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“Delair’s father is here,” I said, my voice quieter. “How am I supposed to face him?”

“He would’ve found out when she didn’t come home for the Winter solstice holiday.” His voice lowered. “Delair was next in line to inherit my title. He deserves the truth from me.”

I stared at him, the weight of it settling like ash in my lungs. He hadn’t just delivered my brother’s death. He’d delivered hers, too.

I asked, “Is that why you want to keep this quiet?”

His gaze dropped to the gravel between us. “I don’t care what the others think anymore. But you—” He looked down. “You defeated the lindworm. Alone. If you were anyone else, it wouldn’t matter. But there are only two ways this ends.”

My throat closed. “We end it. Whatever this is.”

The king’s warning echoed through me— An heir cannot be with their ruler. I didn’t know why. Only that I was sure it caused some kind of political unease.

He reached for me, fingers curling under my chin. “Or... you prove yourself. Prove you earned your title the moment you faced the Serpent. Being a Serpent means showing the realm you deserve the power you wield.”

I blinked, the words striking like a slap. “The king called it treason. ”

“You earned this. And I won’t be the reason you’re questioned for it.” His jaw clenched. “The choice is yours. Come back with me now—as my heir, and nothing more.”

“An ultimatum?”

“These are the choices, Sev. Charles knows it. That’s why you’re here. He had every right to send you to the prisons with the proof of your forbidden quell. He didn’t. And option one? It’s worthless if we’re both dead.”

“Then tell me what you want.”

“I won’t tell you what to do,” he said, gaze hardening. “But if you walk away from this institute, we don’t exist—and that would be a slow, cruel death. I could announce it now.” He nodded toward the gates. “There are a dozen starving journalists inside, all waiting for a headline.”

I leaned in, our breath brushing. “Fine. Take me back with you and I’ll deal with the consequences.”

He exhaled, slow. “An heir should not be in a Serpent’s bed. And if you come back with me... that’s all you’ll ever be. An heir. I don’t want that.”

I swallowed hard. “What happens if I don’t prove myself? What happens after?”

He took my hand, pressing it to his chest. “Burn this place down, Severyn. You’re not at the Academy anymore. No one here gets to tame you.”

“Fine,” I said again, quieter.

He moved my hand to his jaw. “My mother was raised to serve a man’s kingdom. She gave everything so Night could see the sun. I won’t watch you accept a life a man carved out for you.”

I almost kissed him. Gods, I wanted to. I wanted to collapse into that heat, that promise. But the things I longed for didn’t have space here .

“I should head in,” I murmured, stepping back. “It’s not exactly formal to skip whatever the hell bladecasting is.”

He caught my wrist as I turned. “You’re allowed one more moment of irrationality.

But so am I.” His thumb brushed along my jaw, lips hovering just above mine.

“One last chance,” he murmured, “before your brother writes our love story across every headline. The Valscribe reporters are desperate for details about my love life.”

I brushed my thumb across his mouth. “Our love story?”

He nodded. “Kissing you here would surely be treason.”

Our mouths met in a fleeting, desperate kiss. It lasted only a second, but when I pulled back, he held me tighter.

“I’ll see you soon,” he murmured. “The bond goes both ways, in case you’re incredibly lonely at night.”

“Oh, I’m not entirely sure I can moan in my mind,” I said dryly.

“I meant to talk, Severyn—but good to know you’re up for a challenge.”

I rolled my eyes and stepped back, heart still racing. But as I turned, a familiar face snagged my attention.

Cully was leaning in the doorway like he hadn’t just missed the most emotionally complicated kiss of my life. His quill was tucked neatly into his vest pocket, which, thank the realms, meant he hadn’t seen it.

I brushed past him, breath shallow, thoughts spinning, but before I could slip away, the doors blasted open with a sharp gust.

“Severyn—wait up!” he called. “Excuse me!” he added, weaving through a few guards.

I turned sharply. “Hello, Cully. What’s this? Come to watch the initiates or flirt with my friend again?”

He raised both hands in mock surrender. “Okay, I didn’t know Myla was your friend. We hooked up a few times, and we were drunk. Would you like me to say it meant something or not?”

I narrowed my eyes. “Neither of those, actually. But if I had to pick, I’d prefer it meant something.” I paused, shaking my head. “No—change of topic.”

He flinched. “I haven’t seen you in months. I asked about Knox, and all I got was ‘he’s fine’?”

“What do you want me to say?” My voice came out sharper than I intended. “Because I don’t want my name in your journals.”

