Secrets — we all have them. Some are stumbled upon, others are buried so deep they become part of the soil. The Alderman family always believed in the power of ignorance; what you don't know can't hurt you, and if it does, you simply pretend it doesn't. It was a creed that made them the second most powerful family in the kingdom, second only to the royals themselves.
But they forgot one thing: you don't always have to seek out secrets. Sometimes, they find you.
Zuria Alderman wanted no part of the glittering nightmare her parents called "a perfect evening." The ballroom was suffocating candles burning too hot, perfume thick enough to choke on, and laughter sharper than the silver cutlery. The gowns swirled in jewel tones, the men boasted of hunts and politics, and she could feel her patience fraying thread by thread.
She lasted three more waltzes before slipping out the terrace doors. The night air cooled her flushed skin, scented with roses and something darker… something metallic.
She slowed at the garden steps. Moonlight spilled over pale gravel paths, the hedges casting long shadows. Somewhere to her left, a rustle. Then faint, but unmistakable a wet, choking gasp.
Her stomach knotted. She followed the sound, moving as quietly as her slippers allowed. And then she saw them.
At the far end of the walkway, beneath a statue of some long-forgotten general, two figures were locked together. For a heartbeat, she thought they were embracing until she saw the crimson on Count Luxan's chest. The Duke's gloved hand gripped the hilt of a blade buried deep, his head tilted in an almost playful curiosity as the war hero sagged against him.
Duke Silas. The clown of high society. The man known for tripping over his own coat tails at the harvest gala. And strange enough he somehow gained the kings trust despite being a slave brought from the Hadeon Empire. Everyone thought he was just a fool who luckily gained the kings trust but Zuria was never fooled by the act, he was too smart for a mere slave and turns out she was right.
Luxan's knees gave out, his body folding to the gravel. The Duke let him drop like a child discarding a broken toy.
Zuria's breath caught, too loud in the still air. His head turned, eyes locking onto hers across the distance.
Her first instinct was to Run.
Her slippers barely touched the ground as she fled, darting down the garden path, up the terrace steps, through a side hall lined with portraits of people who would never believe her. Her heartbeat pounded in her ears, drowning out the muffled strains of the orchestra.
She reached the front corridor, breath ragged, and slowed only when the golden light of the ballroom came into view.
"What took you so long? I was honestly getting bored."
The voice came from her left.
The Duke leaned against a marble pillar as though he had been there all night, one hand in his pocket, the other idly twirling a bloodstained glove. His pitch-black eyes fixed on hers, and a smile ghosted across his lips.
Her heart dropped wasn't this man just a clown?