Semua Bab The Witch’s Apprentice and the Wolf: Bab 11 - Bab 16

Hana's POVThe palace loomed, impossibly vast. I pressed into the balcony rail, letting the night air chill my skin. Far below, gardens unfurled in tangled ribbons of lantern light, marble fountains murmuring secrets. Moonlit flowers seemed to swell and glow, determined to outdo the moon itself. If I narrowed my eyes, the whole scene blurred into something unreal—lights, hedges, perfume rising thick as a spell. It was all too dazzling, too dreamlike, as if I’d wandered into a fairy tale no one remembered to end.It was fitting, really—like so much of my life these days.I let out a sigh, propping my chin on my palm as I watched two guards trace lazy circles along the gravel below. They moved with the easy certainty of people who belonged. Must be nice.My stomach knotted. Tomorrow’s ball—the so-called summit. Only a lunatic would think cramming alphas, fae lords, witches, and vampires into one gilded room was smart. Who actually believes that’s safe? It’s a murder mystery just begging

Hana’s POVThe car slips through the city, its windows so deeply tinted that the outside world melts into ribbons of gold and shadow. My own reflection hovers in the glass, ghostly and angular beneath the faint interior glow.I almost don’t recognize her.My grandmother’s chosen dress wraps me in silken blue, scattered with tiny stones that flash like trapped starlight each time the car jolts. Silver magic threads glint through my pinned-up braid. I could have stepped from one of her ancestral portraits: poised, unreachable, the flawless echo of her legacy.Grandma sits beside me, regal as a queen. Her posture is carved from discipline. The faint scent of lavender and old parchment lingers around her, comforting and stifling in the same breath.She hasn’t spoken since we left the palace. She doesn’t need to. Her silence is the calm before the storm, leaving you to wonder if thunder or fire will follow.Tomorrow, she’ll announce me as her heir.Tomorrow, the world will know the next Hi

Hana's POVThe ballroom hummed with life. Music swelled, fake laughter rang out, and the air felt almost too thick to breathe. Chandeliers of floating crystal hung suspended by runes, scattering refracted light like a shower of stars. The marble floor beneath my heels shimmered faintly, each step igniting soft bursts of light. The scent of rosewater, wine, and a dozen competing perfumes tangled together until I couldn’t tell where one ended and the next began.It was beautiful, yet suffocating.I forced myself to keep moving, I need to pretend and make it out of this place alive. “Lady Hana, your dress is divine.”“Yes, the ShadowLands are flourishing.”“No, my grandmother hasn’t slowed down one bit.”Smile, pretend and give vague answer. Repeat.Inside, though, I was a storm barely holding form.My heart hadn’t stopped pounding since the announcer had called my name. I could still feel their eyes, hundreds of them, pressing against my skin, whispers brushing by like gnats. The wor