Page 25

I assumed word of my titling had reached the Serpent Press by now, but I still hadn’t seen it. I wondered what Cully had written, and where he was now.

Weeks ago, when I was healing, Archer hadn’t let anyone else near me. Now, he wouldn’t even look at me.

Since returning from Tyvern, he’d kept his distance, clinging to the facade that I was only his heir. Maybe it was for the best. Maybe pretending made it easier. But watching him command his guards like none of it mattered, like I didn’t matter, was starting to rip me apart from the inside out.

So I went looking for him.

I searched nearly the entire estate—hallways, training courts, even the eastern balconies—before I finally found him in the library. He didn’t look up when I stepped inside. His attention was buried in a dust-covered book, the kind that looked like it hadn’t been opened in decades.

I crossed my arms, letting the silence stretch. “What am I supposed to do?” I asked. “Prance around in a dress all day while you play ruler? ”

No reaction. Just a slow, deliberate glance up. He sat with one leg slung over the other, dressed in a dark, tailored suit. The emerald buttons caught the light, gleaming like they belonged to someone who wasn’t shattering behind the seams.

“We wait,” he said, voice flat. “The king has set your titling ceremony. I expect most of the Serpents to attend.”

He closed the book, and for a moment, I saw the cover—an ice beast mid-roar, its fangs bared. He was studying Winter shields.

My voice was quieter this time. “What about the Academy? Malachi and Knox probably think I’m dead. The final trial’s coming. Shouldn’t we be there?”

“Monty will inform Malachi,” he said. “And I have no reason to attend the final trial. I have an heir.”

“I want to go,” I snapped. “If my father gains an heir—”

He raised a brow. “Severyn. Do you remember when we tied our rider bond?”

The heat climbed my neck. “Yes.”

“Then you know I can hear your thoughts.”

My stomach dropped.

“I know your father asked you to commit treason. Which means no, we’re not going. I know damn well you’d risk everything, including your freedom, to save him.”

I leaned against the doorframe, dragging my fingers over the carved stars in the molding. “Fine. When’s my date with Ellison?”

His jaw twitched, but he only shrugged, smooth and unreadable. “That depends on his portal. The lead guard says he’s eager.”

“You spoke to Charles?”

“He’s a guard, Severyn. This is as much a political barter as the last. ”

I sighed. “Well then, teach me how to be your heir. What are you working on?”

I stepped toward him, but he shadowed himself the other way, shelving his book.

“I’m trying to understand how Winter shields work,” he said.

“Did you find anything?” I asked.

He shook his head. “I offered your father sanctuary. He refused. Stubborn man. It’s only a matter of time before scavengers break into his mines and steal the diamonds.”

“How long until his shields completely fall?”

“It could be weeks. It’s hard to tell. But by Winter solstice, his wards will break around your estate.”

“What if an heir is named?” I asked.

“Then that heir will have a mess to clean up,” he said. A shadow flickered across his face as he glanced toward the hall. “I’ll call on you if anything comes up. Until then… help Amria in the gardens if you’re bored.”

“So you’re just going to keep avoiding me?”

His jaw tightened. “It’s easier,” he murmured, “if we keep our distance.”

I laughed. “Do you really think I have so little self-control that I’d fantasize about mounting you in your study?”

Archer’s eyes snapped to mine. “Who said anything about you, Severyn?” he said softly. “My self-control is the one hanging by a thread.”

I didn’t reply. I just turned and walked away.

At the front doors, I shoved them open and stepped into the gardens behind the black-bricked estate. The frost-bitten air hit hard, scraping down my lungs like glass. I wanted to scream. To break something.

Then I saw Amria, his aide, and the chaos inside me began to still. She looked up from the patch of soil she’d been tending, dirt streaked across her cheeks, fingers still buried in the earth. Her strawberry-blonde hair lifted in the breeze, a small shovel resting steady in her palm.

“Hello, Miss Blanche,” she said gently. “Lovely gown.”

“Thank you,” I murmured. “But please, call me Severyn.”

I crossed the garden slowly and knelt beside her. “What are you planting?”

She smiled, wiping her brow with the back of her wrist. “Mr. Lynch mentioned you liked flowers. So, I planted some. The gown you’re wearing—it’s made from petals.”

My gaze dropped to the soft pale purple fabric of my skirt. “Are those… hellebores?”

“It’s the only flower that survives the cold season,” she said, carefully plucking a pale bloom. “I heard they’re your favorite.”

“That, and roses,” she added. “But I used all of them for your titling gown. I can’t wait for you to see it.”

