Nova paced the length of her chambers like a caged animal.
The early morning sun spilled through the tall windows, gilding the room in golden light, but none of it touched her. Her silk nightgown trailed behind her like mist, forgotten. Her carefully braided hair was unraveling, her bare feet cold on the marble floor.
She had not slept.
She had waited.
Waited for a knock on the door. A summons. A sign.
But it never came.
Roan had not sent for her.
Not after last night. Not after what they had shared.
He had dismissed her from his chambers, yes but that had been in the moment. She had been patient. She knew him. Knew how to wait for the right moment to return.
But this?
She had even gone to his chambers before sunrise.
The guards had turned her away.
"His Majesty is not to be disturbed."
Not even for her.
And that had given her a bad feeling.
She bit her lip until it bled, arms folded tightly across her chest as she whirled around and stormed back to the window. She had gone over every second of the night a hundred times in her mind. He had been angry but only because of Arin. Because of the spectacle.
She wondered if he had a moment of guilt.
She shook her head vigorously, refusing to accept it. He hated Arin, had he not humiliated her before the entire kingdom?
Nova exhaled sharply and turned again, ready to walk the room once more, when the door opened behind her.
She didn't look at first. She didn't need to.
"Where have you been?" she snapped.
Usera's voice was calm, cool. "Good morning to you too, daughter."
Nova spun around, lips parted to retort but something in her mother's expression made the words die in her throat.
Usera's gaze swept over her slowly, taking in the state of her, the restless pacing, the rumpled nightgown, the red bite marks fading along her collarbone.
Her mouth pinched slightly.
"He didn't summon you," she said flatly.
Nova stiffened.
"I went to his chambers. The guards wouldn't let me in."
Usera's face remained expressionless, but Nova didn't miss the flicker in her eyes.
Then the older woman murmured, barely louder than a breath, "Could Arin have met him…?"
Nova's breath caught.
Her eyes narrowed, sharp as glass. "What?"
Usera tilted her head, as if calculating something far away. Her lips parted, hesitated. "The men. The ones I paid to… handle our little complication."
Nova surged forward. "What about them?"
Usera finally met her gaze. "They were found unconcious in the garden, they lost her."
For a moment, Nova couldn't comprehend the words. They floated there between them, absurd and impossible.
"…They what?"
"They lost her," Usera repeated, her tone clipped now. "They must have drank too much, and passed out before seeing her."
Nova's hands flew to her hair, raking it back with trembling fingers. "No, no, no. That's not possible."
Usera's voice darkened. "I fear Roan and Arin might have met each other last night."
The air between them chilled.
Nova staggered back a step, shaking her head. "You're saying… that they…?"
"I'm saying," Usera said with calm finality, "that something went wrong last night. Very wrong."
Nova turned toward the window, her hand bracing against the cool glass. "If it's true Roan if he found her out there like that…"
"Then he touched her."
"No. No. He wouldn't."
Usera stepped closer, her voice low and sharp. "He dismissed you. He didn't call for you. He's not speaking to you this morning. That means something happened."
Nova's stomach churned.
"No," she whispered. "You don't know that. You're guessing. You're guessing because those useless men you paid were too slow…"
"They were meant to end this, Nova." Usera's tone cracked. "To end her. Not kill her, no. But ruin her. Ensure Roan wouldn't look at her again. And now, now we don't even know who touched her… or if she even remembers."
Nova looked sick.
"Why didn't they follow her?"
"They did." Usera's mouth twisted. "They chased her into the hedges. She vanished. when they woke up, one of them found traces of clothing near the fountain. Blood. Petals. It was… recent."
Nova pressed a fist to her lips. Her mind was racing.
"No one can know. If anyone finds out we…"
"They won't," Usera snapped. "Not unless she speaks. But I don't think she will."
Nova blinked. "Why?"
"She might not even remember anything." Her mother's voice cooled again, the predator resurfacing beneath the refined mask. "She's wolfless. Powerless. Bound to a king who has humiliated her in front of everyone. If word got out that she wandered off into the dark and let a man, any man touch her…"
"She'd be put to death," Nova whispered, satisfaction stirring in her belly.
Usera smiled. "Exactly."
Nova closed her eyes. Tried to slow the thundering in her chest.
Then, slowly, she turned to face her mother. "So what do we do?"
Usera folded her arms and exhaled through her nose. "We wait. We observe. We approach this carefully. Maybe we can find a way to spin this in our favour…"
"But how the hell will we?"
Usera's mouth tightened. "A problem. But one we can still use. What matters is that you find out what she remembers. Go to her. Pretend to care. Play the sister. See what she says."
Nova hesitated. "And if she knows?"
"Then we will deal with it. But you must find out first."
Nova pressed her nails into her palms. "You think she'll speak to me after last night?"
"She will." Usera's smile was brittle. "Because she doesn't have anyone else."
Nova chewed her lip, then nodded once, her spine stiffening.
"I'll go."
"And Nova," Usera's voice dropped lower. "This time, don't underestimate her. She may not have a wolf, but she has something. She survived the garden. She's still here. And if Roan touched her…"
Nova clenched her jaw. "Then she's a threat."
"Exactly."
A long silence settled between them.
Then Usera stepped to the mirror and adjusted her hair. "The ball is already rolling, my dear. But we must nudge it down the right hill."
Nova stared at her reflection in the mirror across the room. Her eyes, ringed with dark circles and anger, looked back at her like someone else entirely.
She didn't say another word.
She didn't need to.
Because everything that she and had mother had worked to achieve was tottering on the balance. any wrong move and bring them down.