Chapter 113
Elvira
After so many thoughts, I decided to approach Kale and talk to him. Even though that might annoy him more.
I found him in the courtyard, shirtless, swinging a training blade against an invisible enemy like the enemy was himself. Or maybe it was Jaxon or maybe it was me. I stood by the doorframe, my fingers tight around the doorframe, and watched as his muscles rippled with each motion. Every strike felt like punishment. Every breath sounded like resentment.
“Kale,” I called.
He didn’t stop.
“Kale,” I said again, louder this time.
Finally, he paused, just long enough to let the silence scald me. He turned, sweat glistening on his skin, eyes sharp with something wild. There was no sign of emotion there. Just… fury dressed as grief.
“You don’t use honorifics again, I see,” he muttered.
“I want to talk to you,” I said, stepping forward. “About you nominating yourself.”
“You mean the part where I decided not to roll over and not let your little romance story rewrite the order of this world?”
I blinked. The sting of his words landed sharper than I expected.
“I’m not trying to rewrite anything, Kale.”
He dropped the blade, letting it clatter against the stone. “You already have. Jaxon made a decision that went against everything Callan stood for. You think people didn’t notice how fast he tossed legacy aside the second you arrived?”
“That’s not fair—”
“Isn’t it?” he snapped. “Callan was his blood. His own brother. But he vanished, and Jaxon didn’t even blink. And you—” His eyes dropped to my hands, then returned to my face, quieter now. “You took a throne meant for someone else.”
The silence between us cracked like ice.
I didn’t argue. Not because I agreed, but because I finally saw what was behind his words. The pain….
The kind that makes you lash out just to feel like you still matter.
“You’re angry,” I said gently. “You should be. But not at Jaxon but at me. Jaxon didn’t choose me to hurt anyone. Infact, he's more worried than you are about Callan, he wants to find her. He’s trying to”
He looked away.
“I’m not here because I want this Luna title,” I said. “I want to survive whatever that is coming. I want to be able to save the people I love. And believe it or not, that includes you.”
Kale’s jaw tensed, but he didn’t speak. Instead, he picked up the blade again and walked past me, the air between us full of all the things he couldn’t say.
I was still trying to steady my breath when Ronan’s voice drifted in from the corridor.
“You’re bleeding.”
I blinked. “What?”
He nodded at my palm. I looked down. I must’ve clenched my fists too hard, my nails had broken skin.
“It’s nothing,” I said.
Ronan tilted his head. “How are you feeling?”
I stared at him.
“What?”
He shrugged, stepping closer. “I asked how you’re feeling.”
I tilted my head, eyes narrowing. “You… you’re seriously asking me that?”
His brows lifted, unbothered. “Am I not allowed to care now?”
“I didn’t say that. It’s just… not like you.”
Ronan smirked, but there was something almost sad behind it. “Maybe you haven’t been paying attention.”
No. I had been. Ronan never asked me how I was. He was the cold one, the dutiful second, the sharp blade. And yet…something had shifted. Maybe it was the way he looked at me now, less like a threat and more like a riddle. Or maybe it was guilt. He’d seen what the curse did to me. Maybe that changed something.
I started to answer when movement caught my eye.
A figure down the hall. A girl, tall, slender, her hair twisted into a neat braid.
The omega servant. The same one who helped me make tea for Jaxon that day. The same one who disappeared before we found out the tea had been laced.
My blood turned to ice.
“Hey!” I shouted, breaking into a run.
The servant’s eyes widened, and she bolted.
“Wait—stop!” I called out, boots pounding the marble.
She turned a corner, disappearing into the the hall leading to a room. I pushed harder, my breath ragged, heart hammering. She didn’t respond to my shouts, didn’t even look back. Just ran as fast as she coul.
I rounded the corner, and slammed straight into a body.
The scent hit first, jasmine and vanilla. It was Celina. She caught my arm with her perfectly manicured hand, steadying me like I was nothing more than a clumsy child.
“Well,” she said, voice smooth. “Someone’s in a hurry.”
“I…did you see a girl? She was just here, tall, dark braid, wearing—”
“You must have very poor eyesight,” Celina interrupted smoothly. “There’s no one here.”
I blinked, looking past her. She stood in front of a closed door. The one the servant had just ran to.
My throat tightened. “I’m sure I saw her ran here”
“You’re mistaken,” Celina said, smiling without warmth. “And I’d hate for you to wander into rooms where you’re… not welcome.”
I looked her in the eye. She wasn’t flustered, not even curious. She was calm, too calm.
“I just need to check something,” I said, moving toward the door.
But she didn’t step aside. I stopped inches from her, staring at the knob behind her shoulder.
“You’re not going in there,” she said simply.
Something coiled in my gut.
A warning.
“I… I guess I must’ve seen wrong,” I said quietly.
Celina’s smile stretched a little wider. “Yes. You did.”
I walked away, each step heavier than the last. But even as I turned the corner, I glanced back. And Celina was still there, standing like a sentinel, guarding the door.
….
Ronan found me later in the inner garden, sitting alone by the fountain, watching koi fish drift under moonlight. He didn’t say anything. Just sat beside me, hands clasped, eyes on the stars.
“I know I saw her,” I said eventually.
“I believe you.”
I turned to him, startled.
“You do?”
He nodded. “Celina’s too composed when she’s hiding something. And she’s been like that for days.”
“Then why didn’t you help me press her?”
“Because you weren’t ready to confront what’s behind that door.”
What?! A breeze swept through the courtyard, carrying the scent of roses and ash.
“What if Jaxon’s being betrayed by someone inside?” I whispered.
Ronan’s jaw tensed. “He is. We just haven’t seen the whole board yet.”
I looked up at him.
“Ronan… what changed?”
He met my eyes.
“You did.”
He stood, brushing off his coat. “Take care, Elvira.”
And then he was gone.
I watched him disappear into the shadows, and for the first time in a long time, I didn’t know who I could trust.