Chapter 65 Choosing Side

Chapter 65 Choosing Side
Thessaly stared at Malachi's letter until her vision blurred.

She'd read it six times already, memorizing every angry word, every demand, every threat. The paper was worn from her fingers tracing the same lines over and over.

Family or the enemy. Us or him.

The choice should have been simple. Blood over everything. That's what she'd been raised to believe.

But standing in her chambers with the letter burning a hole in her palm, Thessaly realized her family had made their choice years ago. They'd picked invisibility over acknowledgment. Shame over acceptance. And now they wanted her help destroying the one person who'd actually chosen her back.

She moved to the fireplace. Flames crackled against the evening chill, casting shadows that looked like reaching hands.

This was it. The moment everything changed.

Thessaly held the letter over the fire. Malachi's seal caught first, the wax bubbling and blackening. Then the edges, curling inward like the paper was trying to protect the words written there.

She let go.

The letter burned fast and hot. Thessaly watched her brother's handwriting disappear, felt something in her chest crack and bleed. She was choosing Davorin over her own blood. Choosing this half-life in a realm that didn't want her. Becoming the traitor her family already thought she was.

Brave or foolish? She didn't know anymore. Maybe it didn't matter.

The door opened. Varian stood there, expression carefully neutral.

"Isleen's being released," he said. "Davorin's orders. She cooperated with the interrogation, gave us information about your brother's forces. He's letting her go."

Thessaly's stomach dropped. "When?"

"Now. She's asking to see you before she leaves."

Of course she was.

Thessaly found Isleen in the courtyard, a pack slung over her shoulder and two guards waiting to escort her to the border. Her friend looked smaller in the daylight, bruises still shadowing her face.

"Thess." Isleen's smile was tentative. "I wasn't sure you'd come."

"Varian said you were leaving."

"Davorin's being generous. Considering I tried to help kill him." Isleen shifted her weight. "I wanted to say goodbye. And thank you. For not hating me completely."

"I don't hate you." The words were true, even if trust was gone. "I just can't forgive you yet."

"That's fair." Isleen glanced at the guards, then lowered her voice. "Did you read Malachi's letter? The one I brought?"

Thessaly's throat tightened. This was it. The moment she'd either tell the truth or protect what she'd chosen.

"Yes," she said carefully.

"What did it say? He wouldn't tell me details, just that you'd understand what to do." Isleen's eyes searched hers. "Thess, if he's planning something terrible, you need to tell Davorin. Whatever loyalty you feel to Malachi, it's not worth—"

"It wasn't anything important." The lie tasted like copper on her tongue. "Just him being angry. Blaming me for staying here. The usual."

Isleen's brow furrowed. "That's it? He made me carry that letter for three weeks and it was just him being mad?"

"You know Malachi. Dramatic about everything."

The lie sat between them, and Thessaly felt sick. She'd never lied to Isleen before. Not once in their entire friendship. They'd kept each other's secrets, covered for each other, but never outright lied.

Until now.

"Okay." Isleen didn't look convinced, but she nodded anyway. "If you say so."

"I do."

The silence stretched. Thessaly wanted to take it back, wanted to tell her everything, but the words wouldn't come. Because telling Isleen the truth meant risking Davorin's life, and she'd already made that choice when she burned the letter.

"I should go," Isleen said finally. "The guards are waiting."

"Be safe."

"You too." Isleen hesitated, then pulled Thessaly into a quick hug. "Whatever happens, I hope you're happy here. I really do."

Thessaly hugged her back, guilt making her chest ache. "Thank you."

She watched Isleen leave, flanked by guards, disappearing through the palace gates. Her best friend since childhood, walking away because Thessaly had chosen a cursed king over everything she'd ever known.

The copper taste wouldn't leave her mouth.

"You lied to her."

Thessaly turned. Davorin stood in the archway, watching her with those too-knowing eyes.

"I had to."

"Did you?"

"She would have told someone. Or tried to stop it herself. Or—" Thessaly's voice cracked. "I don't know. I just knew I couldn't tell her."

Davorin crossed to her, and the bond hummed with his understanding. "Lying to protect someone you care about doesn't make you a bad person."

"Doesn't make me a good one either."

"No. Just makes you human." He stopped close enough that she could feel warmth radiating from him. "You burned the letter."

It wasn't a question. He'd probably felt it through the bond, the exact moment she'd made her choice.

"I burned it," Thessaly confirmed. "Malachi wanted me to unlock a door during the new moon. Let his forces in to kill you. I chose not to help him."

"Even though he's your brother."

"Especially because he's my brother." She looked up at Davorin. "He threatened to kill me if I didn't cooperate. My own blood. So I figured if he's willing to do that, maybe blood isn't as important as everyone says."

Davorin's expression softened. "What is important then?"

"Choosing to stay. Even when leaving would be easier." Thessaly took his hand, needing the contact. "You declared war on your court for me. I'm returning the favor."

"This isn't a competition."

"Good. Because I'm losing badly."

That surprised a laugh out of him, rusty and real. The sound made her chest ache in a completely different way.

"We should prepare," Davorin said. "If your brother's planning an attack, we need defenses ready."

"How long do we have?"

"Hard to say. Could be weeks. Could be days." His jaw tightened. "But when he comes, he'll come hard."

Thessaly thought about the letter burning. About Isleen's questions and the lie that still tasted wrong. About choosing one person over an entire family and hoping it wasn't the biggest mistake of her life.

"Then we'd better be ready," she said.

Because Malachi was coming. And when family and heart finally collided, Thessaly would be standing on the side she'd chosen.

Even if it meant watching everything she used to be turn to ash.