Seraphina's POV
Anna's body lies in the dirt, an arrow through her heart.
No! I scream, trying to run to her.
Cassian's arm locks around my waist, yanking me back behind the wall as more arrows whistle past. It's a trap! Stay down!
But I can see her face—eyes open, staring at nothing. My friend. My loyal maid who must have tried to warn me, and they killed her for it.
They used her as bait, Cassian growls, scanning the tree line where Golden Court soldiers are retreating. Knew you'd come. Wanted both of us exposed.
The soldiers disappear into the forest, mission accomplished. They didn't want to attack.
They wanted us to know we're being hunted.
I'm shaking so hard I can barely stand. Cassian keeps his arm around me as guards rush to secure the area.
I'm sorry, he says quietly. About your friend.
I can't speak. Can't process. Another person destroyed because of me.
Your Grace! A guard calls. There's something pinned to her dress. A message.
They bring it over—a piece of parchment sealed with the Ashcroft family crest.
Cassian opens it, his jaw clenching as he reads. Then he hands it to me.
Dear Sister, Your maid died screaming your name. How many more will die before you accept that you belong to us? Come home. Face justice. Or watch everyone who ever cared about you bleed. Celeste
The paper crumples in my shaking fist.
She's threatening everyone I know, I whisper. Everyone who was ever kind to me.
She's trying to manipulate you into surrendering. Cassian's voice is ice-cold. It won't work. You're not going anywhere.
But
No. He turns me to face him, hands on my shoulders. This is what they do. They hurt innocent people and blame you for it. Don't give them that power.
He's right. I know he's right.
But Anna's dead eyes haunt me.
The next morning, Cassian finds me staring out my window, still wearing yesterday's clothes.
You didn't sleep, he observes.
Neither did you.
True. He leans against the doorframe. Get dressed. We're going out.
Where?
You'll see. Meet me in the courtyard in ten minutes.
Before I can argue, he's gone.
Ten minutes later, I'm on a horse beside him, riding through the fortress gates. Guards accompany us, but Cassian seems relaxed for the first time since I arrived.
Where are we going? I ask again.
You've been locked in the Keep since you arrived. Time you saw what you're actually living in.
We ride through valleys I've only glimpsed from my window. And with every mile, my understanding of reality shifts.
The Shadow Marches aren't wastelands.
They're beautiful.
Golden fields stretch toward mountains. Rivers run clear and clean. And the villages we pass—they're thriving.
Children play in clean streets, laughing and chasing each other. Women hang laundry outside neat cottages. Men work in fields that look healthy and productive.
This isn't the war-torn, suffering territory from Golden Court propaganda.
This is... normal. Happy, even.
I don't understand, I murmur as we ride through a village square. They told us the Shadow Marches were dying. That your people were starving and oppressed.
They lied. Cassian's voice is matter-of-fact. Like they lied about everything else.
We stop at a school—an actual school with a teacher and children sitting at desks, learning to read.
Even the common children? I ask, shocked.
Especially the common children. Cassian dismounts and helps me down. Education isn't a privilege here. It's a right.
A little girl runs up to him, maybe six years old, grinning with missing front teeth. Duke Cassian! Did you bring us more books?
His entire expression softens. Next week, Maya. I promise.
She hugs his leg fearlessly, then runs back to class.
I stare at him. They love you.
I protect them. Feed them. Make sure they have futures beyond just surviving. He looks at me with those silver eyes. That's what a ruler is supposed to do. Not drain their resources to fund golden palaces.
The accusation hits like a slap.
The Golden Court does that? I ask, though I already know the answer. I've seen the palace wealth. Never questioned where it came from.
For generations. We walk through the village, and people wave at Cassian like he's one of them. These territories are rich—silver mines, farmland, forests. But the Golden Throne taxes them into poverty, takes their resources, and gives nothing back. When I objected, they called it treason.
What happened?
His jaw tightens. I was sixteen when my father was assassinated. My older brother took the throne—Lucian's father. Your family helped him secure power by promising to 'handle' the resource-rich territories that were complaining about exploitation.
We stop at a fountain where children are playing.
