Esmira (Enora)
A knock at the door made me slam the diary shut.
I shoved it beneath the stack of linen in the drawer and crossed the room just as the door opened.
My maids filed in carrying a dinner tray and an armful of clothing.
“Your evening meal, Luna,” the lead maid said, setting the tray on the table.
“And Lord Aven has sent instructions for you to be prepared for the King’s chambers tonight.”
Of course he had.
I ate quickly, tasting nothing, my mind still turning over the words I’d read.
I want to marry Roderic Valdren.
And I will destroy anyone who tries to stop me.
The dead princess’s voice was in my head now, and I couldn’t silence it.
The maids bathed me, oiled my skin, and dressed me in a nightgown of deep blue silk.
They brushed my hair until it shone and dabbed something floral behind my ears.
When they were finished, I looked like a woman going to meet her husband.
Not a woman whose husband had marked someone else hours ago.
Moments later, I stood in front of Roderic’s door, my heart racing anxiously; coming to his room always worried me.
I’ve seen his eyes and the way they look at me.
Most times, I could see he was trying to hold back, and with everything that had happened today, I didn’t know what version of him I would be meeting.
I drew in a deep breath and motioned to the servant.
He opened the door, and I stepped inside.
I stopped in my tracks at the sight that greeted me.
Roderic and Lysara were in the chair by the fireplace in the outer room, tangled together.
Lysara’s legs were across his lap, his hand in her hair, their mouths pressed as they kissed each other with reckless abandon.
I’d almost forgotten that I’d have to share him with another woman now.
I stood there, frozen, shocked, surprised, and painfully aware that I had no idea what to do with my hands or my face or the silence that was stretching longer with every second.
Should I return to my room or make them aware of my presence?
As I pondered over what move to make next, Lysara looked up.
She’d arched her neck for Roderic, whose lips were pressed against his mark; that was how she saw me.
Immediately, she pulled back from his mouth, looked over his shoulder and scoffed.
Seeing that she had pulled away from him, Roderic looked up, his voice thick with desire.
“What is it?” He asked.
Lysara didn’t say anything; she just continued glaring at me over his shoulder.
Following her eyes, he turned, and our gazes met.
His expression shifted from startled to guarded the moment he saw me.
“Esmira?”
“I didn’t think you were occupied. I’ll leave and come back later.”
Lysara stood from Roderic’s lap and crossed the room toward me, her bare feet padding against the floor.
She stopped close to me, her lips curving with a sneer.
“Come back where, exactly?” She arched a brow.
“Do you not know that today is my first night as Roderic’s wife and Luna? This is technically my wedding night.” She tilted her head.
“Why am I being interrupted?”
“I apologise,” I said, lowering my head.
“I wasn’t aware of the arrangements. I don’t know the dynamics of being a second Luna.”
“This bitch!” Lysara scoffed, her eyes flashing with annoyance.
“Are you calling me a second Luna to my face? Are you mad? Do you have any idea—”
“That’s enough, Ly.” Roderic appeared beside her, sighing tiredly as he pulled her against himself, his arm around her waist before he turned to me.
“I apologise for not informing you about tonight’s arrangement sooner. Don’t worry, I’ll talk to Lord Aven on your behalf; I’m sure he’d understand why I have to be with Lysara tonight.”
“Of course, Alpha,” I nodded with a soft smile.
“I’ll leave now.”
Without waiting for his response, I bowed, turned and walked out of the door.
Not before I heard Lysara telling Roderic that I’d insulted her and he did nothing about it.
As the door closed behind me, I walked down the corridor, trying to keep my expression neutral, but I didn’t miss the pity in the gazes of the servants that stopped to greet me as I passed.
Back in my chambers, I stood still while the maids undressed me from the blue silk and redressed me in a simpler sleeping gown.
They kept avoiding my eyes as they worked.
When they finished, they turned to me and said softly.
“Thank you.”
They were Lord Aven’s minion and I knew they would tell him what had just happened between I and Roderic.
“We could play a game, Luna?” One of the maids suggested, flashing me a smile.
“The night is still young, or we could take turns telling you stories.”
“What is your name?” I asked her, beaming her the softest of my smiles.
She turned to the other ladies who stared back at her and lowered their gazes; they all looked uncomfortable.
“I’m sorry, Luna, but we’re not allowed to tell you our names or anything about us.”
“That’s fine,” I shrugged.
“But thank you sincerely for your concern. I had a busy day today, and I think I’ll go to bed early. You too should retire for the night; remember the festival begins tomorrow, and I want to be well rested.”
They exchanged worried glances before the one who had spoken nodded.
“Okay, Luna. We’ll take our leave now, goodnight, but if you need anything—”
“I won’t,” I shook my head slowly.
“Now, please leave.”
They bowed again and hurried to the door, closing it behind them.
I remained standing, listening to their murmured whispers before I heard footsteps down the corridor, and finally, I was alone.
I pressed both hands over my mouth and let out a muffled yelp of pure, unbridled excitement.
I spun in a circle with my arms out, the sleeping gown billowing around my legs.
“Now,” I whispered to the empty room, grinning so wide my cheeks ached, “I have all the time in the world. Thank you, Lysara.”
I hurried to the wardrobe at the corner of the room, rifling through it until I could find the darkest clothes I owned.
I paired that with a dark cloak with a deep hood.
I retrieved the diary from its hiding place and tucked it into the inner pocket of the cloak.
Then I crossed to the tapestry on the west wall, pulled it aside, and slipped through the hidden door.
The passage was dark and familiar now.
I moved through it without hesitation, my fingers trailing along the cold stone, counting the turns.
But instead of following the route to the library corridor, I took the second left — a branch I’d mapped two days ago — and descended a narrow staircase that emptied into the servant tunnels beneath the palace.
The tunnels were quiet at this hour.
Most of the staff were either at a wedding celebration or in their quarters.
I kept my hood low and walked as quietly as I could.
Thankful for my experience as a maid, I knew how to be invisible.
No one noticed me as I passed through the open hall on the last floor, exited through a service gate on the western wall, and crossed the grounds toward the old chapel—a crumbling stone building that hadn’t been used for worship in decades.
Ivy crawled up its walls, and the wooden door hung half off its hinges.
I paused in the darkness for a minute, scanning my surroundings and checking if anyone had followed me before slipping inside.
A figure stood in the shadows near the far wall, half-hidden behind a collapsed pillar.
The only thing visible was the outline of a hooded frame and the faint gleam of eyes catching the moonlight that filtered through the broken roof.
“I didn’t think you could come,” the figure said.
“Has the King tired of you for tonight?”
“None, thankfully,” I replied with a slight chuckle, pulling back my hood.
“Things changed faster than expected, but they changed in our favour.”
I crossed the chapel and sat on a fallen stone block across from the figure.
The moonlight carved a pale strip between us, and neither of us moved to close the distance.
“What has happened?” the figure said.
“Tell me.”
“The Alpha King has taken a Luna Solace. Lysara of House Vaelis. He marked her today at the blessing ceremony.”
A pause.
“He marked Lysara in front of the court? In front of Eldric?”
“In front of everyone. Eldric is furious, but Lord Aven allowed it. He’s using it as leverage — giving Roderic what he wants to increase his vulnerability.”
“And you?”
I smiled.
“I’m the humiliated queen who retreated to her chambers like a wounded animal. No one is watching me tonight. Everyone’s attention is on Lysara and Roderic.” I reached into my cloak and drew out the diary, holding it up so the moonlight caught the cracked leather.
“And I have this.”
The figure leaned forward slightly.
“The princess’s diary? How did you get that?”