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The night was still, but tension hung heavy like the scent of blood before a storm.
Seraphina stood alone on the palace balcony, the cool wind brushing her face. She closed her eyes, letting the silver moonlight wash over her skin. Since regaining her sealed powers, her senses had sharpened—every whisper in the court, every flicker of deceit, they reached her like a calling.
Yet tonight… something different stirred.
A sudden weight in the air.
A presence.
She turned.
A figure stood at the far end of the balcony, cloaked in midnight, golden eyes watching her with unblinking intensity.
Seraphina didn't flinch. "You've been following me since the vault."
He stepped forward—slowly, with the elegance of a predator. "You're sharper than the books claimed."
She raised a brow. "So you're a reader of fiction."
"I'm a collector of truths," he said. "And you, Empress, are buried in lies."
He stepped into the moonlight now. Tall. Lean. A jagged scar running from his jaw to the collarbone. Golden eyes gleamed like a divine beast, and something about him pulsed with ancient power.
"Who are you?" she asked, voice low.
He smiled. "You'll know me when it matters."
"You dare step in my palace without a name?"
"I was invited once," he said, "by your parents."
Her breath hitched. "You knew them?"
He stepped closer, his gaze softening. "I loved them. Your mother called me her shadow. Your father—her sword."
Seraphina's fingers trembled slightly. "Then where were you when they were murdered?"
His smile vanished. "Trapped in a curse—cast by the one you now call 'heroine.'"
Silence thundered between them.
"Why come now?"
"Because the curse broke the moment you touched your soul. You've awakened powers they fear. That she fears."
Seraphina narrowed her eyes. "So you're on my side?"
"I'm on your truth," he said. "Whether that leads to salvation or ruin... is your choice."
She stared at him. His energy was wild and ancient—older than the empire. A secret weapon wrapped in riddles.
Finally, she said, "Then stay. But deceive me once… and I'll remind you who the villainess truly is."
He bowed. "Fair trade, my queen."
Behind them, the sky cracked with distant thunder.
And in the temple of light, Evelyne opened her eyes from a prophetic dream—her face pale with dread.
"She has awakened him," she whispered. "It's too soon…"
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