Seraphina's POV
"He has a dagger!" I screamed, pointing at Daemon.
Everything exploded into chaos.
Cassian's sword was at Daemon's throat in seconds. Valcrest guards surrounded him. Daemon's own men drew their weapons, but they were outnumbered five to one.
"I knew it," Cassian growled. "You came here to kill her."
"No!" Daemon raised his hands, the dagger sliding from his sleeve and clattering to the ground. "You don't understand—the dagger isn't for her! It's for you!"
My heart hammered. "What?"
"Her father sent me," Daemon said quickly, desperately. "He ordered me to come here, pretend to rescue Seraphina, and assassinate King Cassian when his guard was down. That's why I sent the warning note last night—I was trying to warn you both!"
Cassian's blade didn't move. "You expect us to believe you're suddenly on our side?"
"I don't expect you to believe anything," Daemon shot back. "But Seraphina knows me. She knows I'm a coward, yes. I'm weak. I chose politics over love. But I'm not a murderer!" He looked at me, his eyes pleading. "I came to warn you. Your father is planning something terrible. Something that will destroy both kingdoms. And he's using you as bait."
I wanted to believe it was another trick. But something in Daemon's voice rang true—the desperation, the fear.
"Lower your sword, Your Majesty," I said quietly.
Cassian looked at me like I'd lost my mind. "Seraphina, he just admitted he came here to kill me."
"He admitted his father ordered him to. That's different." I stepped closer to Daemon, ignoring Cassian's warning growl. "Tell me the truth, Daemon. All of it. Why did you really come here?"
Daemon's shoulders sagged. "Because I'm in love with you. I have been for years. And I threw you away because I was afraid." His voice cracked. "When I learned your father framed you, that he'd sent you here to die, I couldn't live with myself. So I came to save you—or die trying."
The courtyard went silent.
Cassian's sword lowered slightly. "If you're truly here to help, then prove it. Tell us what Duke Aldric is planning."
"Not here," Daemon said, glancing around at the dozens of watching eyes. "Too many people. Too many potential spies. Somewhere private."
Cassian considered this, then nodded sharply. "Commander Rylan, take Prince Daemon to the war room. Disarm him completely. I'll be there shortly." He looked at me. "You should come too. You deserve to hear this."
Twenty minutes later, we sat in a secured room with maps covering the walls. Daemon had been searched thoroughly—three more hidden daggers removed.
"Talk," Cassian commanded.
Daemon took a breath. "Duke Aldric isn't planning a normal invasion. He's planning a massacre. He has allies in your court—people you trust—who will open your gates from the inside. Once his army enters, they'll burn everything. Every building, every person. He wants Valcrest erased from the map."
My stomach turned. "That's... that's genocide."
"Yes," Daemon said grimly. "And he's using the lie about you being a traitor to justify it. He's telling the Aelorian people that Valcrest corrupted his daughter, that King Cassian is holding you prisoner and torturing you. When he 'rescues' you from the ashes, he'll be seen as a hero."
"Except I'll be dead," I whispered. "He doesn't actually plan to rescue me."
"No," Daemon confirmed. "He plans to kill you in the attack and blame it on Valcrest forces. Maximum sympathy, maximum support for total war."
Cassian slammed his fist on the table. "Who are the traitors in my court?"
"I don't know all of them. But I know one." Daemon looked uncomfortable. "Your chief healer. Mira."
"What?" I gasped. "No! Mira's been nothing but kind to me!"
"That's the point," Daemon said. "She gains your trust, gets close to you, and when the attack comes, she ensures you don't survive. Poison, probably. Quick and untraceable."
Cassian's face had gone pale. "Mira has served my family for twenty years."
"And your father rewarded her generously for her service," Daemon said. "Which Duke Aldric rewarded even more generously to betray you."
I felt sick. Another betrayal. Another person I'd trusted.
"How do we know you're telling the truth?" Commander Rylan demanded. "This could all be another trick."
Daemon pulled a sealed letter from inside his boot—the one place they hadn't searched thoroughly. He tossed it to Cassian.
"That's a letter from Duke Aldric to his co-conspirators, detailing the full plan. I stole it from his study three days ago. It's why I had to flee Aeloria so quickly."
Cassian broke the seal and read. His expression grew darker with every line.
"It's real," he said finally, his voice tight with rage. "Every word. The attack is planned for five days from now. During the new moon, when it's darkest."
Five days.
"We need to root out all the traitors," Rylan said. "Starting with Mira."
"No," I said suddenly. An idea was forming. "If we arrest her now, the other traitors will know we're onto them. They'll change the plan or go into hiding."
