The palace court was quiet, too quiet.
The sound of my shoes echoed on polished marble as I walked down the endless hall toward the throne room. Every servant I passed bowed deeply, murmuring "Your Highness" with fear or reverence I couldn't tell which. I barely registered them. My heart thundered in my chest.
I was about to meet him.
Khalid Caelum.
The man I thought I knew. My comrade. My brother in arms. The one I dared to love in silence. The same man who had run his blade through my chest.
And now, in this twisted second life, he was no longer my fellow knight. No longer of the same kingdom.
He was a Duke of Winterbell kingdom.
I reached the great doors. The guards opened them with a flourish, revealing the wide audience chamber where nobles gathered to greet royalty. And there, standing at the base of the stairs, was him.
He hadn't changed.
Tall. Proud. Clad in black and silver armor tailored to noble perfection. His raven-black hair still fell just slightly over his sharp eyes—the eyes that once softened when they looked at me.
Now, they were fixed on me with unreadable intensity.
He bowed low as I approached, fist to chest. "Your Highness. I came the moment I heard of your illness."
I swallowed the fire rising in my throat.
"Khalid Caelum," I said, forcing a princely calm into my voice. "I see Winterbell has welcomed you quite well."
A flicker of something crossed his face something brief, but not unnoticed. "I serve where I am needed."
I stared at him. Looking into his face now, it was surreal. The memories of his betrayal played like ghosts in my mind the blood, the pain, his smile. But here, in front of me, he acted like none of it had ever happened.
"You've changed, Your Highness," he added quietly, taking a step closer. "There's something different in your eyes."
I forced a smile. "Illness can do that. It forces you to see clearly."
He smiled back and it was the same smile he wore when he stabbed me.
I could barely keep my hands from trembling.
I wanted to scream. To grab him and demand answers. Why did he betray me? Why did he smile like he knew this would happen?
But I couldn't. Not yet.
Here, I was Flynn Winterbell. I had to play my role, or risk everything.
So I nodded like a prince and said coldly:
"Welcome back to the capital, Duke Caelum."
He bowed again, but his gaze lingered too long. It was too knowing. Too… intimate.
As if, somehow, he remembered who I used to be.
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