Chapter Four: The Snake Returns
Kael dismounted like a god stepping down from heaven—eyes catching light, a smirk tailored for war and charm alike. The courtiers flocked to him like bees to honey.
But I knew what that honey hid.
Venom.
He ascended the palace stairs slowly, regally. He didn't run to embrace me like the boy he once pretended to be. No. He paused two steps from the top, where I waited in my crimson and black.
"Princess Elira," he said, voice like warm wine.
"Prince Kael." I curtsied. Perfect. Polished.
"You've grown." His eyes swept over me with quiet calculation. "Beautifully."
"Words are cheap," I said sweetly. "And you've always had a gift for spending them carelessly."
He laughed, but there was tension behind it.
Good.
Let him feel it.
That evening, there was a banquet in his honor. The ballroom shimmered with candlelight, gold filigree, and ambition.
Kael made a show of sitting beside me at the high table. Toasting me. Whispering in my ear.
"You never wrote while I was away," he said as our goblets clinked.
"Neither did you."
"I thought of you."
"I doubt that."
His smile twitched.
A dance was announced, and he rose, hand outstretched. "Dance with me."
"I must, don't I?" I murmured as I took his hand.
The musicians played. We spun beneath the chandeliers, two perfect royal heirs moving in rhythm.
But our words were blades.
"Still sharp-tongued," he whispered. "Still wild."
"You used to like that."
"I still do."
I looked up at him. "Then why did you kill me?"
He faltered, if only for half a heartbeat.
"What?"
"I said," I smiled, "why did you leave me? When the war broke out."
A perfect recovery.
He chuckled, relaxed again. "I was ordered to the front. You know that."
Liar.
I left the ballroom early, slipping away to the garden terrace where I could breathe again. The wind was cooler there. The stars sharper.
I wasn't alone long.
"You're either incredibly brave," said a voice behind me, "or incredibly foolish."
I turned to see Caden leaning against the marble railing.
"Is that your professional opinion, Commander?"
"I'm not sure yet."
He stepped closer, folding his arms. "You're playing a game with the Prince."
"And if I am?"
"Be careful. Men like him… they don't lose gracefully."
I met his gaze. "Neither do women like me."
Later that night, I returned to my chambers and opened my journal again.
I added one more name to the list of traitors.
And another next to it, underlined twice.
Kael Varyn — first to fall.
To be Continued...