Cassian looked at me with surprise and something like admiration. "What are you suggesting?"
"We let them think their plan is working," I said, my mind racing. "We let Mira think she has access to me. We feed false information to the traitors. And when my father's army arrives expecting open gates and chaos, they'll find a fully prepared defense instead."
"A trap," Daemon said, catching on. "Use their own plan against them."
"Exactly." I looked at Cassian. "But it means I have to be bait. I have to stay visible, vulnerable. The traitors need to believe they can get to me."
"Absolutely not," Cassian said immediately. "I won't risk your life."
"It's already at risk!" I stood up, frustrated. "My father wants me dead. The traitors want me dead. At least this way, we control the situation."
"She's right," Rylan said reluctantly. "It's our best chance."
Cassian looked at me for a long moment. "If we do this, you don't leave my sight. Ever. I'll assign my personal guard to you. You sleep in my chambers where I can protect you. And if anything goes wrong—anything—we abort immediately."
His chambers again. My cheeks flushed, but I nodded. "Agreed."
"Then we have a plan," Daemon said. "I'll stay here to help coordinate. I know how your father thinks, how he fights."
Cassian's eyes narrowed. "And how do I know you won't betray us again?"
"You don't," Daemon said simply. "But Seraphina knows. So ask her. Do you trust me?"
Everyone looked at me.
Did I trust Daemon? The man who'd rejected me, humiliated me, thrown me away?
But also the man who'd just risked everything to warn us. Who'd stolen military secrets from my father and fled here.
"I trust him," I said finally. "But if you betray us, Daemon, I'll kill you myself."
He smiled sadly. "I'd expect nothing less."
Late that night, I couldn't sleep despite exhaustion. Too much had happened. Too many revelations.
So I did what I always did when stressed—I went looking for books.
The library was empty at this hour, lit only by moonlight through the windows. I ran my fingers along the spines, searching for something familiar. Something comforting.
"Can't sleep either?"
I jumped and spun around.
King Cassian stood in the doorway, dressed simply, no crown or armor. Just a man who looked as tired as I felt.
"I didn't mean to startle you," he said, moving into the room. "I saw light under the door and thought perhaps Mira was here, preparing poison or something." He gave a wry smile. "Paranoia is exhausting."
"Tell me about it." I turned back to the books. "I keep waiting for the next betrayal. The next person I trust to stab me in the back."
He stood beside me, pulling a book from a high shelf I couldn't reach. "The Tales of the Moon Goddess. My mother used to read this to me."
"Mine too," I said softly, taking the book. "Every night before bed."
We looked at each other, and something passed between us. Understanding. Shared grief. Shared memories.
"What was your favorite story?" he asked.
"The Silver Wolf and the Broken Princess," I said immediately. "Yours?"
"The same." He smiled. "My mother said it taught that sometimes the thing you fear most is actually your salvation."
"My mother said it taught that real love sees past appearances to the truth underneath."
"Both lessons apply to us, I think," Cassian said quietly.
We sat by the fireplace, and he rekindled it with practiced ease. For hours, we talked—about books, about our mothers, about everything except war and betrayal.
He quoted poetry. I countered with philosophy. He knew history. I knew languages.
We were intellectually matched in a way I'd never experienced with Daemon or anyone else.
"You're not what I expected," I admitted as dawn began to break.
"Neither are you," he said. "I expected a broken girl who needed saving. Instead, I found a warrior who just needed someone to believe in her."
My breath caught. No one had ever called me a warrior before.
"Cassian," I said—his name, not his title. "Why are you really helping me? And don't say because of my mother. This is more than that."
He was quiet for so long I thought he wouldn't answer.
Then: "Because the moment I saw you in the mud at the border, something in me recognized something in you. Like calls to like. Two people broken by betrayal, fighting to survive." He met my eyes. "And because I'm falling in love with you, and I don't know how to stop."
The world stopped spinning.
"You're... what?"
"In love with you," he repeated, his voice steady despite the vulnerability in his eyes. "I know it's too soon. I know you probably feel nothing for me. But I've never lied to you, Seraphina, and I won't start now."
I couldn't breathe. Couldn't think.
The Iron King—the feared warrior, the ruthless commander—had just confessed he loved me.
"I..." I started, but words failed me.
Before I could find them, the library door slammed open.
Mira rushed in, her face pale with panic. "Your Majesty! Lady Seraphina! You have to come quickly! Someone's broken into the dungeons!"
Cassian was on his feet instantly. "Who?"
"We don't know, but..." Mira's voice shook. "The Duchess Ravenna's cell is empty. She's escaped."
My stepmother was loose in the castle.
And she knew exactly where I slept.