Seraphina's POV
"What do you mean he'll never let me leave?" I asked, my voice shaking.
Elias and Cassian exchanged a dark look. Before either could answer, heavy footsteps echoed down the corridor outside. Lots of them.
"Hide her," Cassian said urgently. "Now."
Elias grabbed my arm and pulled me toward a large wardrobe in the corner. "Get in. Don't make a sound. Don't come out until I say."
"But—"
"Now!" Cassian hissed.
I scrambled into the wardrobe. Elias shut the doors, leaving a tiny crack for air. Through the gap, I could see Cassian straighten his clothes and sit in a chair, trying to look casual.
The door to his room burst open.
Crown Prince Theron walked in, flanked by six guards. I pressed my hand over my mouth to stay quiet.
"Brother," Theron said coldly. "I heard strange noises from your room last night. Screaming."
"I scream every night," Cassian replied, his voice flat. "You know that. The curse isn't exactly pleasant."
"Yes, but the guards reported seeing a girl run into this wing. A servant girl who was just disowned at my ball." Theron's eyes swept the room. "You wouldn't happen to know anything about that, would you?"
My heart hammered. He was looking for me.
"Why would a servant come to the Forbidden Wing?" Cassian asked. "Everyone knows I'm dangerous."
"That's what I'm wondering." Theron walked around the room slowly, studying everything. "Guards, search this place. Check every corner."
No. No, no, no.
The guards started tearing through the room—opening chests, looking under the bed, checking behind curtains. One moved toward my wardrobe.
"Enough!" Cassian stood up sharply. "You have no right to search my quarters. Cursed or not, I'm still a prince of this kingdom."
Theron turned to him with a cruel smile. "Are you? Because last I checked, cursed monsters don't have rights. They're just... problems waiting to be solved."
The threat in his words was clear. My stomach twisted with fear—not for me, but for Cassian.
"If I find out you're hiding that girl," Theron continued, "I'll move you to the dungeons. Or better yet, I'll have you executed. Call it mercy—putting a suffering creature out of its misery."
Cassian's jaw clenched, but he said nothing.
"Search that wardrobe," Theron ordered the guard.
The guard reached for the handle. I squeezed my eyes shut, pressing deeper into the corner. This was it. They'd find me. And whatever happened next would be bad for both of us.
The door started to open—
"Wait!" Elias stepped forward quickly. "Your Highness, I was here all night checking on Prince Cassian. No girl came into this room. I swear it."
Theron studied Elias with suspicious eyes. "You'd lie to protect my brother?"
"I'd tell the truth to protect the kingdom," Elias said smoothly. "If a girl had entered this room and touched the cursed prince, she'd be stone by now. A statue. We'd have evidence. But as you can see..." He gestured around the room. "No statue. No girl. Just another night of suffering for Prince Cassian."
The logic seemed to satisfy Theron. He waved the guard away from my wardrobe.
I nearly collapsed with relief.
"Fine," Theron said. "But if I discover you're lying, Elias, you'll share my brother's fate." He turned to leave, then paused at the door. "Oh, and Cassian? Your existence becomes more problematic every day. I'd hate for an accident to befall you. Curses can be so... unpredictable."
The threat hung in the air. Then Theron left, his guards following.
For a long moment, no one moved. Finally, Elias let out a breath and opened my wardrobe.
"That was too close," he muttered.
I stumbled out, my legs shaky. "He wants you dead," I said to Cassian. "Your own brother wants you dead."
Cassian's expression was hard. "He's wanted me dead since the day I was cursed. Maybe before."
"What do you mean?"
"It doesn't matter." Cassian turned away. "What matters is you need to leave this wing before sunrise. If Theron finds you here, he'll use you against me somehow. Trust me—my brother is creative when it comes to cruelty."
"But where will I go?" The reality of my situation crashed down on me again. "I have no family. No home. No money. I'm disowned, remember?"
"Not my problem," Cassian said coldly.
His words stung. After everything that just happened—after I'd sat with him through his curse, after the impossible connection we'd shared—he was pushing me away like I meant nothing.
"Cassian," Elias said quietly. "She helped you. The curse didn't hurt as much last night, did it?"