Cully was smart, and I was terrible at lying to him. I didn’t want Cully writing about me. Not when so many were watching. Not when my heirship hadn’t been announced.

His golden eyes dimmed. “Do you think I will write about you behind your back?”

“No,” I said, voice softening. “I’m asking you not to write about me at all.”

His hand dropped from my shoulder. “If your name ends up in the archives, it won’t be alone.

Every guard, every initiate, every soul in this place will be there, too.

” He hesitated, guilt slipping across his face.

“I’m stationed here for two years—unless I find something big enough to earn a transfer.

I already made one mistake... and it nearly cost me everything. ”

“What mistake?” I asked. “Cully, you never told me.”

He shook his head. “I—I wasn’t honest in an entry. Doesn’t matter now.”

“All I’m asking is that you keep my name out of it.”

His fingers hovered over the empty notebook tucked beneath his arm. “I can’t promise that. This is my career.”

“Then I guess we’re done here.”

His arms sagged as I turned to walk away. “I won’t write about the kiss,” he said quietly. “No one else saw it but me. But stories like that? People would kill for them. Don’t make it obvious you’re seeing a Serpent.”

I swallowed against the ash in my throat, glancing back. “Thank you.”

I trusted Cully with my life. But death had a habit of finding the people I loved. I couldn’t risk it again—not with Cully. Not with Myla. Her death had been a silent scream in my mind the night Archer held the seven keys.

Cully exhaled behind me. “What happened at the Academy to ruin you? Charles never talked about it, but I saw how different he was when he came home.”

I could’ve told him how I learned our father was a tyrant. How the ice wall didn’t care who lived or died. How silence became safer than survival.

But that story? It never sold.

Cully was too good to share my blood. He still believed some stories ended in a happily ever after. So I left him with only a few soft, final words. “I’m really glad you’re here... but I don’t want you to get hurt.”

The warmth in my chest struck like a slap.

And barely a breath later, Antonia caught my arm. “There you are,” she said sweetly. “Shall we walk to bladecasting together? I’d hate to miss the moment someone knocks the wind out of you.”

I pressed my lips into a thin line. “What did I do to make you hate me?”

Her silver eyes burned straight through me. “You did nothing. And yet, everyone gives a damn about you.”

“I didn’t ask for any of it, Antonia.”

“No. But you got it anyway.”

“Explain.”

She dragged her gaze down my frame like she could tear me open with a stare. “You were aided the entire time at the Academy.” She stepped closer, voice sharpening. “There’s no one here to protect you.” Then her gaze flicked toward the front door. “Even now, he can’t stay away from you.”

I stiffened. “He came to escort his brother.”

Not a lie. But not the whole truth. He’d come to deliver Delair’s notice of death.

Antonia’s grip tightened on my arm. “I lost my chance to become an heir,” she hissed. “And I’ll bet anything you had something to do with it.”

“Why don’t we start over, Antonia?” My voice cracked. Then Alaric’s last words clung to the back of my tongue. I should’ve told her months ago what I promised I would tell her.

“Toni,” she corrected coldly, cutting in front of me. “Well, we’re roommates now. Better sleep with one eye open.” She leaned in, her breath cold against my ear. “As I warned Malachi back at Serpent, don’t wake me with your screams.”

Then she dragged me down the hall and out into the courtyard. The ground crunched beneath our boots. The sun hung pale and bloodless in the sky. Warm enough that most had already stripped off their outer layers, tossing them to the ground like shields they no longer needed.

“Toni, I’m sorry about—” The words soured mid-sentence. “I’m sorry you were kicked out.”

She looked away, jaw tight. “Just shut up,” she muttered. “Seriously. Woe is me, Severyn . Gods, you’re always sorry.”

She raked a hand through her silver-cropped hair. “Always sorry. And always getting everything anyway.”

We had all lost someone, but I guess my loss didn’t mean anything to her.

“I understand Alaric was—”

“Don’t finish that sentence.” She snapped her fingers between us. “You don’t understand anything.”

“I didn’t do anything to you, Toni. ”

She smiled. “Your father’s a powerful ruler. You had a Serpent wrapped around your finger the second your brother died. And now? Here, you’re nothing. Here, we are equal. And gods, does it ever give me joy.”

I didn’t argue. “You’re right,” I said. “You deserve to hate me.”

Rok stepped into the center of the circle, voice slicing through the murmurs. “For initiation, newbies will be sorted into sentinels, border guards, and searchers,” he barked. “Everyone will get a chance to lead during dungeon stealth and raise their ranks.”