The greenhouse was a cathedral of glass and shadow.
Moonlight dripped through the panes like liquid silver, bathing black roses in a soft glow.
Midnight lilies filled the air with a heavy, sweet scent.
Dragon-vine orchids curled above her, their petals pulsing as if they were alive.
Mia slipped through the side door as if she belonged there.
Her cloak brushed the floor.
Her back throbbed with pain, fresh blood soaking through her silk bandages.
But she refused to limp.
She controlled the pain.
She commanded it.
He's here. Alone. Perfect.
Snip.
She froze.
Under a frame of glowing vines stood Crown Prince Valoric.
His silver hair hung freely, catching the moonlight.
His violet eyes were calm and distant.
He held a black rose in one hand and pruning shears in the other.
He looked less like a prince…
and more like a poet who lived inside the night.
Mia clicked her heel on purpose.
Valoric looked up.
Quiet. Observant.
"Lady Elara von Rosenwald," he said, voice smooth but sharp.
"You trespass in a royal place… while bleeding on my orchids."
Mia lifted her chin.
Even in pain, she stood like nobility.
"Your Highness flatters himself if he believes a Rosenwald needs an invitation to admire beauty."
She swept her cloak back with a dramatic motion.
"Though I confess — the blood is an unintended accessory. Should I curtsy, or will you faint from the scandal?"
Valoric's lips twitched.
"You're wounded," he said. He placed the shears down neatly.
"Sit. Before you ruin my lilies."
Mia raised her brow.
"Command me again, Your Highness, and I will redecorate your greenhouse with your royal entrails."
Instead of sitting where he pointed, she sat on the glass table.
Legs crossed.
Back straight.
A dangerous smirk on her face.
Valoric's eyes glowed with interest.
"Such fire," he said.
"Yet the court says you are a wilted flower. Timid. Magicless. Broken."
Mia laughed softly.
A low, sharp, elegant sound.
"Oh, darling," she said, voice dripping with disdain.
"The court is full of vipers wearing perfume. They see what they wish to cage."
She leaned forward, silver hair falling over her shoulder.
"Tell me, Your Highness…
Why trust their rumors when the real person is standing right in front of you…
bleeding, bold, and bored of their games?"
Valoric stepped closer.
Slow. Controlled.
Moonlight shaped the shadows on his face.
"You shattered Seraphina's holy chain," he said.
"You ranked first in the exam.
You broke your engagement before the entire empire."
He studied her.
"Why did you let them bully you… when your tongue can cut a soul open?"
Mia smiled — cold, sweet, dangerous.
"Because, my prince," she said, her voice like silk and steel,
"A dragon does not roar at ants.
It waits.
Then devours."
Her thoughts
I'll make him fall. Not for love — for survival.
In the book, the king was obsessed with Valoric marrying.
He didn't care if the bride was noble, common, or magicless.
He only wanted the crown prince married. A future emperor. A legacy.
Perfect loophole.
She also remembered that Valoric liked sharp-tongued women.
Bold women.
Women who challenged him.
If she kept acting like this, he could fall deeper and deeper… and become trapped with her.
If Valoric claims me… Seraphina's frame-up dies.
Execution? Cancelled.
Valoric tilted his head, studying her like she was a rare flower.
"You speak as if you have planned every breath," he said softly.
Mia twirled the black rose he had left on the table.
"Planning is for mortals, Your Highness," she said.
"I improvise… with style."
Valoric laughed — warm, soft, and dangerous.
"You are madness wrapped in moonlight," he said.
Mia grinned, showing a little blood on her teeth.
"Thank you," she said.
"Now — shall we discuss how to ruin a saintess… or will you prune flowers while I bleed out?"
Valoric held the black rose out to her.
"Black roses do not wilt," he said.
"They rule the dark."
Mia took it.
Their fingers touched.
A spark snapped between them.
She did not pull away.
"Excellent," she whispered.
"Because I intend to reign."
Outside the Greenhouse — Shadows
Cassian stood hidden against the glass wall.
His cloak blended with the darkness.
His fists were tight at his sides.
He had followed her.
He had heard every word.
She is with Valoric?
She is planning something with him?
And she laughed like that…
His ice-blue eyes burned.
"Elara…"