CHAPTER SIXTEEN — The Gaze That Followed
Emily stepped out of the chamber slowly after Kira left.
Her heart was racing.
She had meant to follow him immediately, to finally say the words she had held inside for years that she did not marry him for politics, for alliances, or for peace between kingdoms.
She married him because she had loved him long before the crown ever rested on his head.
But when she reached the corridor, she froze.
Kira stood a short distance away.
His posture was rigid.
His shoulders tense.
His expression nothing like she had ever seen before.
It wasn't coldness.
It was fury.
Emily followed his line of sight instinctively, expecting to see an enemy, a threat… or perhaps Damon.
But her eyes landed on something else.
Someone else.
Damon stood beneath the open sky, speaking softly to a young maid beside him. The girl listened with careful attention, her posture relaxed in a way Emily had never seen any servant behave within palace walls.
The maid laughed quietly.
And that was when Emily understood.
Kira's eyes were not fixed on Damon.
They were fixed on her.
The maid.
Emily's breath caught.
No…
That's impossible.
She studied the girl closely — simple clothing, modest appearance, nothing about her screamed royalty or power. And yet, something about the way Kira watched her made Emily's chest tighten.
Could he…
Could Prince Kira truly be looking at a maid like that?
She felt a chill crawl up her spine.
Kira moved.
His steps were slow, controlled, but his emotions were anything but. Emily hesitated, then followed at a distance, hiding behind columns and archways as she trailed him through the palace.
The more she watched, the more unsettled she became.
This was not the man she knew.
This was not the composed prince who never reacted to anything.
This was a man unraveling.
When Kira finally turned away, disappearing into the shadows, Emily retreated quickly, her thoughts spiraling.
You're imagining things, she told herself.
Kira does not love. He never has.
She clenched her fists.
I will make him love me.
Meanwhile, Helena walked back toward her chamber, her heart lighter than it had been in days.
Her conversation with Damon still lingered warmly in her chest. For the first time since arriving at Nightfall, she had felt seen not as a servant, not as something insignificant, but as a person.
Damon had listened.
He had understood.
In that palace, he was her only comfort.
Her only safe place.
Lost in thought, Helena nearly missed the figure standing by her door.
She stopped abruptly.
Prince Kira.
He stood motionless, his presence overwhelming the narrow corridor. His expression was dark, his eyes burning with something she couldn't understand.
Fear crept into her chest.
What did I do wrong?
Helena lowered her gaze instinctively, her hands clasping together.
"My prince," she said softly. "Did I… did I offend you?"
Kira said nothing.
He stepped closer.
Helena's heart pounded painfully against her ribs. She replayed every moment of the day in her mind, searching desperately for a mistake.
She found none.
Yet the way he looked at her felt dangerous not cruel, but intense. Conflicted. Angry.
As if she had stolen something from him without even knowing it.
Helena swallowed.
"I'm sorry if~"
"Who were you with?" Kira interrupted, his voice low.
She hesitated.
"Damon," she answered honestly. "He was just… talking to me."
Something flickered in Kira's eyes.
Jealousy.
Though neither of them knew it yet.
And in that silent corridor, with emotions neither was ready to face, the distance between a prince and a maid grew thinner and far more dangerous than either of them realized.