Thud.
The door closed.
Seraphina and I were inside a private room.
The private room felt uncomfortably cramped, furnished with only two black leather couches and a table between them, leaving little space to move.
My gaze settled on Seraphina.
Seraphina had removed her glasses, revealing striking ruby-red eyes.
Her pupils were narrowed into sharp, nearly imperceptible slits, giving her a distinctly predatory air.
I found myself lost in those serene yet perilous ruby eyes, their gaze brimming with disdain.
I observed how her expression grew more intense as she spoke.
“Have you finished staring?”
I held back the urge to retort with some cheesy line, but she would probably get even more repulsed than she already was.
I broke eye contact and took my seat on a black couch, putting my feet up on the table next to it.
I nodded my head toward the couch in front of me.
“Sit,” I said, my tone flat and unyielding.
Seraphina shot me a withering glare, clearly displeased by my tone, but she crossed the room and sat with the poise of royalty.
“Speak.
How do you know about my plans?” I removed my glasses and revealed my amber eyes.
“Why are you in such a hurry?
This is the first time we’ve ever spoken.
Let’s take things slow.”
“Speak,” she repeated, her voice even colder, the threat clear.
I looked at her with mild amusement, my legs still crossed on the table.
“How do you think I know?” I asked, radiating smugness, with no intention of making this quick.
She crossed her arms and tapped her foot on the ground.
“Does it look like I came here to play Guess Who?”
“Tsk, so boring.
No wonder you have no friends.” Seraphina let out the loudest scoff I’d ever heard.
“What, and you do?” Her retort echoed in my head, leaving me momentarily stunned.
I really didn’t have any friends in this life.
“Lucian,” I blurted out without thinking.
“Lucian,” Seraphina repeated.
“You really consider that shameless lunatic your friend?”
She was right; I didn’t consider him a friend, but there was no way I was admitting I was wrong, so I doubled down.
“Yes, I do,” I said without hesitation.
“Do you know what he did at the banquet after your incident?” That piqued my interest, but she continued without pause.
“He went up to a woman from some random six-star family and asked if he could have a threesome with her and her mother.
In front of the entire banquet hall.
If you hadn’t caused a bigger scene, that would have been front-page news.”
My lips twitched.
I tried to steady my breath, shut my eyes, and bit my lip to keep from laughing.
After a deep breath, I regained my composure and finally spoke again.
“I still have more friends than you,” I said.
My lips turned into a victorious smile.
I could see it genuinely vexed her, though she tried to hide it.
“Stop trying to change the subject.
Tell me, how do you know my plans?
This is the last time I am asking.” I decided to stop provoking her and, instead, answered her question with one of my own.
“Tell me, Seraphina, do you think your shadow is loyal to you?” I suddenly changed the subject again.
Seraphina furrowed her brow in confusion.
“What do you mean?”
“You know exactly what I mean.” Her jaw clenched as her hands balled into fists.
“Has she betrayed me?”
“No.”
“For her to betray you, she would have to be loyal to you in the first place.”
“Are you saying that she works for the Dragaoth?” Her voice was steady, but I could hear the faint unease in it.
I shook my head in denial.
“Th-”
“She works for your twin brother, Aurelius,” I cut her off.
“What nonsense are you spouting?” she said, rising abruptly from the couch.
“Do you have any idea how long Hera has been with me?
Since we were five.
Are you telling me she’s been working for him since then?
Are you stupid?”
I didn’t flinch at her rude remark.
“Isn’t it suspicious that you could never seem to get the upper hand on Aurelius, no matter what you did?
Tell me, did you chalk that up to his intelligence?
Now, who should insult whose intelligence here?”
Seraphina went quiet for a moment, sitting back down.
She mulled over what I had just said, weighing the logic.
On one hand, she remembered her shadow being absolutely devoted to her; on the other, she remembered how her brother always seemed to know her every move.
And the only one she ever told her plans to was Hera, her shadow.
Seraphina would have been stupid not to think it was too much of a coincidence.
But she didn’t want to suspect the only person she ever trusted on this planet.
“Okay, let’s say it’s true.
Let’s say she works for my brother.
Now what does that have to do with you?” Her suspicion only grew.
Did my brother send him?
If so, why?
And why would you tell me this?
What does he gain?
Is this some ploy by Aurelius?
Her questions were written all over her face, so I answered one of them.
“No, I don’t work for Aurelius if that’s what you’re thinking.”
“Am I supposed to take your word for it?”
“No.
I have no way to prove it.
You can believe me or not.” The annoyance and frustration at her situation were clear on her face.