Amria’s catlike yellow eyes glinted as she leaned over the flowerbed, her cheeks hollowed in concentration. I imagined her family before their land turned barren, might have been dangerous. Poisonous, even. Like the student who had hurt Callum at the Serpent Bid.

I took the shovel from her and began placing bulbs into the loosened earth beside her. She hummed softly; it reminded me of Giesel’s song.

“Do you remember your home?” I asked. “Before it went barren?”

She blinked once. “I was young,” she said. “But I remember the day the Forgotten came. Mum pulled me back just before the snake struck. Then a basilisk killed my father and nearly half the village.”

Her voice faded as she tilted her head toward the sky. “It was like a gray smog. It cleansed the life from everything. The leaves lost their color. The canals dried. The air felt hollow. My land had many secrets. Most of them came to the surface in the days after the attack.”

She wiped a tear away and turned from me. But her voice remained steady. “This is my home now. And I’m one of the lucky ones, Severyn. I really am. They stripped the vibrancy from my land, but I gained it back. I create beauty with my hands.”

My throat tightened. “How do I forget mine?”

Her voice fell to a whisper. “You never wish to forget.”

She looked out across the valley, where stars danced over the lilac-streaked river, and her shoulders lifted. “You have a guest coming soon,” she said, tone brightening. “What color gown would you like? The dirt is a pretty shade. I could fix one up for you.”

I laughed. “Dirt?”

“Yes, dirt. He’ll think you’re humble and outdoorsy.”

“Amria, I’ll just wear something from my closet. You’ve already made me almost a dozen gowns.”

She leaned in, twirling her fingers like she was knitting the air.

“Severyn, I have the quell of an artist. I can pull color from the sky and paint it into fabric.” She dragged a finger through the dirt, and shades of brown and umber bloomed across her skin.

“Point to a star, and I’ll stitch you socks that glow just like it. ”

I raised a hand, looked up at the sky, and picked one. “You know, I think Archer would love a pair of star-woven socks.”

Amria stood, brushing her hands on her apron. “The star of Antares,” she whispered. “The perfect birthday gift for him.”

“ Birthday ?”

“Yes. November 13th. Today is Archer’s birthday.”

I blinked. “It’s November 13th?”

“I know,” she said gently. “The darkness makes the days slip past without warning.”

“I don’t even know him,” I murmured, more to myself than to her. I didn’t even know his damn birthday .

Then a voice echoed inside me. That strange bond. “Did you miss me? That was quite a dinner party the other day.”

“Out,” I snarled through the bond, then exhaled sharply. “Who the hell are you?”

“Do not force me out again, Severyn. That was mean.”

My stomach twisted, breath catching hard in my throat. “Leave,” I hissed. “ I’m not at the institute anymore.”

“Perhaps I was never there.”

Across the garden, Amria straightened, her brows pinching as she stepped forward. “Are you all right? You’ve gone pale. Should I call a healer—”

“I’m fine,” I said, too fast, already rising, already retreating.

“Severyn, miss, please. Dinner should be ready, I know Archer had a special meal prepared just for the occasion.”

“I’m fine,” I repeated. “Truly.”

But even I could tell my voice didn’t sound like mine. The only thing anchoring me was the scent of food drifting through the corridor, though it smelled more like soaked cabbage laced with spice.

I should eat something. Anything.

“I don’t care to play this game,” I muttered under my breath, shaking off the last of that voice’s grip. “You either tell me who you are, or I will force you out.”

“Our game ends when I say it’s over,” the bond mocked. “And oh, I can’t wait to watch this date unfold. How cruel Archer is—he succumbs to his desires, then pretends you don’t exist. That must feel horrible.”

“You don’t understand,” I whispered aloud.

“Then enlighten me.”

I entered the dining hall and sat alone at the long obsidian table. A servant approached in silence and placed a glass of wine before me.

“Have you ever been in love?” I whispered aloud .

“No.”

I scoffed. “Figures. Clearly you have too much time on your hands.”

“I have all the time in the world for you.”

Then Archer stepped into the room, freshly showered. Water clung to the ends of his dark curls.

“Who are you talking to?” he asked, settling into the chair across from me.

The light from the antler-beast chandelier caught on his shirt, and the buttons glinted emerald. I could have sworn they were violet back at the Academy.

I cleared my throat and slammed the bond shut. “No one,” I said, reaching for my wine. In fact, I downed the whole glass in one sip.

“I had something special prepared for tonight,” he said, nodding toward the cook lingering just out of sight. “Figured you deserved something warm.”