LOGINCARA“Then what exactly are you implying?”“I’m asking why you spent the entire dinner staring at Lena like you expected something to happen.”I opened my mouth, then closed it. I turned away from him and moved toward the table, pouring myself a glass of water just to give my hands something to do.“You’re being dramatic.”“And you’re avoiding the question.”I drank half the glass before setting it down. “You’re imagining things because you’re obsessed with her.”Adrian’s jaw tightened. Yes, let him be angry. Anger was easier to deal with than suspicion.“I’m not having this conversation again,” he said.“Then stop looking at her like she belongs to you.”The words slipped out before I could stop them and the room went still. When I finally turned, Adrian was already looking at me and the expression on his face made my stomach drop because it wasn’t anger, it was realization as if, in that moment, he had just understood something important… something I had never intended to say aloud.
CARABy the time dinner ended, I was certain something had gone terribly wrong. I kept my smile in place until the last possible second, until the nobles began leaving the hall and the servants started clearing the tables, until nobody was paying attention to me anymore. Only then did I turn and walk toward the corridor with what I hoped looked like calm dignity.The moment I was out of sight, I nearly broke into a run.My heart was pounding so hard it felt painful. This is impossible. No, not impossible. Worse than impossible. It was wrong, completely and undeniably wrong.I had watched Lena eat the tart, I had watched her take the first bite while Adrian sat there looking like he wanted to stop her and couldn’t, I had watched her finish half of it, then all of it, then sit there and continue talking as though nothing had happened.Nothing… no coughing, no dizziness, no blood, no collapse. Not even a hint that anything was wrong.She had eaten poisoned food and then spent the rest of
LENASlowly, I reached for the plate and across the table, I could have sworn I saw Adrian go completely still, it wasn’t something dramatic because he didn’t stand up nor did he say anything but something about his expression changed.For a brief moment, his attention locked onto the tart in my hand and the look in his eyes made my stomach tighten.I glanced down at the dessert, then at Cara, then back at Adrian. What in the world is happening?“Thank you,” I said carefully.Cara’s smile widened. “Of course.”The answer sounded normal, everything sounded normal and yet the atmosphere felt strange like everyone was waiting for something.I looked toward Kael and I could see that he was watching Cara, not me or the dessert, just staring suspiciously at Cara and that somehow made me feel worse.Maybe everyone at this summit has finally lost their minds. Deciding I was overthinking things, I picked up my fork and took a bite.The tart was delicious, the berries were sweet, the pastry was
LENAThe next morning, I woke up expecting disaster because at this point, it had become a habit.Ever since arriving at the summit, every day seemed determined to find new and creative ways to embarrass me.Unfortunately, when I opened my eyes, nothing terrible happened which somehow felt suspicious. I can’t even catch a break. I lay there staring at the ceiling for several seconds, the. another few seconds but still… nothing.“Interesting,” I muttered.The ceiling remained unhelpfully silent and eventually, I climbed out of bed and got dressed, half expecting Maren to burst through the door with another invitation, another council meeting, or another announcement that would ruin my day.She didn’t and that was even more suspicious.By the time I reached breakfast, I was convinced something was wrong.The dining hall buzzed with conversation as usual, nobles filled the room, Alphas occupied several tables and Lunas gathered near the windows.Everything looked normal until I stepped
CARAI hated the smile on Lena’s face, the same one I saw on her face the moment she stepped out of the council chamber.It wasn’t a smug smile nor was it an arrogant one, it was just a quiet, genuine smile and somehow that made me hate it more because people like Lena weren’t supposed to look like that.They weren’t supposed to stand among Alphas and Lunas as equals, they weren’t supposed to sit before the summit council and have their opinions taken seriously and most of all, they weren’t supposed to become women that people admired.Yet somehow that was exactly what was happening.Everywhere I went, people were talking about her, not me, not the future queen, not the royal wedding but her. Lena, the former servant, the rejected mate, the girl who should have disappeared months ago.Instead, she seemed to become more important every day.The thought made my stomach twist.I paced across my room, my heels clicking sharply against the polished floor back and forth trying to calm the
LENAI did not sleep and no matter how hard I tried, the sleep wasn’t forthcoming so I spent the entire night staring at the ceiling and contemplating every possible reason the summit council wanted to speak with me.Maybe I had accidentally broken some ancient summit law, maybe I wasn’t supposed to speak to future queens, maybe telling Cara to focus on her own kingdom was considered a crime, or maybe there was an official rule against embarrassing royalty.Honestly, if there wasn’t, there should be.By the time dawn arrived, I had convinced myself I was about to be publicly executed.The only thing keeping me calm was the fact that nobody had arrived with handcuffs yet.Unfortunately, Maren appeared at my door before breakfast and the moment I saw her, I knew my suffering was about to continue.“No.”She blinked. “I haven’t even said anything.”“You don’t need to,” I groaned. Maren folded her arms. “You have fifteen minutes.”I pointed at myself. “I think I’m sick.”“No you’re not,”







