The days that followed Kasian's revelation were an endless blur of emotions, confusion, and unsettling revelations. Liora couldn't seem to escape the image of him, standing so close, his words hanging in the air like an unshakable fog. She had tried to distract herself with her duties, throwing herself into the work of her station, but her mind was always drawn back to his cryptic warning. The truth—her truth—was now a shadow that hovered over everything she did.
She had never asked for this life. She had never chosen to be born into this world, nor had she ever imagined herself as anything more than a mere bystander in a kingdom ruled by power and bloodlines. Yet, in a single conversation, everything had changed.
Her bloodline. Her heritage. Her fate.
Every instinct in her screamed to reject it, to close herself off from the past that Kasian had so callously revealed. But the more she thought about it, the more it seemed inevitable. If she was truly who he said she was—if her royal bloodline was as significant as he implied—then the path ahead was already set, even if she didn't understand it fully.
But she was not ready to surrender to that destiny. Not yet.
Liora spent the following days avoiding Kasian, unsure of how to face him again. The tension between them had been palpable, and part of her resented the way he had dropped such a bombshell into her life without giving her time to process. She had grown up in a world where trust was a luxury she could not afford, and now it seemed like everyone around her had been lying, or worse, hiding the truth.
In the quiet of her chamber that evening, Liora sat by the window, staring out at the kingdom that stretched far beyond the palace walls. The night was cool, the stars scattered across the sky like jewels on black velvet. For a brief moment, she closed her eyes, letting the cool breeze wash over her, and the overwhelming weight of her emotions felt lighter, as if the very air could soothe her troubled mind.
A soft knock on her door broke the momentary peace. She froze, heart skipping a beat, unsure of who it could be. Kasian's presence still lingered in the back of her mind, but she had not seen him since their conversation.
"Enter," she called, her voice steady despite the unease that twisted in her stomach.
The door creaked open, and to her surprise, it wasn't Kasian who stood there, but Eveline. Liora straightened, immediately feeling the familiar, unsettling tension between them. Eveline's presence was always like a storm, unpredictable and dangerous, and Liora never knew what to expect from her.
"You're still awake," Eveline said, her tone as neutral as ever. She stepped into the room, her eyes flicking around as if assessing the space, before settling on Liora with that same calculating gaze.
"I could say the same about you," Liora replied, arching an eyebrow. She wasn't in the mood for games. The recent revelations had left her with little patience for the subtle power struggles that marked every encounter with Eveline.
Eveline, however, didn't seem to mind. She walked toward the window, glancing at the kingdom outside before turning back to Liora. "It's quiet tonight," she remarked, though the statement seemed almost too casual for someone who had always been so focused on appearances.
Liora didn't respond immediately. She was still processing the last few days, still wrestling with the implications of what Kasian had told her. She wasn't sure if she wanted to engage in conversation with Eveline at all. There were too many layers to their relationship, too many hidden motivations, for Liora to ever feel entirely comfortable around her.
"What do you want, Eveline?" Liora asked, cutting through the silence.
Eveline smirked, a playful, almost mocking expression that Liora had come to expect from her. "You're becoming more interesting, Liora. I'm just curious about where this will all go. After all, you're not the same naive girl who came to this palace all those months ago."
Liora's breath caught at her words, and for a moment, her mind wandered back to the girl she used to be—before she learned the truth about her bloodline, before she was thrust into the whirlwind of palace politics and royal expectations. The girl who had hoped for acceptance, for a sense of belonging.
"I never was naive," Liora said quietly, more to herself than to Eveline. "I just didn't know the full truth."
Eveline's gaze sharpened at that. "Ah, yes. The truth. That's always such a delicate thing, isn't it?" She turned her gaze to the night sky once more, her fingers idly tracing the edge of the window frame. "Kasian told you, didn't he?"
Liora stiffened, surprised at how easily Eveline had guessed. She didn't respond, her silence betraying nothing. Eveline was sharp, perhaps more so than anyone in the palace, and she had her ways of finding things out.
Eveline chuckled, sensing her victory. "You're not the only one who's been kept in the dark. But don't worry, dear sister," she said, her voice dripping with insincerity. "There are far greater things at play here than you realize. Kasian may have told you the truth, but he didn't tell you everything. There's a reason why he's been so cryptic. A reason why everyone's been so careful with you."
Liora's pulse quickened, the hairs on the back of her neck rising as a chill swept through her. "What are you talking about?"
Eveline smirked again, a glint of something almost dangerous in her eyes. "You're a pawn, Liora. A tool. A piece on the chessboard of a much larger game." She took a step closer, her voice dropping to a whisper. "And I don't know whether you're going to become the queen... or the sacrifice."
Liora felt her stomach churn at her words. Every instinct screamed at her to flee, to get away from this woman who seemed to know far too much. But she stood her ground, her voice steady despite the growing fear inside her. "You don't know what you're talking about."
Eveline's eyes glinted with amusement. "Oh, I do. Believe me, I do. But I'm not the one you should be worried about, Liora. The real danger isn't Kasian, or even me. It's what happens when you learn the full truth about yourself."
Liora's heart skipped a beat, and she found herself taking a step back. She couldn't shake the feeling that Eveline wasn't just talking about her royal bloodline, but something far darker, something deeper that lurked within the kingdom's very foundation.
"What's your point?" Liora demanded, trying to keep her composure despite the cold fear creeping into her bones.
Eveline's lips curled into a knowing smile. "My point, Liora, is that you can't trust anyone here. Not even Kasian. And the longer you stay in this palace, the more you'll understand that you're caught in a web of lies that's been woven for generations."
Before Liora could respond, Eveline turned to leave, her footsteps light as she crossed the room. "But don't worry. We all have our roles to play. Just remember, the game is far from over."
And with that, she was gone, leaving Liora alone once more with the unsettling feeling that the truth she had been searching for was slipping further away, tangled in a web of betrayal and hidden agendas.
Liora stared out the window, her mind reeling with the weight of Eveline's words. The pieces were falling into place, but the picture they formed was darker and more complicated than she could have ever imagined. And the question remained: Could she escape the tangled web before it ensnared her completely?