The palace feels colder now.
Even with the sun pouring through the glass walls, there's no warmth. Only tension. Only silence that tiptoes behind every step.
Shea's revelation has ripped the air apart but what's worse is the Queen's refusal to speak.
No confirmation.
No denial.
No truth.
Cassian hasn't said much since.
He's shut himself off; from me, from Shea, from the reality clawing at our feet.
And I understand.
Because if Shea is telling the truth… then he has a sister. And our marriage… it still has a question mark in the face of Matica's law.
And if I…
If I share blood with the Queen too…
I shut that thought down before it blooms.
I won't unravel now.
I can't.
Not when the Queen is still fighting for her life.
Not when I'm the only one who can help her.
I sit in the drawing room, hands wrapped around a warm cup I'm not drinking, when Cassian enters. His face is pale, drawn, sleepless.
"She's not waking up," he says quietly. "Her heart rate is dropping again."
I look up at him, chest tightening. "What does Dr. Velar say?"
Cassian exhales. "She needs another transfusion. Now. They've tried everything else."
I set the cup down slowly. "And he wants my blood again."
He doesn't answer immediately. He just walks to the window, fingers tightening into fists.
"I don't know if I can let you do this," he murmurs. "I know you're strong. But what if it weakens you? What if it's too much?"
I rise and walk toward him. "Cassian…"
He turns to face me. "You've already given once. I can't ask you again."
"You're not asking me. She is."
"She won't even say who you are to her." His voice cracks. "She might be your mother, Celeste. Or not. And she's certainly not mine anymore if she's lied to me my entire life."
A beat of silence. A wound between us.
"I don't need her to say it," I whisper. "Her blood chose me."
Before either of us can say another word, a knock sounds and Lord Edric enters, cloak heavy over his shoulders, his eyes etched with weariness.
"Your Highness," he says with a short bow to Cassian. Then to me, "Princess Celeste… may I speak?"
Cassian nods stiffly.
Lord Edric steps forward, lowering his voice like a man carrying weight beyond words. "I know what we're all thinking, what we're afraid to say. But I'm here as the head of the Council, and as someone who has watched this kingdom survive many storms. If there's even a chance, even a fragment of one — that your blood can save the Queen again… we must take it."
Cassian shakes his head. "At what cost, Edric?"
"Life demands sacrifice, Prince," the elder replies. "Sometimes from those who never asked to be heroes."
Moments later, Dr. Velar enters. He gives me a long, measured look before nodding.
"She's strong enough," he says. "Her iron levels are holding. If we collect carefully, and monitor her afterward, there will be no danger. But she'll need care. Immediate rest. Nourishment."
Cassian looks at me again. His walls are crumbling.
"Are you sure?" he asks, barely above a whisper.
"I've never been more sure of anything," I say.
He doesn't argue this time.
He just walks beside me to the Queen's quarters, where the once-proud monarch now lies still as marble beneath pristine sheets.
The room is filled with machines. Monitors beeping. An oxygen mask softens her features. She doesn't stir.
Shea is not here.
I'm grateful.
Dr. Velar prepares the station swiftly, his assistants moving like clockwork. The line is inserted into my arm. I don't flinch
My blood drips into the line. Dark. Steady. Relentless.
I watch it travel.
Watch it pour into the Queen who's given me nothing but silence.
And yet, I give again.
Because strength isn't always loud.
Sometimes it's measured in quiet choices, bleeding into someone else's salvation.
Cassian doesn't leave my side. He holds my free hand tightly, kisses it once, then presses it to his chest.
"Whatever the truth is," he says hoarsely, "we'll face it. Together
The doctor checks my vitals and nods with relief.
"She'll be stabilized in a few hours. The transfusion is working."
I lean back, dizzy but calm.
One step closer to the truth.
One heartbeat at a time.
***
I don't remember much after the transfusion.
Only Cassian's hand in mine. The soft hum of machines. The way Dr. Velar's voice dipped into gentle murmurs before I drifted off.
By the time I wake up, I'm wrapped in warmth; thick cotton sheets, the scent of lavender and Esther's presence hovering beside me like a quiet guardian.
"Don't sit up yet," she whispers. "Doctor's orders."
She helps adjust the pillow beneath my back, brushing a cool cloth over my forehead. My limbs feel heavy, but not weak. My eyes blink open slowly, and I see her clearer now, the worry beneath her smile, the strain in her shoulders.
"I'm okay," I croak.
"You will be," she says, placing a tray beside me. "Eat everything. He said no skipping meals. No wandering. No stress."
I almost smile. "Tell that to the palace."
She tuts and fluffs my blanket. "You just gave the Queen half your strength. Let someone else carry the chaos for once."
So I will do.
I stay still. I eat. I rest.
It's strange, the stillness is like floating in a current I didn't ask to swim in.
The next morning, I wake before dawn.
The sun filters through gauzy drapes. My body aches slightly, but the heaviness has lifted. I'm stronger. Stable. But I don't leave the chamber.
It isn't fear.
It's anticipation.
And then I hear the knock.
Cassian steps in, looking like a man caught between a thousand weights. He walks straight to me, kneels beside the bed, and rests his forehead on the back of my hand.
"She's recovering," he says quietly.
I exhale.
"She's awake?"
"She is," he nods. "She confirmed it, Shea is her daughter."
I sit up straighter. "She admitted it?"
"She did. To me. Just now. But…" he drags a hand through his hair. "She still won't talk about you."
I look away. That part still stings. "She's not going to."
"She may not need to."
He stands now, pacing. "The Council has heard everything. The transfusion. Shea's confession. Your… connection. And now, they're demanding answers."
I freeze. "What kind of answers?"
"They want the truth. Who you are. Who you might be. They want… a DNA test."
I nod slowly. "They deserve one."
He meets my eyes, searching for hesitation.
"There's no shame in truth," I whisper. "If there's blood between us… let it speak."
"And if it confirms what we fear?"
I hold his gaze. "Then we face it."
His shoulders drop, as if my words give him permission to breathe.
"We'll do it," he says. "Together."
He kisses my forehead, then holds me against his chest for a moment that feels like a promise.
Outside our walls, the kingdom may be waiting for answers.
But here, in this moment, we wait with grace.