Morning arrived with cruel clarity.
Evelyn stood before the tall mirror in her new quarters, brushing a hand over her collarbone where last night's heat still lingered. Alexander's words still echoed in her ears. His nearness, the way his voice dropped when he said I want you—as if he'd been waiting years to speak those words aloud.
She hadn't slept.
She didn't know what that meant yet—but she knew what it felt like.
Hope.
And danger.
By the time she reached the Academy's main hallway, the whispering had already begun. Heads turned. Voices hushed.
"Did you see them last night—?"
"Valerius never stays that long."
"She left before the others. He followed—"
Evelyn kept her face unreadable.
But the rumors burned like wildfire. All it had taken was one glimpse of them slipping away, one quiet moment too long under the garden moonlight, and the vultures had begun circling.
Caelan was waiting for her near the courtyard archway, one hand casually tucked into his coat pocket, the other holding a plum he'd stolen from the banquet's leftovers.
"You missed the scandal," he said with a grin. "Apparently, you're now involved in a dangerous love triangle and Alexander Valerius may or may not have dueled a prince for you. I'm hurt I wasn't invited."
She rolled her eyes. "You're ridiculous."
"I prefer charmingly underestimated."
But then he looked at her. Really looked.
And the smile faded, just a little.
"Did something happen last night?" he asked more quietly.
She hesitated. "Yes. But not in the way they think."
Caelan nodded. "I figured."
He stepped closer, suddenly serious. "Just… be careful with him. You think you know Alexander, but I'm not sure even he knows what he's capable of when it comes to protecting something he cares about."
"Is that a warning?" she asked softly.
"No," he said after a pause. "It's… a fear. He's powerful, Evelyn. But you—" he looked down, then met her eyes again—"you're precious in a way people like him don't know how to handle."
Before she could answer, someone else interrupted them.
A girl Evelyn didn't recognize—short, dark hair, uniform crisp, eyes sharp.
She slipped a folded paper into Evelyn's hand and walked off without a word.
Evelyn opened it slowly, feeling Caelan glance over.
The note was written in delicate script:
You're being watched. The banquet was only the beginning.
Stay away from him if you want to survive the next move.
It wasn't signed.
But at the bottom, drawn in faint silver ink, was a serpent coiled around a sword.
Her stomach dropped.
Isabella wasn't finished.
And neither was the mysterious ally working in the shadows.