The truth shattered everything in less than twenty-four hours, and I watched the man I'd once trusted transform into something I didn't recognize.
It didn't take long. Rumors traveled fast in the palace, servants whispered behind closed doors, a guard mentioned seeing something unusual, someone always talked.
The network of gossip that kept the court entertained with petty scandals had found something far more dangerous to feast upon.
"Did you hear about Princess Penelope?"
"In the Practice Hall, they said."
"With the Fae Adept."
"The one with the missing wing."
I heard fragments throughout the morning, caught in passing conversations that died the moment I appeared. But I knew it was only a matter of time before the whispers reached the wrong ears.
Luka heard it during the midday council meeting.
At first, he didn't believe it. I could see it in his face when I entered the council chamber for the afternoon session, the confusion, the certainty that people had gotten their facts wrong.
He looked at me wearing the same pendant he'd given me, expecting to see innocence that would put the rumors to rest. Instead, he saw something in my eyes that confirmed every whispered word.
That night, he came to my chambers. I heard his footsteps in the corridor, heavier than usual, purposeful in a way that made my chest tighten with dread.
When he entered without knocking, I knew the conversation we were about to have would change everything.
"Tell me it's not true," he said without preamble.
He was trying to stay calm, trying to be the gentle man I'd once smiled for. But I could see the cracks in his composure, the way his hands trembled slightly at his sides.
I looked at him, and saw the boy who'd dreamed of ruling with justice, who'd spoken of partnership and shared burdens. He deserved better than this, better than me.
But I couldn't give him the lie he wanted.
I didn't speak, nor deny it. Didn't offer explanations or excuses that would only make it worse. His face hardened as the silence stretched between us, understanding dawning in his amber eyes.
"You gave yourself to a slave?" His voice dropped to something cold and dangerous that I'd never heard from him before.
I flinched at the word, at the contempt in his tone, but I didn't step back.
"I gave myself to someone who wanted to," I said quietly.
The hurt in his eyes transformed into something else, rage, betrayal, the fury of a man who'd offered his heart and had it thrown back in his face. He began to pace, his movements sharp and agitated.
"You lied to me. Every smile, every kiss, every promise, all lies."
"Luka—"
"You wore my name!" The words exploded from him as he spun to face me. "You wore my pendant and you gave him your body!"
A crystal glass sat on my dressing table, a gift from his mother when our engagement was announced. He grabbed it and hurled it against the wall, the sound of shattering echoing through the chamber like a gunshot.
"You wanted the idea of me," I said, standing firm despite the pieces of crystal scattered at my feet. "Not me."
The words hung in the air between us like a blade. There was a pause, long, heavy, filled with the weight of everything we'd both lost.
When he spoke again, his voice was cold as a winter stone.
"He'll be punished," he said. "And you'll watch."
My heart spiked, fear racing through me like ice water. "What?"
"Did you think there wouldn't be consequences?" His smile was cruel, nothing like the warmth I'd once known. "He touched what belonged to me. There are laws about such things."
"Touch him," I said, my voice deadly quiet, "and I swear I'll burn this kingdom to the ground."
Something flickered in his eyes, surprise, perhaps, at the venom in my tone. He'd never seen this side of me, the woman who'd discovered she had claws.
"You would threaten me? For him?"
"I would destroy everything for him." The truth of it settled in my chest like armor. "Everything, Luka. Including you."
We stared at each other across the ruins of what we'd once been.
The gentle prince and the dutiful princess, the perfect political alliance, the fairy tale everyone had wanted to believe in.
He left without another word, but his eyes, red-rimmed, hollow, filled with something that looked like hatred, said enough. The man I'd once trusted was gone.
The one who remained was something darker, something capable of cruelty I'd never imagined.
As his footsteps faded down the corridor, one terrifying thought echoed in my mind: What had I just unleashed? And how far would he go to make me pay for choosing love over duty?