Chapter 21 When I found an empty, dust-covered office, I brushed my fingers behind my ear. The mindlink buzzed in my head like a gnat circling my skull. I tapped my temple out of habit. "You couldn't have texted?" "That tone is wasted on me, princess," my father's voice filled my head dry like old parchment. "This is the only secure channel when you're surrounded by court-bred jackals." My eyes narrowed. "So, the maid tattled, you know "I know everything that happens on these lands." I smirked. "Then be quick." my little problem." "I don't call for pleasantries. I've learned something... unsettling." I paused by the window, watching the wind tug at the vines on the stone sill. "About Bianca?" "That girl," he muttered, voice dark. "She's a distant cousin's child. Not illegitimate, but not pure either. A well-forged lie, dressed up in status and timing." I blinked. A very distant relative, then. "So, she's not truly royal." "No. Not in any way that matters. If you want," he continued, "we can nullify your engagement to Callum. Immediately. This entire situation reeks of deception, and I won't have you used as a pawn, even by someone as traditionally promising as him." My breath caught, not because I disagreed, but because part of me had wanted to hear those words. For weeks. Maybe longer. "Do you mean it?" I asked quietly. "I've never say anything I don't mean." 1/4 Chapter 21 +15 BONUS I shifted my weight, eyes on the far courtyard where shadows slipped over stone like spilled ink. "And what about the mate bond?" "That's up to you." His voice softened. "Callum is a good boy. I've met his father, seen how he carries himself. You two aren't just engaged, you're bonded. Whether or not you like it, the Goddess herself seems to think there's something between you worth protecting, blessing. What you do with it is up to you." I said nothing, because how could I explain the way Callum had looked at me sometimes like I was everything, and then turned around and looked at Bianca like I was nothing? I shifted my weight, uncomfortable with my own feelings. He was good. That was the problem. Too good, too perfect, too aligned with the path laid out for him. The only flaw in his design was his blind spot for the girl who played princess in borrowed skin. But was that really his fault... or mine? I just wanted something real. A love that wasn't tied to titles or legacy. Did he want that too... or just the crown that came with it? "I need time," I said. "Take it. But don't take too long. Your heart isn't something I'm willing to lose for the sake of politics. And...you're on a deadline." The mindlink clicked off, and the silence that followed felt louder than the call. All I wanted was a nap. Back in my dorm room, I lay across the bed, the softness of the sheets doing little to ease the heaviness pressing into me. My eyes blinked off sleep, unfocused, unsure how much time had passed, only that I was now awake and hungry. A sharp ding broke the stillness. I reached for my phone on the desk and saw a message from an unlisted number. 2/4 CATHERINE E "Courtyard. Fig tree. You'll know why when you get there." Callum. A small flame of hope spark in my heart, no matter how hard I fought it. I let the phone drop beside me, rubbing at my eyes until my gaze shifted to the drawer cracked open across the room. Inside, a small velvet box sat untouched. The earrings still glinted faintly in their dark nest. Simple, yet elegant studs. No one would know they were from him unless they asked. He'd given them to me before names and titles had gotten in the way. I stared for a moment before I slipped them into my coat pocket. I read the message again, the screen dimming as my hurried feet carried me to the door. The east tower stood cold and still, tucked behind ivy-covered stone and the fig trees rustling quietly in the wind. I moved along the edge of the path, unseen, nervous, fingertips brushing the earrings in my pocket like they might anchor me. If he said it, if he was truly chosing me tonight, I would tell him everything. Who I really was. What I had been hiding. But when I turned the final corner, I stopped cold. Callum stood just ahead, his hand resting lightly on Bianca's waist, his expression relaxed. She laughed at something he said, too quiet to hear, and he leaned in and kissed her. Hard, slow and certain. I froze. My lungs locked. My chest felt hollow and sharp all at once. He pulled back, still speaking casually, like the kiss hadn't meant anything heavy. Then he turned. Our eyes met. For a second, something flickered across his face-surprise, maybe guilt-but not regret. 3/4 "Liora," he said, like I'd arrived early to something forgettable. No warmth, no urgency. Just indifference. 4/4