I watched them strip these lands bare, Cassian continues. Watched families starve while golden nobles got richer. I spoke up in council. Demanded fair treatment. Your father and his allies convinced my brother I was planning rebellion. So I was exiled here—given the title of Duke and told to govern these 'worthless' lands.
But you made them thrive instead, I realize.
I gave them what the Golden Court wouldn't. Justice. Education. Protection. And in return, they've given me loyalty that your family could never buy.
He looks at me directly. That's why they hate me, Seraphina. Not because I'm a traitor. Because I proved their entire system is built on lies.
The weight of understanding crushes me.
Everything I believed—about the empire, about the Shadow Duke, about my family's righteousness—all of it was propaganda.
I was raised by villains and taught to call them heroes.
I defended them, I whisper, tears burning my eyes. When people whispered about corruption, I defended the Golden Court. I thought we were the good ones. I thought—
My voice breaks.
Cassian's hand touches my shoulder, awkward but genuine. You were lied to from birth. That's not your fault.
But I never questioned! I never looked deeper! I was so desperate to be the perfect daughter that I ignored every sign that something was wrong! The tears spill over, hot and furious. Anna died because of lies. Thousands of people suffered because of lies. And I just... accepted it all.
Hey. His other hand cups my face, forcing me to look at him. You're questioning now. You're seeing the truth now. That's what matters.
Is it? How many people have to die before the truth matters?
I'm crying openly now, something breaking inside me. Not just grief for Anna, but grief for the girl I used to be—naive and blind and so certain she was on the right side.
Cassian pulls me against his chest, arms wrapping around me like he's trying to shield me from my own realizations.
The truth always matters, he says into my hair. Even when it hurts. Especially when it hurts.
I cry against his leather armor while villagers pretend not to notice their Duke comforting a sobbing woman.
When I finally pull back, his silver eyes are softer than I've ever seen them.
I'm sorry, I manage. I shouldn't have
You just learned your entire life was a lie. You're allowed to cry. His thumb brushes a tear from my cheek. You're stronger than you know, Seraphina. Most people never admit when they've been wrong.
What do I do now?
Now? His smile is grim. Now you decide who you want to be. The girl they raised, or someone better.
Before I can respond, a guard gallops up, horse lathered with sweat.
Your Grace! Urgent message from the border patrol!
Cassian's entire demeanor shifts back to military commander. Report.
Golden Court envoy requesting parley. They're demanding to speak with Lady Seraphina directly. The guard hesitates. And they brought someone with them. Someone who claims they can prove Lady Seraphina is innocent of all charges.
My heart stops. Who?
They wouldn't give a name. But the envoy says if you refuse to meet them, this person will be executed at sunset.
Another hostage. Another life used as leverage.
It's another trap, Cassian says immediately.
Probably, I agree. But what if it's real? What if someone actually has proof that could clear my name?
Even if they do, the Golden Court won't care. They'll kill them anyway.
Then we save them first and worry about proof later.
Cassian grabs my shoulders. Listen to me. If you go to this parley, you're walking into a trap. They want you close enough to capture or kill.
I know.
And you still want to go?
I think about Anna's dead eyes. About all the lies I've believed. About becoming someone better than the naive girl I used to be.
Yes, I say firmly. I'm done hiding while other people die because of me.
His silver eyes search mine, looking for doubt.
He won't find it.
Fine, he finally says. But I'm coming with you. And we do this my way—with enough soldiers to handle whatever they're planning.
Agreed.
As we mount our horses to ride back to the Keep, Cassian leans close enough that only I can hear.
After this parley—if we survive it—you and I are having a long conversation about why you're so determined to get yourself killed.
Looking forward to it, I say, and mean it.
We ride hard toward the fortress, toward whatever trap the Golden Court has set this time.
But as the Keep comes into view, I see something that makes my blood freeze.
Black smoke rising from the eastern tower.
The tower where all of Cassian's intelligence files are kept.
The tower that contains every piece of evidence about my family's conspiracy.
No, Cassian breathes beside me.
We push our horses faster, but I already know the truth.
Someone infiltrated the Obsidian Keep.
And they're destroying the only proof that could save me.