Later that night—When the golden hall had emptied and the scent of wine turned sour—I stood alone in my chambers, the flickering candlelight casting long shadows.
On the desk before me lay the letters.Each sealed in black wax.Each bearing the mark of a lion devouring a crown.
They were my invitations.No, my summons.
To the discarded.The forgotten.The ones the world deemed unworthy.
I cracked the seal on the first.Read the name.Smiled.
Sir Caldus Ravane.Once a knight of the royal guard, now rotting in debt and disgrace after refusing to kneel to a corrupt noble.
Perfect.
The second.Lady Mirelle DuVos.A merchant widow whose caravans were burned under suspicion of treason—when in truth, she simply refused to pay bribes.
I penned each letter by hand.Carefully.Precisely.My words threaded with promises and threats in equal measure.
Come to me, I wrote.Swear loyalty, and I will give you back the power they stole.Refuse, and fade into the ash heap of history where they want you to rot.
By the time I finished, dawn's pale fingers were scratching at the window.And I—I was bone-weary but alive in a way I hadn't felt in years.
This was it.The first true move.Beyond whispers. Beyond stolen glances.
I wasn't just a fallen prince playing games anymore.I was building a legion from the cracks in the empire's foundation.
A knock sounded at my door.Soft, almost hesitant.
I knew before I called out who it was.
"Evelyne."
She slipped in like a shadow.No guards. No fanfare.
Her hair was unbound for once, cascading over her shoulders like dark silk.And her eyes—They weren't the cold weapons she wore in court.They were tired.Flickering.Human.
She looked at the scattered letters.At the black seals.
"So it begins," she murmured.
I arched a brow."No clever retort? No reminder that this could get us both killed?"
She gave a faint, humorless smile."I already accepted that when I agreed to this madness with you."
Her gaze sharpened."But I came to warn you."
Those words sent a chill crawling up my spine.Evelyne didn't warn.She calculated. She manipulated.
I straightened."What is it?"
She stepped closer, voice dropping."There's talk among the southern lords. About forming a new alliance. One that excludes the Ascaron family… and you."
My jaw clenched.So soon?
She nodded grimly."They sense we're up to something. They don't have proof yet, but they smell blood."
For a beat, silence stretched between us.Heavy. Tense.
Then—She stepped even closer.Close enough that I could see the faint smudge of ink on her fingers.Close enough to smell the faint trace of lavender in her hair.
Her voice was a low, fierce whisper."If you're going to do this, Leonhart… you need to move faster."
I reached out before I could stop myself.My hand closed around her ink-stained fingers.
Her breath hitched.Eyes flaring wide before she masked it again.
"I will," I said quietly."And when they come for us, Evelyne… we'll already have them by the throat."
For a moment—Just a breath—Her mask cracked.Her hand squeezed mine back.
It wasn't a lover's touch.Not yet.It was something rawer.
Two predators.Two broken creatures.Clinging to the only thing they could trust: each other.
The candle between us flickered violently.A storm building on the horizon.
She pulled back first.Mask sliding back into place.
"Good," she said, voice cool again."Because if we fall, I'm dragging every last one of them with me."
I laughed, dark and low."My dear Evelyne, that's why I chose you."
As she turned to leave, I caught her wrist.Held it just long enough to make her pause.
"When this is over…" I murmured, voice rough, "you and I—we'll be the only ones left standing."
She didn't look back.But her fingers curled tightly around mine for a heartbeat longer—Then slipped away.
When the door shut behind her, I exhaled slowly.
The letters lay before me like loaded weapons.The storm was coming.Faster now.
But I was ready.We were ready.
And when the empire looked upon its so-called villains—They would see not pawns—But the storm that would drown them all.