Chapter 16 Sierra’s Little War Begins
Chapter 16 Sierra’s Little War Begins
Sierra’s POV
The moment I stepped into the lounge, my girls were already waiting—three perfectly dressed, overly perfumed parasites who adored me enough to stay useful.
Rhea.
Melanie.
Kora.
All pretty.
All shallow.
All loyal.
Exactly how I liked them.
They turned the second I entered.
“There she is!” Rhea squealed, flipping her hair. “We’ve been waiting forever.”
“Something happened in the training yard this morning,” Melanie said. “Everyone’s talking about it.”
I rolled my eyes and sank into the velvet couch like a queen reclaiming her throne.
“Let me guess,” I sighed. “Another boring warrior fight?”
“No…” Kora leaned in. “It’s about her.”
My jaw tightened.
Her.
That stupid little maid with the quiet face and the annoying calm aura.
Isabella.
I smirked. “What did she do now? Trip on her own feet? Cry? Pathetically attempt to impress Leon?”
Melanie shook her head. “Actually… people said she caught an arrow.”
I blinked.
“What?”
Rhea nodded eagerly. “One of the warriors shot wrong. It flew straight at her. Everyone thought she was dead. But she just—like—grabbed it in midair.”
“With a tray in her hand,” Kora added. “She didn’t spill a single drop.”
I stared at them.
One heartbeat.
Two.
Three.
Then I burst into laughter.
“Please,” I scoffed. “Nobody is that skilled. Not a maid.” I crossed my arms. “You girls will believe anything.”
But they didn’t laugh with me.
They exchanged looks.
Rhea chewed her lip. “Sierra… that’s what everyone is saying. Even Damon was talking about it.”
My smile faded.
“What?”
“Damon,” Melanie whispered, “said she moved like a trained warrior. Like someone with experience.”
A hot spike of jealousy ran through me.
“Oh, you have got to be kidding me,” I snapped. “That little rat? A warrior? She probably tripped and the arrow magically flew into her hands. And Damon—” I curled my lip in disgust. “He would call a leaf suspicious if it fell too fast.”
But my chest tightened anyway.
Leon had stood up for her yesterday.
Publicly.
In front of all of us.
And now this?
My palms curled into fists.
“She is getting brave,” I hissed. “Too brave. Leon rescues her once and she thinks she owns the palace.”
Kora leaned forward, eyes wide with drama. “Do you think he actually… likes her?”
Ice slid down my spine.
My voice came out sharp. “Leon doesn’t like anyone.”
“Still…” Melanie smirked. “He defended her.”
“And I heard he ordered her to his chamber,” Rhea added.
I flinched.
They noticed.
All three of them leaned closer.
“Sierra,” Kora murmured, “you can’t let some nobody take the attention. Not when you’ve been trying for months.”
“Years,” Melanie corrected.
“Exactly.” Rhea nodded firmly. “You should’ve been queen by now.”
I straightened, heat boiling in my veins.
“Yes,” I said slowly. “I should have.”
“She’s humiliating you,” Kora pressed. “In front of the princes. In front of Leon.”
Melanie added, “People are starting to talk. They’re saying the king has a new favorite.”
Favorite.
The word burned.
“She isn’t his favorite,” I snapped. “She’s a servant. A dirty, trembling, too-quiet little servant who got lucky twice. Leon doesn’t look at her that way.”
“Still…” Melanie tilted her head. “He let her walk behind him. Into his chamber. Alone.”
Rhea gasped dramatically. “Do you think she’s sleeping with him?”
My blood turned to acid.
“No,” I hissed. “She isn’t. She couldn’t. A girl like that—she wouldn’t even know how to please a man like Leon.”
They nodded eagerly.
“You’re right, Sierra.”
“She’s nothing compared to you.”
“She’s stealing attention she doesn’t deserve.”
Attention that belonged to me.
Attention I had tried a billion times to earn.
I stood up.
“That girl,” I said quietly, “is going to regret stepping into my world.”
Rhea clapped excitedly. “Finally! That’s the Sierra we love.”
“What are you going to do?” Melanie asked.
I smiled.
A slow, sharp, poisonous smile.
“I’m going to make her miserable. I’m going to remind her of her place. I’m going to take everything she thinks she’s gaining and crush it under my heel.”
Kora giggled. “We’ll help you.”
“Of course you will,” I said sweetly. “You’re my girls.”
I swept my hair over my shoulder and walked toward the window.
But... something was off about this little rat. That arrow stunt wasn’t normal. No maid could do that. No servant could survive Leon’s presence without trembling.
There was something beneath that calm face.
Something I didn’t like.
Something I was absolutely going to destroy.
I narrowed my eyes.
“Oh, Isabella,” I murmured. “I hope you’re ready… because I’m just getting started.”
And with my girls smirking behind me and the palace buzzing with rumors, I felt it begin.
My own war.
And she had no idea it was coming straight for her.