CI slipped through the corridor behind the main pavilion, careful not to draw attention to myself. My limbs still felt heavy with fatigue from the Royal Hunt, and the lingering ache in my side reminded me that not all wounds are visible. The torches along the walls flickered softly, casting wavering shadows that seemed to follow me. I tried to steady my breathing before I reached the small ante‑chamber that had once been quiet and unassuming—now turned into an illusion of safety.
Prince Julius waited there. He stood backlit by the moonlight pouring in from the stained glass window. His silhouette was elegant, poised, and dangerous. I paused at the threshold, uncertain. He didn't move. I could feel him scrutinizing me through the half‑light.
"You survived," he said quietly.
I nodded. I didn't trust my voice.
He sighed softly, a gesture close to amusement. Then he stepped forward and closed the door behind me. The sound echoed hollowly through the still room.
"You seem distracted," he offered. His tone was neutral, but the weight behind it made my skin crawl. "You ran off during the hunt. You came back late. Your gaze was full of questions you didn't voice."
I swallowed, looking down at the stone floor. I did my best to appear calm.
He continued. "Your loyalty to him is clear. Yet now you wear disappointment like a cloak." Julius inclined his head. "I notice things. I've watched you from the periphery. I waited for the moment you realized you could no longer pretend."
I stiffened. The words stung.
"You are done pretending," he said softly. "That was always when I hoped you would see the truth."
"You know nothing of truth," I whispered. But he smiled again, the corners of his mouth curving just enough to unsettle me.
"I know more than most," he said. "Did you think I did not hear the whispers in the council? The same men who planned the hunt. The same men who decided Valin must fall. I waited because you were not ready."
I lifted my head. A flicker of shock twisted through me. "You let them go through with it?"
"Yes," he admitted. "We all have roles. Mine was to watch while the King sharpened his teeth."
The room suddenly felt too small. I took a step back.
He closed the distance, his eyes steady. "Most would never tell you this. But loyalty to Jesse is loyalty to the crosshairs. His father used him. He used you. He tried to stop it, and when he failed, he covered it." Julius let his voice soften. "You deserved the truth."
I stared at him, breath catching. I didn't move.
He gestured to the table behind me, where a single chair remained empty. "Sit."
I glanced at it, then at him again.
"I'm not here to threaten you," he said finally. "I am offering you a choice."
My heart thumped, unsteady. I crossed my arms, keeping my voice even. "Why me?"
He smiled warily, strangely kind. "Because you unearthed the bones of our lies. And because you refuse to be hidden. You are not like them."
I swallowed. "What is the choice?"
He turned and poured two glasses of brandy from a silver pitcher. When he poured mine, he set it carefully on the table. Then he motioned to the seat again. I hesitated, but took it. Keeping my eyes on him.
"Drink," he said softly.
I lifted the glass and tasted the warm burn. It was smooth. Sharp. Provocative.
"Jesse will never forgive this," I said. "But maybe I shouldn't care."
He nodded. "Maybe you should. But I am offering you something he never can."
I looked at him as if seeing a mask slide away. "Why would you risk this for me?"
He leaned back, the candlelight dancing across his features. "Because power is not given. It is taken. And you already took it tonight not with a blade, but with truth."
I remembered the way I ran from him. How the word got stuck in my chest. "You also knew about the hunt. You also helped plan it. I know that."
He paused, drink frozen halfway to his lips. "I offered Prince jesse the seal to deliver. He said no. But he didn't stop it." His voice hardened. "He knew it was a trap to take Valin. He did nothing."
My gasp was quiet.
He met my eyes. "I chose not to defend him then. But I see you have the strength to seek justice."
I set down the glass. The burn was rushing through me like adrenaline. "You expect me to believe you want to help me?"
Julius stood and approached. The candlelight lit the gold in his eyes. "I want you on my side. Not under me but beside me. There are lines being drawn, and loyalty will be the prize."
I clenched my jaw. "You want me to spy on Jesse."
His nod was almost imperceptible. "Or to protect what he abandoned. You know things he won't share."
My heart hammered. "Why not go to the King?"
He leaned closer, voice hushed. "Because then I would be killed silly. Because he is my father and this is war against him."
I studied him, every shadow and flicker of his face. I saw sincerity mixed with calculation. I saw the offer: dangerous loyalty.
"This is politics," I said softly.
"Exactly."
A tense silence filled the room. I felt raw, exposed.
"You want me to choose between brothers," I whispered.
He nodded. "I want you to choose yourself."
I swallowed thickly.
"What's in it for you?" I asked finally.
He lifted his glass again, gesturing to the candle. "Truth. Justice. And someone I can trust. I know the council only listens to loyalty. They will go through one of you. I offer you an opening."
I reached slowly for the glass. I looked at the amber liquid, then up at Julius. "And if I refuse?"
He exhaled softly. "Then you walk away. But you'll know now what you almost had… and what they took from you."
My breath caught again. There was a weight to his words I couldn't ignore.
I swallowed the brandy in one long pull.
Julius smiled quietly.
"I accept," I said.
He nodded, as if we had sealed it.
I stood, hand trembling, trying to hold myself together.
"You don't need to tell Jesse," he said. "If you want him to trust you again, show him the truth. Eventually he'll see."
I glanced down at my hands. "This is dangerous."
"You know that," he said. "And yet you're here."
A door creaked outside.
He tensed, but didn't move.
"Be careful," he said softly. "You are more dangerous alive than dead."
I straightened, took another breath.
"Okay, I whispered.
He nodded once and motioned toward the door.
I walked out, with my mind racing.
As I stepped past the threshold into the dimly lit hallway, the crown of power rested quietly on my shoulders, unnerving in its certainty.
And with each step I took away, my reflection shifted no longer just a guard, but a player in a game that would demand everything.