Sera's POV
I'm already running down the stairs before I can think.
My bare feet slap against cold stone as I race through hallways I don't know, trying to find a way outside. The Emperor fell three stories. He was BREATHING. Immortals don't breathe. Immortals don't fall. Immortals don't break.
But I heard the sound of his body hitting the ground.
I burst through a side door into the courtyard just as the sun fully rises. My eyes scan the ground where he should be.
Nothing.
No body. No blood. Not even a footprint.
What are you doing out here?
I spin around. A guard stands behind me, hand on his sword.
II thought I heard something fall, I stammer. I was checking if someone needed help.
The guard looks at me like I'm crazy. Get back to work. Servants aren't allowed outside without permission.
He escorts me back inside, and I have no choice but to go to the kitchens. My mind is racing. Did I imagine it? No. I SAW him at my window. I SAW him fall. I HEARD it.
So where is he?
The next week passes in a blur of exhaustion. I scrub floors until my hands bleed. I wash dishes until my arms shake. I'm invisible to everyone just another servant in gray.
But I listen.
The other servants love to gossip while they work, and I hear everything about Emperor Caspian.
He's ruled for over a thousand years, one cook whispers while chopping onions. Never ages. Never gets sick. Never even gets a scratch.
I heard he's never loved anyone, another servant adds. Not in all that time. No wife. No lover. Nothing.
That's because he has no heart, an old woman says darkly. He traded his humanity for immortality. Now he's more statue than man.
I keep my head down and scrub harder.
Every night, I stare at my window, waiting to see if he'll appear again. He never does. Maybe I really did imagine it. Maybe the stress of everything made me see things that weren't there.
On the seventh day, I'm reassigned.
Grand hall duty, the head cook tells me, shoving a bucket and brush into my hands. The Emperor has guests coming. Every inch better sparkle.
The grand hall is massive. Black marble floors that reflect like mirrors. Tall windows that let in cold light. I start scrubbing in the corner, trying to stay invisible like always.
That's when I hear footsteps.
Multiple people enter the hall. I don't look up. Rule number one: Don't make eye contact with nobles.
Your Majesty, the reports from the eastern territories show
Handle it yourself. I have other matters to attend to.
That voice. Cold as winter. Sharp as a blade.
Emperor Caspian.
My hands freeze on the brush. He's here. Right here in the same room.
But Your Majesty, this requires your direct
Are you deaf? I said handle it.
Footsteps retreat quickly. Then there's silence.
I keep my eyes on the floor, scrubbing the same spot over and over. Maybe if I stay perfectly still, he won't notice me.
The footsteps come closer.
Closer.
They stop right next to me.
I hold my breath. Don't look up. Don't look up. Don't
You missed a spot.
I jerk my head up before I can stop myself.
Emperor Caspian stands above me, looking down with those iceblue eyes. He's exactly like he was at the trial cold, perfect, terrifying. His face shows nothing. No emotion. No recognition.
But those eyes...
For just one second, something flickers in them. Something that looks almost like confusion.
Yes, Your Majesty, I whisper, dropping my gaze. I'll fix it.
I scrub harder at the imaginary spot, my heart pounding so loud I'm sure he can hear it. This is it. He's going to recognize me from the trial. He's going to ask why I was in the courtyard that morning. He's going to
His footsteps move away.
I let out a shaky breath.
But then the footsteps stop.
I feel him turn around. Feel his eyes on my back.
The silence stretches so long I want to scream.
What's your name? he asks.
My mouth goes dry. Sera, Your Majesty.
Sera, he repeats slowly, like he's testing the word. Have we met before?
Yes. You sentenced me to servitude. You slipped me a note in my cell. You appeared at my window and fell three stories.
No, Your Majesty, I lie.
Another long silence.
Strange, he says quietly. I feel like I know you.
Then he walks away, his footsteps echoing through the empty hall.
I sit there, frozen, the brush still in my hand.
He doesn't remember. The trial was only a week ago, but he looked at me like I was a stranger. Well, almost. There was that flicker of confusion, like his brain was trying to remember something it couldn't quite reach.
The Emperor appears at my window as a mortal, falls three stories, disappears, and then doesn't remember me a week later?
None of this makes sense.
That night, I can't sleep. I lie on my thin mattress, staring at the ceiling, trying to piece together the puzzle.
The note said: They're trying to kill me.
But who would try to kill an immortal Emperor? And how?
Unless...
Unless he's not actually immortal.
The thought hits me like lightning. What if the immortality is a lie? What if he's been hiding something for a thousand years?
But that's impossible. Everyone knows Emperor Caspian can't die. It's a fact, like the sun rising or water being wet.
I'm still thinking about it when I hear my door creak open.
I sit up fast, my heart jumping into my throat.
A figure stands in my doorway, silhouetted by the hallway torches behind them.
Don't scream, the figure whispers.
He steps into my room, and the light from my window hits his face.
Emperor Caspian.
But his eyes are different again. Warm. Desperate. Human.
And he's holding his side like he's in pain. Blood seeps between his fingers.
You, he gasps. You're the girl who saw me fall. I've been trying to find you for a week.
He takes another step and stumbles. I jump up and catch him before he hits the ground.
His skin is warm. His chest rises and falls with ragged breaths. His blood is soaking into my servant dress.
You're mortal, I whisper in shock.
Only at night, he says through gritted teeth. Midnight to dawn, I'm as human as you are. And someone just tried to kill me. Again.
He looks up at me with eyes full of pain and something else. Something that looks like hope.
You can see me like this, can't you? When everyone else is blind to it. You can actually SEE me.
I nod, unable to speak.
Then I need your help. His hand grips my arm weakly. Because in three days, whoever's hunting me is going to succeed. And when I die at night...
His eyes start to close.
I'll stay dead forever.