Cassian's silence was answer enough.
"She's special somehow," Elias continued. "We both know it. And she has nowhere to go. If you send her away, Theron will find her anyway. He's looking for her. You heard him."
"Then she'll have to be smart and stay hidden," Cassian snapped.
"From the Crown Prince?" Elias raised an eyebrow. "She's a disowned servant with no resources and no protection. How long do you think she'll last out there?"
I hated being talked about like I wasn't in the room. "Stop," I said firmly. Both men looked at me. "I'll leave. I don't need anyone's pity or protection. I've survived this long on my own, I'll keep surviving."
I moved toward the door, trying to hold my head high despite the fear churning in my stomach.
"Wait."
Cassian's voice stopped me.
I turned. He was staring at me with those intense silver eyes, like he was trying to solve a puzzle.
"You really can touch me during the curse," he said slowly. "Without turning to stone."
"Yes."
"Why?"
"I don't know," I admitted. "But I felt something. Warmth in my blood. Like... like it wanted to help you."
Cassian and Elias exchanged another look.
"What if she stays?" Elias suggested carefully. "Just temporarily. Until we figure out what she is and why she can break the curse's rules."
"Absolutely not," Cassian said immediately.
"Why not?" I challenged. "You said yourself that your brother wants me found. If I'm here, in the one place no one wants to come, I'll be safer than anywhere else."
"You'll be trapped with a monster every night," Cassian shot back.
"I've been trapped with monsters my whole life," I said quietly. "At least you're honest about what you are."
Something flickered in his eyes. Pain? Recognition?
"She has a point," Elias said. "The Forbidden Wing is the last place Theron would look. And if she can actually help with the curse somehow..."
"We don't know that she can help," Cassian argued. "One night doesn't prove anything."
"Then let's test it," I said, surprising myself with my boldness. "Let me stay for a week. If I can touch you every night without turning to stone, if the pain lessens, then we know I'm useful. If not, I'll leave."
"And go where?" Cassian demanded.
I lifted my chin. "That's not your concern, remember? You said it's not your problem."
His jaw tightened. For a moment, I thought he'd throw me out anyway.
Then he sighed, long and tired. "Fine. One week. But you follow my rules. You stay in this room. You don't wander the wing. And when sunset comes, you keep your distance unless I say otherwise."
"Deal," I said quickly, before he could change his mind.
"I'll get her some supplies," Elias said, heading for the door. "Food, blankets, fresh clothes. This is going to be interesting."
After he left, awkward silence filled the room. Cassian sat back in his chair, studying me.
"Why did you really come into this room last night?" he asked quietly.
I thought about lying. But after everything, the truth seemed easier.
"Because I had nothing left to lose," I said. "My stepsister took my fiancé. My father disowned me. Everyone I ever cared about threw me away like garbage. So when I saw that door with all its warnings... part of me didn't care anymore. Death didn't seem worse than the life I was living."
Understanding flickered in his eyes. "I know that feeling."
"I figured you might."
We looked at each other—two broken people who'd ended up in the same cursed room by accident. Or maybe not by accident. Maybe fate had something else in mind.
"For what it's worth," Cassian said, "your father is a fool. And your stepsister is cruel. You deserved better."
The unexpected kindness made my throat tight. "So did you."
Before either of us could say more, a scream echoed through the palace. Distant but clear.
We both froze.
Another scream. Then another. Shouts. The sound of running feet.
Cassian moved to his window. I followed. From here, we could see part of the palace courtyard.
Guards were everywhere, surrounding something. Someone.
"What's happening?" I whispered.
Cassian's face went pale. "That's my father's voice. The King."
More shouts. Then a different sound—a roar of rage that shook the windows.
"Everyone get back!" someone yelled. "The King is cursed! Don't let him touch you!"
My blood ran cold. "Cursed? What do you mean?"
Cassian gripped the windowsill, his knuckles white. "It means," he said slowly, "that I'm not the only cursed royal anymore. And my brother just got exactly what he wanted—a reason to take full control of the kingdom."
He turned to me, his silver eyes dark with fear.
"Whatever game Theron is playing, it just got much worse. And we're both trapped right in the middle of it."