“You still haven’t told me what you want.” I lifted my feet off the table and crossed them, resting one arm on the chair, my knuckles pressed into my cheek.
“Revenge,” I said.
“Revenge?” she echoed.
“Mhm, revenge.
Specifically against Morena Leviathan.” Her eyes went cold the moment I mentioned that name.
“And why would you want revenge?
I thought you were a lovesick fool who would do anything for her.
Or did humiliating yourself in front of the whole world wake you up and finally make you intelligently tolerable?”
I did my best not to react to her comment.
The dumbest thing you can do is show weakness to your opponent.
In this case, if you showed even a hint of weakness to someone from the Isol family, you could forget about fair negotiations altogether.
They were all screaming vampires.
So, with the same nonchalance as before, I replied, “You could say that.
And for the record, she set me up for the assault.” The glint in my eyes darkened noticeably as I said those last words.
“Tsk, of course she did,” Seraphina replied, her voice all but venomous.
“So what now?
You want revenge?” She tasted the word before deciding it was too sweet for her.
She’s always around that man-whore.
As long as she clings to him like some parasite, you can forget about revenge.”
Man-whore, huh?
I tried my best to hold in a laugh at the ridiculous nickname, but my lips betrayed me as a faint smile appeared.
“Oh, you must be talking about Kevin Li—”
“Asmari Dragaoth, let me warn you.
Don’t mention that man’s name in front of me.
Ever.” Her voice wasn’t loud, but I could feel the anger simmering beneath it.
I tried to suppress my amusement and the urge to uncover some unexplained lore.
“Then why haven’t you stopped?” I asked, genuinely curious.
“That’s none of your business,” she replied, her anger burning away as her cold, commanding tone returned.
Honestly, I found every part of her adorable.
“We can discuss that another time.
I just wanted to warn you to be wary of the shadow you trust so deeply.”
She clearly didn’t like the idea that the shadow she’d trusted for years might have been a secret spy for her brother all this time.
But she wasn’t naïve enough to ignore evidence because of her personal feelings.
“Now, let’s discuss the main reason I’m here.” Her eyes sharpened.
“What main reason?” I didn’t answer her question; instead, I brought up something entirely unrelated.
“Leonara Crimson, the Black Star of the second years, soon to be a third year; she’s regarded as the greatest fire mage of her generation.”
Seraphina looked at me like I’d grown a second head.
She couldn’t understand why I was suddenly talking about something unrelated, but I continued nonetheless.
“She holds immense power in the academy.
The entire second year respects her—even the third years do.
Any under- or upperclassman would love to have her on their side.”
“Including your twin brother, Crown Prince Aurelius.
Now, tell me, Seraphina—what if she joins the prince’s side, while already having made a deal with the princess?”
Seraphina tried to mask her expression, but I noticed her hand tightening and her jaw clenching slightly.
“That would be a huge blow to Aurelius’s side, right, Seraphina?” I asked with a knowing smile.
“And if he found out—” I paused for a second.
“—it would ruin all the planning they’ve done, right, Seraphina?”
“How did you know?” she growled in a low tone, her jaw clenched so hard it looked like her teeth would break.
Honestly, she looked like an angry little puppy.
“Know what?” I asked, feigning innocence.
“Stop playing dumb,” she grumbled, her piercing ruby eyes fixed on me with predatory intensity.
“How did you know I made a deal with the Crimson Heiress?
I haven’t even told Hera.”
“You made a deal with the Crimson Heiress?” I said, feigning mild shock.
“I didn’t know you were so close with my cousin.” She looked like she would kill me if I said another word.
“Oh, where was I?
Yes, I was going to propose making a deal with Leo, but since you’ve already made one, there’s no point in me being here,” I said.
I suddenly stood up from the couch, intending to leave.
“Sit down,” Seraphina commanded, her voice steely and brooking no argument—a tone I had never heard from her before.
“Huh,” I replied, feigning confusion.
“I said sit down,” Seraphina repeated, her words laced with lethal intent.
I sat back down, inwardly grinning like a fool.
“What do you want?” she asked.
“Why would I want anything, princess?” I continued to feign ignorance.
“I’m not going to ask again.
What the fuck do you want, Asmari Dragaoth?” she said, enunciating every word slowly and threateningly, her teeth clenched.
“Oh, well, since the lovely third princess is being so, so generous, I do have a request in mind.” Seraphina watched me intently, preparing for whatever absurd demand I was about to make.
But no amount of preparation could have readied her for what I was about to say.
“Marry me.”
A/N
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