Chapter 3: The Prince's Intervention

Aria’s POV

The next morning, I took the transfer request from beneath my pillow and read it again in daylight. Someone had written my full name, my age, and my prison registration number.

The application stated that I had agreed to placement in a Ravenscroft household as an unpaid attendant, and the signature at the bottom was a careful imitation of the one I had used before going to prison.

I had asked Damon for permission to leave, but I had never agreed to become anyone's servant. I folded the document and placed it inside my shoe before going downstairs, where I found Mrs. Vale arranging breakfast trays near the kitchen.

“Do you know where Father keeps the official transfer forms?” I asked. “I need to check whether an application has been submitted in my name.”

Mrs. Vale put down the tray. “Only the Alpha's office can submit those forms. You should speak to Mr. Damon before you go near that office, Miss Aria.”

“I've already spoken to Damon. I just need to know whether my name has been used.” I glanced toward the corridor when footsteps sounded nearby. “Please don't tell anyone I asked you.”

I went to the greenhouse after breakfast because I needed somewhere quiet to think. Mother and I used to grow herbs there, and she had taught me which leaves could ease a fever before I was old enough to shift. When I opened the door, the shelves had been removed, and a grand piano stood beneath the glass roof.

Serena was sitting at the instrument, practicing a melody I recognized from Mother's favorite song. She stopped when she saw me and rested her fingers on the keys.

“You should have knocked,” she said. “Mother had this room prepared for my lessons, and the prince may come here later.”

“I didn't know it had been changed.” I looked toward the wall where Mother used to mark the height of the seedlings. “I only wanted to see whether the rosemary survived.”

“The gardeners moved whatever they could.” Serena closed the music book. “Aria, I hope you're not going to make Mother feel guilty over a few plants. She's had enough to worry about.”

“I wasn't going to say anything to her.” I moved toward the door. “You can have the room. I won't come back without asking.”

Serena stood and caught my sleeve before I could leave. “You always do this. You speak as though we're cruel to you, then expect everyone to feel sorry for you.”

I pulled my arm free and stepped back. The sudden movement sent pain through my wrist, and I held it against my stomach until the trembling eased.

“Don't touch me without warning,” I said. “I'm asking you, Serena. Please don't do that again.”

“I'm your sister,” she answered. “You act as though I have no right to speak to you.”

“You have every right to speak. You don't have to hold me in place.” I kept my eyes on the door because I could hear someone approaching outside. “I want to leave this pack. That's all I've asked for.”

Prince Lucian entered before Serena could respond. He looked from the piano to my hand, which I was still holding against my body. He did not move closer until Serena greeted him.

“Your Highness, I was about to show you my music room,” Serena said. “Aria came in without asking, and I'm afraid she misunderstood me.”

Lucian acknowledged her greeting, then turned to me. “I heard you say you wanted to leave the pack. Is someone preventing you from leaving?”

Serena answered before I could speak. “She's only just returned, and Father would rather she recover before making any decisions. I'm sure you understand.”

“I asked Aria,” Lucian said. His voice remained courteous, but Serena fell silent. “You may answer if you wish, Miss Blackthorne.”

I had spent two years learning that speaking without permission could make a bad day much worse. I looked at Serena, then back at him, trying to decide whether this was another question with only one safe answer.

“I need my father's signature,” I said. “Without it, the border officers can send me back here. I don't want to enter another household under an agreement I haven't read.”

Lucian's expression changed. “Has someone asked you to sign such an agreement?”

“Someone has already signed one for me.” I bent down, slipped the folded paper from inside my shoe, and handed it to him. “I found this last night. I don't know whether it was submitted, but that isn't my signature.”

He read the document without interrupting me. Serena reached for it, saying there must be a misunderstanding, but Lucian moved the page away before she could touch it.

“This is not an ordinary transfer,” he said. “It lists you as an unpaid attendant in my household. I have not requested an attendant, and I have authorized no transfer into my household.”

Serena went pale. “Father's secretary must have used the wrong form. I can ask him to correct it.”

“I will ask him myself.” Lucian folded the page and returned it to me. “Keep the original. If someone has filed a copy, it will matter that you can show what was written.”

I took it carefully. “Thank you, Your Highness. I didn't know who else would believe me.” I was still afraid he would change his mind once Father explained how difficult I had been before prison, but I could not bring myself to take the document back to Damon without making a copy.

“You don't have to persuade me that a signature is yours when you're telling me it isn't.” He stepped aside to give me room to leave. “I would like to speak with you again, if you agree. Some procedures allow transfer to be reviewed independently.”

I looked at the open door, then at the paper in my hand. “I would agree to that. I just don't want my family punished because I asked for help.”

Lucian regarded me for a moment. “I can't promise there will be no consequences for a forged document. I can promise I won't make decisions about your life without speaking to you.”

Serena waited until he left to turn on me. Her voice had lost the sweetness she used in front of Mother, and she did not attempt to hide her anger.

“You should have kept quiet,” she said. “Because when Father checks the office register, he'll find your name beside the request to have that document prepared.”