I didn't sleep.
Not with the golden rune still glowing faintly on my skin.
Not with Kael's eyes still lingering in my mind.
Not with memories pressing into my bones like ice.
At dawn, I lit a candle and unrolled one of the forbidden books I had hidden behind my vanity Runic Invocation: A Study of Old World Magic.
I had stolen it once as a girl, more out of boredom than belief.
Now it felt like salvation.
"The Spellweaver's rune chooses its bearer. A mark of fate, rarely seen, often feared. It appears in times of great change and grants the wielder limited control over the threads of destiny."
Control over destiny?
In my first life, I never understood why so many feared me. Why I was called a monster. But now… I was starting to.
And if they learned what I was in this life if the Church or the Court found out I wouldn't just be executed.
I'd be erased.
The Imperial Garden
Hours Later
Court custom demanded the future Crown Princess join the royal family for morning tea after the banquet.
Even if her engagement was being canceled behind the scenes.
I wore the simplest gown I owned midnight blue with no jewels, no embroidery, nothing that whispered ambition. I didn't want to look like the Seraphina of my first life.
But I also didn't want to look weak.
The garden was drenched in morning dew when I arrived, escorted by two imperial guards who barely met my gaze.
Under a white pavilion sat Kael, already sipping his tea.
He looked up as I approached.
No smile. No bow. Just a nod.
"Lady Seraphina."
"Your Highness," I replied coolly.
He studied me for a long moment too long. I could practically feel him comparing me to the woman he once killed.
Was he wondering why I seemed different?
Or had he not yet learned how to look past what he expected?
"I was surprised to see you last night," he said at last. "You've… changed."
"So have you," I said.
"I haven't," he replied.
I frowned. "That's a shame."
He blinked taken off guard.
Good.
Let him feel confused. I wasn't the girl who once loved him blindly. I wasn't his pawn. I wasn't anyone's.
"I heard you've asked your father to cancel the engagement," Kael said evenly.
So he knew.
"Correct."
He looked away. "May I ask why?"
I narrowed my eyes. "Did you ever want this marriage?"
"…No."
"Neither did I. That makes us even, doesn't it?"
A silence stretched between us. Then
"I remember you differently," he said quietly.
"I was different," I replied.
I turned to leave, but he called after me.
"Seraphina."
I paused.
"I've never seen a mark like that before," he said.
My blood froze.
I slowly turned back. "What mark?"
He stared at my collarbone. "A faint glow. I saw it through your gown last night. Right here."
He pointed exactly where the rune had appeared.
My heart pounded.
He saw it.
He shouldn't have.
He wasn't supposed to.
"I must have been wearing enchanted fabric," I lied smoothly. "You know how noble seamstresses love magical embroidery."
He didn't challenge it, but his gaze lingered.
"I see," he said.
I offered him a stiff bow. "Good day, Your Highness."
And I walked away with the weight of fear trailing behind me like a cloak.
Back at Aurelian Estate
I stood in front of my fireplace, staring into the flames.
He saw the rune.
And he said nothing.
That could mean many things.
Curiosity.
Suspicion.
Danger.
In my first life, Kael hated all things magical especially forbidden kinds. The Church's teachings were clear: Spellweaving is heresy. Spellweavers are cursed.
If he reported it, the Church would come for me.
Unless...
Unless he didn't plan to tell anyone at all.
But why?
What did he want from me?
And what secret was he hiding behind those cold, unreadable eyes?