Chapter 2: The Forged Signature

Aria’s POV

Mother led Serena into the house ahead of us, asking whether the flowers for the east dining room had arrived. I followed Damon through the entrance, carrying my parcel because the footman had reached for it without warning, and I had pulled away before I could stop myself.

The family portrait above the staircase had been replaced. In the new painting, Father stood behind Mother and Serena, with Damon beside them. There was no space where I might have been added later, and I knew the artist had not simply forgotten me.

“It's from Serena's twenty-first birthday,” Damon said. He stopped beside me when he noticed where I was looking. “Father commissioned it last year.”

“It's a lovely painting.” I looked away before he could explain further. “Could you show me the room? I'd like to wash before dinner.”

Damon took me upstairs to the west corridor, where visiting relatives usually stayed. He opened a bedroom with a narrow wardrobe and a window facing the service courtyard. Someone had placed fresh towels on the bed, but there were no personal belongings in the drawers.

“We didn't know what you would want,” he said. “You can ask Mrs. Vale for anything you need.”

“Thank you for arranging it.” I put my parcel on the bed and kept my hands folded until he finished looking around. “Damon, I need to apply for transfer papers. I don't intend to stay here longer than necessary.”

He turned toward me. “You've only just come home. We can talk about leaving after you've settled in.”

“I would prefer to start the application now. The prison told me I can't cross pack borders without the Alpha's clearance, and Father is the only person who can sign it.”

“Father is expecting King Cassian's inspection later this week, and Serena's engagement discussions are taking up most of his time.” Damon rubbed his forehead. “Give us a few days, Aria.”

I nodded because arguing would not produce a signature. I had spent enough time asking people for things they could refuse, and I had no wish to start again.

After he left, I opened the parcel and laid out the clothes I had worn into prison, a comb with two missing teeth, and the discharge certificate. I placed the certificate beneath the pillow, where I could find it quickly if someone entered the room.

Mrs. Vale knocked while I was washing my face. She had worked at the estate since I was a child and used to bring hot milk when I stayed up late studying. Now she waited in the doorway as though she needed permission to speak.

“Miss Aria, I can have your old books brought over,” she said. “Some of them were put into storage when the room was redecorated.”

“Please don't get yourself into trouble over them.” I dried my hands. “Is Mother still taking the medicine Dr. Rowan prescribed for her heart?”

Mrs. Vale hesitated. “Dr. Rowan Mercer changed the dosage last month. Lady Serena keeps the medicine box now, so I don't handle it anymore.”

I remembered the years when Mother asked me to check her tablets each evening because she disliked reading the small labels. I almost asked whether she had missed any doses, but Mrs. Vale looked toward the corridor before I could speak.

“I'm glad she's being looked after,” I said. “You don't need to bring anything else.”

At dinner, I sat at the end of the table where the staff had placed an extra setting. Father asked whether the journey from Blackstone had been comfortable, then began discussing the Ravenscroft delegation with Damon before I had finished answering.

Serena wore a necklace I recognized from Mother's jewelry box. “Prince Lucian is expected before the evening reception,” she said. “Father says the alliance would benefit both kingdoms, although nothing has been formally agreed.”

Father nodded. “The prince is here to evaluate the arrangement, Serena. You will both have the opportunity to decide whether it is suitable.”

I kept my attention on the plate in front of me. The food smelled rich, but my stomach had grown accustomed to smaller meals, and I could not manage more than a few mouthfuls. When a servant reached behind my chair, I flinched hard enough to knock my glass.

Damon caught it before it fell. “Aria, nobody is going to hurt you at the table,” he said, speaking softly enough that Father could not hear. “You don't have to behave as though you're still inside Blackstone.”

“I know,” I answered, although I did not. “I'm sorry about the glass.”

The announcement of Prince Lucian's arrival interrupted the meal.

Father stood at once and asked us to meet the delegation in the entrance hall.

I waited until the others had gone, hoping to return upstairs unnoticed, but a new footman who apparently mistook me for someone helping with the reception asked me to carry the folded guest register from the sideboard.

I had reached the hall when the prince came through the open doors. He was taller than Damon, with dark hair and a formal Ravenscroft coat fastened at the throat. His escort remained behind him as Father approached to offer a welcome.

“Your Highness, we're honored by your visit,” Father said. “My daughter Serena has been looking forward to meeting you.”

Lucian greeted Serena politely.

When I stepped around the stair rail with the register, a sudden warmth spread through my chest, sharp enough to make me stop. For a moment I thought Nyra had stirred, but the silence inside me remained unchanged.

The prince turned before anyone called his attention to me. His gaze settled on the register in my hands, then moved to my face and the swollen wrist visible beneath my cuff.

“Who is she?” he asked Father. “I don't believe we've been introduced.”

Father looked surprised to find me standing there. “This is Aria, our adopted daughter. She's recently returned after an absence.”

“An absence?” Lucian repeated. He waited while Father searched for a better answer. “Then perhaps someone should introduce her properly.”

I lowered my head. “Aria Blackthorne, Your Highness. I'm sorry to interrupt the reception.”

“You haven't interrupted anything,” he said. “And you needn't apologize for standing in your own home.”

I tried to answer, but Serena had already stepped forward to take his arm and show him the reception room. Lucian allowed her to guide him, though he looked back once before they reached the doorway.

Later, when I returned the guest register to the sideboard, I found a sealed request beneath it, apparently mixed into the reception paperwork by mistake.

The top sheet was addressed to Father and concerned the transfer of a female pack member to Ravenscroft territory. My name had been entered in the applicant field, but the signature beneath it was not mine.