, trying to hide her frustration. “What do you mean by you paid the price? Girl, stop keeping me in the dark.”

I groaned, falling back onto the bed. I told her about the whole car situation, how Riven lost control and the rest followed.

Tianna couldn’t hide her surprise and happiness.

“Finally some action. I heard angry sex is the best. Although you guys didn’t have sex, did you enjoy it?”

“That’s the problem.”

“What is?”

“I didn’t hate it.”

The words slipped out before I could stop them.

The room went quiet.

“I mean, I should have,” I rushed to explain. “It was possessive and over the top and dramatic. All three of them were on me at the same time. It was intense.”

Tianna tilted her head slightly. “But?”

“But I liked it.”

Saying it out loud made my chest tighten.

“I liked that they were aggressive and rough,” I whispered. “I liked that they didn’t listen to my plea. I liked that they were all over me.” I swallowed. “And I shouldn’t.”

“Ughh why am I telling you all this. You’ll just use it to mock me.”

Tianna walked over and sat beside me.

“Well it’s not a surprised you liked it, I always knew you were a bad girl, but you needed someone to unlock that part of you.”

“You’re not angry at them,” she said gently. “You’re angry at yourself.”

I didn’t respond.

Because she was right.

I wasn’t upset that they acted that way.

I was upset that my heart reacted the way it did.

“I wanted more,” I admitted softly, staring at the ceiling. “That’s the worst part. When we got back, I wanted them to push. I wanted them to not listen when I said not tonight.”

The confession felt dangerous.

Tianna didn’t judge me.

“You’re human,” she said simply. “And they’re powerful men who care about you.”

“They don’t care,” I murmured automatically.

She gave me a look.

“They do.”

I stared at my hands.

“What does that say about me?” I asked quietly. “That I’m starting to like this? That I’m starting to like them?”

Tianna’s voice was calm. “It says you’re adjusting. And whether you admit it or not, this is your reality now. You’ll have to get used to it.”

Get used to it.

The words echoed in my head long after she left.

That night felt heavier than the others.

The excitement from earlier faded, replaced by a deep ache I couldn’t ignore. I changed into something comfortable and curled up on my bed, staring at the dark ceiling.

I missed my mum. The kind of missing that settled deep in your bones.

I missed Valerie too. The normalcy. The simplicity of complaining about boys who weren’t supernatural rulers. The comfort of knowing exactly where I belonged.

My phone sat on the bedside table, powered off.

The urge to turn it on was almost unbearable.

I wanted to text Valerie. I wanted to tell her everything, the dinner, the waiter, the car situation, the way my heart betrayed me. I wanted someone who knew me before all this to remind me who I was.

But the moment I turned it on, Elias would start again. Calls, messages and numbers didn’t recognize.

His obsession was disguised as love, and I couldn’t deal with that tonight.

So I didn’t reach for it.

Instead, I pulled the blanket closer and let the silence wrap around me.

Somewhere between guilt and longing.