The night was quiet, too quiet for peace.
A thin fog settled over the old vineyard at the edge of the city — the kind of place where secrets liked to breathe. The air smelled of rain and dust, and under the pale glow of the moon, Alessia stood alone, her coat wrapped tightly around her. Her heart was heavy, but steady. She was no longer the frightened girl waiting to be saved — she was becoming something else, something stronger.
Headlights cut through the mist.
The sound of an engine hummed closer until it stopped a few meters away.
Lorenzo stepped out, dressed in black, his movements calm but his eyes restless. He looked at her like she was both the reason he'd come and the reason he should've stayed away.
"You shouldn't be here," he said softly.
"Neither should you," she replied, her voice calm, but her heart pounding. "But we both knew we would come."
For a moment, they just stood there — two souls carrying their fathers' sins, yet trying to rewrite the ending.
"I didn't come to fight," she said. "I came because… I need to fix this. I can't let my family destroy itself, and I can't let yours keep trying to finish what they started."
Lorenzo's jaw tightened. "You're risking everything by meeting me, Alessia. If your father finds out—"
"He already suspects," she whispered, stepping closer. "But I don't care anymore. I can't keep living like I'm trapped between loyalty and love. I'm tired, Lorenzo."
He looked down, exhaling slowly. "You think I'm not? Every day I wake up wondering which side I'm supposed to stand on. My father raised me for war, but somehow, I found peace in you."
Her eyes softened.
There was silence again — that fragile kind of silence that speaks louder than words.
"I have a plan," she finally said. "I want to end this war before it burns everything. I can protect my family without losing you. But I'll need your help."
Lorenzo took a small step toward her, the distance between them melting away. "You'll have it. Whatever you're planning… I'll be there."
She looked up at him, her voice almost breaking. "Even if it means going against your father?"
He smiled faintly, a sad, knowing smile. "Especially then."
She breathed out slowly, realizing the weight of what that meant. For the first time, she saw not just the son of her father's enemy — but a man ready to fight for something real.
When his hand brushed hers, she didn't pull away. It wasn't a promise made in words, but in silence — in the space between danger and devotion.
"Then it's settled," she said softly. "We end it together."
Lorenzo nodded, eyes fixed on her like she was the only light in the fog.
As the wind whispered through the vines, he said quietly, "Every queen needs a kingdom, Alessia… but this one — this — is ours."
And when he left that night, she stayed behind under the moonlight, knowing the battle ahead would be bloody — but for the first time, she wasn't afraid. Because she wasn't alone anymore.