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"Okay, don't hate me," Liora said, flinging open the doors to Felice's room. "But I may have accidentally invited half the kingdom to my birthday."
Felice, sitting cross-legged on her bed with a book on magical theory in her lap, blinked. "How… does one accidentally invite hundreds of people?"
Liora flopped beside her, dramatically sighing. "I told Mother I wanted a small, chill celebration. So she arranged a masquerade ball, booked three orchestras, and summoned royal guests from neighboring realms. You know… 'chill.'"
Felice burst out laughing. "Right. Totally low-key."
Outside the window, the palace courtyard was already buzzing with decorators, enchanted flower garlands arranging themselves midair. Felice glanced at her reflection—wild curls, faint circles under her eyes, and a shimmer of violet still clinging to her fingertips from last night's unexpected magical surge.
"You okay?" Liora asked gently.
Felice hesitated. "Still kind of reeling. I mean… vampire uncle. Witch mom. Secret bloodline. I half expected someone to hand me a crown and a dragon."
"Well, no dragons," Liora grinned. "But I do know someone who wears a crown and acts like one."
A knock sounded on the door. Before either girl could respond, it flew open.
"Ladies, am I interrupting a sacred sisterly bonding moment or is this the part where you brush each other's hair and talk about boys?"
A tall, golden-haired young man leaned against the doorframe, grinning. He was dressed in a sky-blue tunic embroidered with silver stars, and his bright hazel eyes sparkled with mischief.
"Felice," Liora said with a sigh, "meet my younger brother. The Fourth Prince. Crowned menace. Baby of the family. Cassian."
Cassian gave an exaggerated bow. "Charmed."
Felice raised an eyebrow. "You don't look like a menace."
"That's how he gets you," Liora muttered.
Cassian strode in and sat upside-down on the armchair, legs slung over the backrest. "I heard about the whole 'you're secretly royalty with terrifying power' thing. Super casual. Want a cupcake?"
Felice blinked. "You… brought cupcakes?"
Cassian pulled one from his pocket with a proud grin.
Liora gasped. "Those are from the royal kitchens! You stole them!"
"I rescued them," Cassian corrected. "From being eaten by boring people."
Felice laughed despite herself. "Okay, I like him."
"Ugh," Liora groaned. "There are two of you now."
Just then, the door opened again. This time it was Lysander.
His gaze flicked to Felice first, then lingered briefly on Cassian draped like a housecat over the chair.
"I see the chaos has begun," Lysander said dryly.
"Brother dearest," Cassian grinned. "Come to join the fun? Or just here to glower at us for breathing too loudly?"
Lysander ignored him and turned to Felice. "I wanted to see how you're doing. After yesterday."
Her breath caught slightly. Something in the way he asked made her heart stutter.
"I'm okay. I think," she said. "Still processing."
"If you ever want to… talk. Or train," he added quickly, "you know where to find me."
Felice nodded, and for a second, neither of them looked away.
Cassian made a dramatic gagging noise. "Can you not make heart eyes in front of me? I'm too young to witness this."
Felice grabbed a pillow and lobbed it at him. "You're seventeen!"
"Emotionally, I'm fragile!"
The room dissolved into laughter, and for the first time in days, Felice felt a little lighter.
Even with the chaos, magic, and masquerade on the horizon… for now, she had friends. Maybe even family.
And maybe—just maybe—something more.
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