Cassia's POV
Ice-cold water slams into my face like a thousand needles.
I gasp and jerk awake, choking and sputtering. My chains rattle as I try to shield myself, but another bucket of water hits me square in the chest. The shock steals my breath.
"Wake up, traitor!" A guard stands outside my cell, laughing as he drops the empty bucket. "Can't have you sleeping through your big day, can we?"
I'm shivering so hard my teeth chatter. My silver ball gown from last night—was it only last night?—clings to my skin, heavy and freezing. Every part of me aches.
"Please," I manage through chattering teeth. "There's been a mistake. I didn't do anything wrong. My father didn't—"
"Save it for the executioner." The guard spits on the ground near my cell. "Thieves like you deserve worse than a quick death."
He walks away, whistling a cheerful tune that makes me want to scream.
I curl into a ball on the wet stone, trying to stop shaking. My mind keeps replaying last night on repeat. The soldiers bursting in. Seraphine's cold smile. The swords falling. My parents...
No. Don't think about it. If I think about it, I'll shatter into a million pieces.
Focus on something else. Anything else.
I force myself to look around my cell. It's tiny—barely big enough to lie down in. The walls are covered in scratches, like previous prisoners tried to claw their way out. Dark stains cover the floor that I really don't want to think about.
Through the bars, I can see a long hallway lined with more cells. Most are empty, but I hear crying from somewhere down the corridor. A man's voice begging for mercy. A woman sobbing for her children.
Then I see them.
Guards dragging a man past my cell. I recognize him instantly—Lord Barrington, one of Father's business partners. His face is bruised and bloody. His fancy clothes are torn.
"Lord Barrington!" I scramble to the bars. "What's happening? Why are we here?"
He looks at me with hollow eyes. "They're saying we're all traitors, Lady Cassia. That we helped your father steal from the kingdom." His voice breaks. "My wife... they took my wife..."
The guards yank him forward before he can say more.
More prisoners are dragged past. I recognize all of them. The merchant who sold Father rare silks. The banker who managed our accounts. The ship captain who transported our goods. All people Father worked with. All now bleeding and broken.
My stomach twists with horror. This isn't just about my family. Seraphine is destroying everyone connected to us.
"Quite the show, isn't it?"
I freeze at the voice. That voice. The one I've heard every day since I was five years old. The voice that used to comfort me when I had nightmares.
Now it's the voice of my nightmares.
I turn slowly.
Seraphine stands outside my cell, but she looks nothing like the cousin I knew. Gone is her soft pink ball gown. Now she wears a black military uniform with silver buttons that catch the torchlight. My mother's crown—the crown that's been in our family for three generations—sits on her head like she was born to wear it.
She looks like a queen.
She looks like a stranger.
"Hello, Cass." She smiles, and it's the same sweet smile she's given me a thousand times. But now I see the poison underneath. "Did you sleep well?"
I want to launch myself at the bars. Want to scream and rage and claw that crown off her head. But something stops me. Maybe it's the chains. Maybe it's the fact that I'm too weak and cold to fight.
Or maybe it's because I still can't believe this is real.
"Why?" The word comes out broken. "Sera, why are you doing this? We're family. We're sisters."
"Sisters?" Seraphine laughs—a tinkling sound that used to make me smile. Now it makes my skin crawl. "Oh, Cass. We were never sisters. You really don't see it, do you?"
She steps closer to the bars, close enough that I could reach through and grab her. But I don't. I can't move.
"Your whole life, everything was handed to you," Seraphine continues, her voice turning sharp. "Your father was the king's right hand. Your mother was beloved by everyone. And you? Perfect little Cassia with her perfect life, never having to fight for anything."
"That's not true—"
"ISN'T IT?" Her shout echoes through the dungeon. Several prisoners go quiet. "Do you know what it's like to be second best every single day? To watch you get everything while I got scraps? 'Oh, Seraphine is nice, but Cassia is special.' 'Seraphine tries hard, but Cassia has natural talent.' Over and over and over!"
I stare at her, my mind reeling. "I never knew you felt that way. If you had just told me—"
"Told you?" Seraphine laughs again, but this time it sounds slightly unhinged. "Why would I tell you? So you could pity me? So you could be even more perfect by being understanding?" She shakes her head. "No. I decided to take what should have been mine all along."
