Chapter 51: Quiet Knives

Ayla’s POV The invitation to the peace summit was sent to Bloodfang territory. It was set for two weeks from now. Right here at Sun Palace. While we waited for an answer, I started my work. My revenge on Maddie began small. Quiet. The kind of revenge that looks like nothing, but feels like a thousand little cuts. I spoke with the head of the household staff, my voice sweet and concerned. “Poor Maddie,” I sighed. “She seems so restless. Maybe more work would help. I hear the scullery needs extra hands for the copper pots. They say the work is… humbling.” The next day, I saw Maddie, her nice dress covered by an apron, her hands red and raw in soapy water, scrubbing burnt pots. Her face was pure anger. A week later, I spoke to a passing maid. “Isn’t it sad how drafty the north wing rooms are? I’d hate for anyone to be stuck there.” The next day, Maddie’s things were moved from her sunny room to a small, cold room facing the wall. At a council meeting, when Maddie tried to give an

Last Updated : 2026-01-20

Chapter 52: The Silence Before the Storm

Ayla’s POV Thorne’s fury was a quiet, terrible thing. He crumpled the edge of the scroll in his fist. “Forgiven?” he snarled, the word dripping with venom. “He wants me to pardon the bitch who tried to burn you from the inside out? This is an insult. This ends now. The invitation is dead.” He moved to grab the scroll back. To tear it, maybe. “Wait,” I said, my voice too calm in the hot room. He froze, his eyes slicing to me. “Wait for what? For him to spit in my face and call it rain?” I kept my face smooth. My own rage was a cold, hard stone in my gut, but I let none of it show. “We should say yes.” His eyes narrowed to dangerous slits. “Explain.” “Let her come,” I said, meeting his gaze without blinking. “Let her walk into Sun Palace thinking she has won. Let her feel safe. Let Caius feel proud of his cleverness. When your enemy is comfortable, they make mistakes. They get lazy.” Thorne studied me. He saw past my calm words. He saw the ice in my eyes, the calculation. He le

Last Updated : 2026-01-22

Chapter 52: The Broken Doll

Ayla’s POV Maddie stood in the doorway, her chest heaving. The sweet mask she always wore was gone, smashed to pieces. All that was left was the ugly truth underneath. Her face was red. Her eyes were wild. “You,” she hissed, the word full of poison. “You think I’m blind? The pots. The cold room. The way you made me look like a fool in front of everyone. You are doing all of it. You are trying to break me into dust.” I didn’t move from the balcony railing. The cool night air felt good on my skin. “I am giving you what you deserve, Maddie. You dug your own hole. I am just watching you stand in it. It’s not a deep hole, but you keep trying to dig it deeper.” Her face twisted into something mean and ugly. She took a shaky step forward. The jagged glass in her hand caught the moonlight, winking like a cruel little star. “I won’t let you! I am not some kitchen omega you can kick around! I was born to be Luna! You stole it! You, a nobody with a monster living in your skin!” She lunged.

Last Updated : 2026-02-01

Chapter 53: The Gilded Cage

Ayla’s POV The peace talks dragged on for days. Around the big wooden table in the council room, words were the new weapons. Caius talked of borders. Thorne talked of respect. The air was thick with fake smiles and hidden knives. I sat beside Thorne, my hands folded, my face calm. But I felt eyes on me. Not Sylvia’s hateful glare. Caius’s. He watched me. Not like a man looks at an enemy. Like a collector looks at a rare, surprising jewel. During a break, as people stretched and drank water, he came to stand near me. “You have a gift, Luna Liliana,” he said, his voice a low, smooth rumble. “The way you spoke of the river trade rights… sharp. Clear. You see the whole board, not just your own pieces.” He sipped his wine, his winter-blue eyes never leaving my face. “It is a rare thing in one so… young.” “I learn from the best,” I said, my voice polite and empty. I did not look at him. “I imagine you do,” he murmured. “A quick mind. A steady hand. Qualities that make a pack truly gre

Last Updated : 2026-02-02

Chapter 54: A Dance of Fire

Ayla’s POVFor the next two days, the castle buzzed with talk of the feast. Sylvia was everywhere, always moving, always practicing. You could hear her humming in the halls, see her twirling when she thought no one was looking. She wanted to be the star. She needed to be the star.She started rumors. Sweet, poisonous little whispers that slithered through the rooms like snakes. “Poor Luna Liliana,” her maids would sigh to others. “So sheltered. So quiet. She probably never learned the old dances. It must be hard, to be so… unprepared.”Maddie, the obedient little mouse, helped spread the whispers. I saw her in corners, talking fast and low, her eyes bright with mean joy. She wanted to see me fall on my face. She wanted to watch me be a joke.They didn’t know. While they were practicing their pretty steps, I was in the deepest part of the library. I wasn’t reading about wolf dances. I was studying the old scrolls. The dragon dances. Ceremonies from when the great beasts ruled the skies

Last Updated : 2026-02-03

Chapter 55: A Storm in the Stone Hall

Ayla’s POV I left the thunder of the hall behind me, slipping out a small side door into a quiet, dark corridor. My heart was a wild drum of confusion in my chest. The roar of the crowd still rang in my ears, but all I could see was Thorne’s angry, stormy face as he walked away. I walked quickly, the stones cold under my bare feet. I followed the path I thought he might have taken, away from the noise and the light. I found him. He stood before a tall, narrow window, his back to me, a black shape against the silver moonlight. His shoulders were a hard, straight line of tension. He looked like a statue made of shadow and anger. “Thorne.” He didn’t turn. “Go back to your admirers, Ayla,” he said, his voice flat and cold. “They are waiting for their star.” I took another step closer, the chill from the floor seeping into my skin. “What is wrong? Why did you leave like that?” He spun around so fast it made me jump. His eyes were blazing with a storm of feelings he couldn’t—or would

Last Updated : 2026-02-04