Celeste POV
I don't go to dinner that night.
Instead, I tell Helena I have a bad headache and ask the kitchen to send food to my room. I watch the servant bring my tray, and I see her hand shaking as she sets it down.
She's been told to poison it. I can tell by the way she won't meet my eyes.
"Thank you," I say sweetly. "You can go now."
The moment she leaves, I dump all the food in my chamber pot and hide it. Then I eat the bread and cheese I stole from the kitchen this morning.
They think they're so smart. But I've already died once from their tricks. I won't die again.
Later, I hear Vivienne outside my door. "Celeste? Are you feeling better? You missed a wonderful dinner."
"I'm sleeping!" I call out weakly. "Please, I just need rest."
Her footsteps fade away, but I can hear the frustration in them. The drug didn't work. Now they'll have to try something else.
I wait until midnight, until the whole house is quiet and dark. Then I slip out of my room like a ghost.
Father's room is on the first floor, behind a locked door. But I learned how to pick locks in my first life when Damian would trap me in rooms during our fights. My hands remember the move even if my heart wishes they didn't.
Click. The lock opens.
I slip inside and close the door behind me. The study is dark except for moonlight coming through the windows. Shelves full of books line the walls. Father's desk sits in the center, covered with papers.
I light a small candle and start searching. I need to find details about the Selection Ceremony. I need to know my choices.
In my first life, I went into that rite blind. I chose Damian because he was pretty and charming, because everyone said fox shifters were the best choice.
This time, I'll choose with my eyes wide open.
I find the file in Father's bottom drawer, hidden under property papers and business contracts. It's thick and official, with the royal seal stamped on the front.
"Available Shifters for Noble Selection Ceremony" the cover reads.
My hands shake as I open it.
Inside are pages and pages of shifter descriptions. Each one has a name, age, type, and special abilities mentioned. There are wolves for fighters, lions for leaders, bears for protectors, foxes for merchants.
I flip through them slowly, reading each one. Some I remember from my first life. Others are new to this era.
Then I find an area marked in red ink: "HIGH RISK SELECTIONS."
My heart beats faster.
These are the movers nobody wants. The dangerous ones. The ones with warning signs.
There's a wolf who killed his last three masters. A hawk who drove a princess crazy. A panther who escaped and killed an entire noble family.
And then I see him.
The last page in the part. The warnings are written in red letters so bright they almost glow. " KAEL - SERPENT SHIFTER AGE: 327 YEARS STATUS: UNCLAIMED FOR THREE CENTURIES WARNING: EXTREMELY DANGEROUS. DO NOT SELECT. PREVIOUS MASTERS: 7 SURVIVAL RATE: 0% All past masters died within one year of bonding. Causes of death include: poisoning, madness, strange accidents, and disappearance. Current theory: Kael is cursed. Recommend permanent isolation."
At the bottom of the page is a picture of him in human form.
Silver-white hair. Sharp features. Eyes that look like they could freeze your soul.
He's beautiful in a bad, dangerous way. Like a knife made of ice.
I look at the drawing for a long time. Seven people picked him. Seven people died.
Everyone thinks he's cursed. Everyone fears him.
Which means everyone will be shocked when I choose him.
A smile spreads across my face. This is perfect. This is exactly what I need.
In my first life, I picked the shifter everyone loved. I picked safety and charm and beauty. And it killed me.
This time, I'll choose the monster. I'll choose danger.
Because the truth is, Damian and Vivienne are the real monsters. They're just better at hiding it.
At least with Kael, everyone knows he's dangerous.
I'm about to close the file when I notice something. There's a small note clipped to Kael's page, written in different handwriting. "Per Imperial Order: Kael must be presented at all Selection Ceremonies. He cannot be removed or killed. Reason: [CLASSIFIED]" I frown. Why would the Empire force them to keep offering a shifter who kills everyone who picks him? Why not just kill him or lock him away forever?
Unless... unless there's something about Kael they're not telling anyone.
I hear footsteps in the hallway outside. My heart jumps into my throat.
I blow out my light and duck behind Father's desk just as the study door opens.
Light fills the room. Someone walks in.
I hold my breath, pressing myself against the desk's side panel. My heart pounds so loud I'm sure they can hear it.
"I know you're in here, Celeste."
My blood turns to ice. That voice. I know that sound.
It's not Father. It's not Helena or Vivienne.
It's Damian.
"You can come out," he says, his voice smooth and scary. "I'm not angry. I just want to talk."
I don't move. Don't breathe. How did he know I was here? How did he get into our house in the middle of the night?
"I saw you dump your dinner in the chamber pot," Damian continues, walking closer. "Very clever. Most girls wouldn't have noticed the poison."
He knows. He knows I'm not the stupid, trusting Celeste he expected.
"Which makes me wonder," Damian says, and now he's right on the other side of the desk, "what else do you know that you're not supposed to?"
His hand reaches down toward my hidden spot.
I have two choices. Stay hidden and let him find me like a caught mouse. Or stand up and face him.
I stand up.
Damian's amber eyes widen in surprise, then narrow with something dark and hungry. In the candlelight, his beautiful face looks cruel.
"Well, well," he says softly. "Little Celeste has claws after all."
"Get out of my father's study," I say, keeping my voice steady even though I'm frightened.
"Not until you tell me the truth." Damian steps closer. "You're not who Vivienne said you were. You're better. More careful. It's almost like..." His eyes go wide. "It's almost like you already know what we're planning."
My heart stops. He's figured it out. Not the whole truth about my return, but enough to be dangerous.
"I don't know what you're talking about," I say.
Damian's smile is cold and sharp. "Yes, you do. Which means I need to change my plans." He pulls something from his pocket. A small glass bottle with red juice inside. "I was going to make you fall in love with me slowly. But now I think we need to speed things up."
He's going to force me to drink the love poison. Right here. Right now.
I back away, but he's faster. He grabs my wrist, his fox strength making escape impossible.
"Don't fight it, Celeste," he says. "In a few minutes, you'll love me so much you'll forget you ever tried to resist."
He brings the bottle toward my face.
And then the study door crashes open.
We both freeze.
A man stands in the hallway. Tall. Silver-white hair. Eyes like frozen emeralds that glow in the darkness.
It's impossible. It can't be him. He's locked in the Selection Hall, waiting for the rite.
But I know that face. I just saw it in the file.
Kael. The snake shifter.
He's here. In my place. In the middle of the night.
"Let her go," Kael says, his voice quiet and dangerous as winter. "Or I'll show you what real monsters look like."