"By murdering my parents?" Rage finally breaks through my shock. "By framing innocent people? By destroying our kingdom?"
"OUR kingdom?" Seraphine's eyes flash. "It was never yours, Cass. It was always meant to be mine. And now it is." She touches the crown on her head lovingly. "I'm the queen now. Your father's fortune? Mine. Your family's reputation? Destroyed. Your status? Gone. Everything you had, I took in one night."
I grip the bars so hard my knuckles turn white. "The people will never accept you. They'll see through your lies."
"Will they?" Seraphine tilts her head. "I've already shown them proof of your father's crimes. Documents I spent two years creating. Bank records showing missing money. Letters planning to overthrow the king. All with your father's seal." She leans in close. "I've been planning this for a very long time, cousin. Every smile, every hug, every 'I love you'—all of it was preparation for this moment."
The words hit me like physical blows. Two years. She's been lying to me for two years. Every memory I have of her for the past two years is poisoned now.
"You're a monster," I whisper.
"No." Seraphine's smile turns cold. "I'm a queen. And tomorrow, you'll be a corpse."
She starts to walk away, and panic claws at my throat. "Wait! What about the Dark King? The man last night said he was coming—"
Seraphine stops. Turns back. And the smile on her face makes my blood run cold.
"Oh, that." She waves her hand dismissively. "King Theron Nightshade arrives today, actually. I made a deal with him, you see. I help him conquer Aurelia without resistance, and he lets me rule as his puppet queen." She examines her nails casually. "He's destroyed seven kingdoms in seven years. Absolutely ruthless. They say he's not even human anymore—that dark magic stole his soul."
My heart pounds. "What does that have to do with me?"
Seraphine's eyes light up with cruel delight. "Everything, dear cousin. You see, part of my deal was that I'd give him a gift to celebrate his conquest. Something to prove my loyalty." She pauses, letting the words sink in. "I'm giving him you."
The world tilts.
"What?"
"You heard me." Seraphine leans against the bars like we're having a casual conversation. "The Dark King has certain... tastes. He enjoys breaking high-born ladies who think they're too good for him. And what could be more satisfying than the daughter of a traitor? He'll do whatever he wants with you before your execution. Maybe he'll keep you as a pet. Maybe he'll torture you for information. Maybe he'll just kill you quickly if you bore him."
Bile rises in my throat. "You can't—"
"I can. I did. He accepted." Seraphine straightens up, adjusting her crown. "He'll be here within the hour. I'd suggest you prepare yourself, but honestly? Nothing can prepare you for King Theron Nightshade."
She starts walking away again.
"SERAPHINE!" I scream, throwing myself against the bars. The chains yank me back, cutting into my wrists. Blood runs down my arms. "PLEASE! I'm begging you! We're family! Doesn't that mean anything?"
She stops one last time. Looks back over her shoulder.
"It meant everything, Cass. That's why destroying you feels so good."
Then she's gone, her footsteps fading into the darkness.
I collapse against the bars, my body shaking with sobs. This can't be happening. This can't be real.
But it is.
In less than an hour, the most feared man in the world is coming for me. The Dark King. The Conqueror. The monster who's destroyed entire kingdoms without mercy.
And I'm his welcome gift.
Somewhere above the dungeons, I hear drums begin to beat. Horns blow. The sound of hundreds of horses and marching soldiers echoes through the stone walls.
He's here.
A new guard appears outside my cell. He unlocks the door with shaking hands.
"Get up," he orders, but his voice trembles. "The Dark King wants to see his gift before the execution."
I can't move. My legs won't work.
The guard grabs my arm and hauls me to my feet. My chains are unlocked from the wall but kept on my wrists. He pushes me forward into the hallway.
Each step feels like walking toward my own grave.
We climb stone stairs. Pass through iron gates. The sounds of the army get louder and louder.
Finally, we reach a heavy wooden door. The guard stops.
"Through there," he says. "And may the gods have mercy on your soul. Because he won't."
He opens the door and shoves me through.
I stumble into blinding sunlight.
When my eyes adjust, I see I'm standing in the palace courtyard. Soldiers in black armor surround me—hundreds of them. Maybe thousands. They stand in perfect formation, silent as death.
And in the center of them all, sitting on a massive black horse, is him.
King Theron Nightshade.
The Dark King.
He looks at me with those cold, empty eyes.
And slowly, he smiles.