The royal palace loomed ahead, its marble spires catching the faint light of the waning moon.
Druvok moved through the darkness like a predator, his massive frame flowing from shadow to shadow with unnatural silence. The guards were oblivious — and they would remain so.
No iron-clad sentinel could match the stealth of a creature born to stalk prey in the dead of night.
He scaled the garden wall with a single, soundless leap, his clawed hands finding purchase in the ancient stone. The air here was different — perfumed with night jasmine, touched by the faint hum of courtly music drifting from distant halls.
In moments, he reached the towering oak whose branches stretched toward the windows of the Crown Prince's private chambers. With a quiet precision that belied his size, Druvok climbed, each movement measured.
He stopped when the world beneath him vanished into a black sea of treetops, and the chamber's balcony lay just beyond. The golden curtains within stirred faintly in the breeze.
Voices carried into the night.
"…She will have no choice once the stage is set," came the low, smooth voice of Crown Prince Alric — dripping with the confidence of a man who had never been denied anything in his life.
"When the court sees it… she will be bound to me."
A second voice followed — rougher, grounded in the cadence of a man who'd lived with steel in his hands.
"And you're certain she won't suspect? She's blind, yes, but not a fool."
"Leave that to me, Alex."
There was the sound of a glass set down on a table.
"We'll make it so that even if she protests, she'll have no escape. Once she's mine… the Dream Duke will have no grounds to interfere."
A pause. The faint clink of wine poured into crystal.
The prince's voice softened into something almost sinister.
"She will be… perfect for our plan throne will be in our hand with Dream family power."
Druvok's jaw tightened until it ached. A heat rose in his chest — molten, suffocating. His claws dug into the bark beneath him, and the tree groaned in protest. The air around him seemed to darken, his expression a mask of shadow and barely contained violence.
He didn't need to hear more.
⸻
By the time he returned to the Duke's estate, the horizon was already paling with the promise of dawn. He said nothing to the night guards who eyed him warily, his mind still poisoned by the prince's words.
Morning came.
Maliny awoke to the scent of warm bread and summer fruit. Druvok was already seated across from her at the small breakfast table in her sunlit chamber, the golden light spilling across the floor in shifting patterns.
"Good morning," she said with a bright smile as she settled into her seat. There was a rare lightness in her voice — the kind of joy that belonged to children and those who had yet to be broken by the world.
"I can't stop thinking about Radiel's song from last night… it was like something out of a fairytale."
She let out a soft, delighted laugh, tilting her head as though still hearing the music in her mind.
The sunlight caught the curve of her smile, and for a moment Druvok thought she looked like she had been carved from the very morning itself.
He watched her — too intently.
There was a protective edge to his gaze now, sharper than before, and the few servants tending the room exchanged quick glances at the change in his demeanor. Maliny, blissfully unaware, remained lost in her memories of the merman's song.
When the meal ended, Maliny allowed the maids to guide her away for her bath, her laughter trailing faintly behind her.
Druvok lingered at the table a moment longer, the muscles in his jaw shifting.
Then — swallowing what little pride he had — he made his way to the young Duke's study.
⸻
Leonardo looked up from his desk when Druvok entered, one brow arching. The two men shared no love for one another, and the air between them always seemed a degree colder when they were alone.
"What do you want, goblin?" Leonardo asked lazily, though his eyes were sharp.
Druvok's voice was low, controlled — but beneath it, the edges frayed with restrained fury.
"The Crown Prince. He's planning something… for Maliny."
Leonardo's lips curled into a slow, knowing smile.
"Something? You'll have to be more specific."
Druvok didn't rise to the bait.
"It's enough to know she won't be safe if it happens."
The Duke leaned back in his chair, steepling his fingers.
"And why," he asked with a predator's curiosity, "do you care? If she ends up in his hands, it changes nothing for you."
For a moment, Druvok said nothing.
Then, in a voice rougher than usual — almost uncertain — he spoke.
"She's… soft. Bright. Warm. Like a ray of sunlight in a life I thought was nothing but ruin."
His gaze dropped to the floor.
"I don't know how to explain it… I've never felt anything like it before. But I'd rather die — a thousand times over — than see even a drop of her blood spilled."
Leonardo's expression shifted, just slightly. The faintest shadow of something unguarded flickered across his face… but it was gone in an instant, replaced by the familiar, sharp-edged smirk.
"Interesting."
He leaned forward, the light in his eyes cold and calculating.
"Very well. We'll see what can be done… for your little ray of sunlight."