I sit at a corner table, a thick book sprawled before me. I've been reading for hours, chasing threads that unravel into nothing. My eyes ache, and my back throbs from hunching over ancient tomes and still, I've found nothing about the ledger. Nothing about my mother.

  I thumb the corner of a brittle page, sighing.

  The festival still echoes faintly in my mind—glowing lanterns, masked dancers, Rael's hand at my waist. His smile. The way he'd looked at me like a secret he wanted to keep. It feels like a dream. And yet, the memory of my mother's name in that ledger, shatters it.

  I must know the truth. Whatever it is.

  The door creaks behind me and I straighten, heart leaping, but it isn't Rael.

  It's the king.

  He carries two cups in his hands, steam rising from them as he walks over. "I was wondering where you'd gone."

  "It's peaceful here." I admit, closing my book.

  "The library does have that effect." He steps closer, offering me a cup. "I brought you tea, to keep you warm. This wing gets cold in the mornings."

  I smile, watching him take the seat opposite the long oak table. "Thank you."

  He nods. "My brother stated you tend to get lost in books."

  "He's revealed a lot about me, but told me nothing about you."

  "Tight-lipped he is," he smiles. "He says quite a bit to me though. Mostly when you're not in the room. I think my brother forgets himself when it comes to you."

  My heart flutters.

  "What are you reading?"

  "I wished to know more about Varethia, so I came here." I set the book before me.

  His eyes glimmer. "Curiosity's a dangerous thing here."

  "Isn't it dangerous everywhere?" I tease.

  Edros observes me quietly, fingers tracing the rim of his cup. "May I be direct?"

  "Of course." I nod.

  "I'm surprised you didn't try to run." His voice cuts through the air with a startling shift in tone.

  I blink. "Pardon?"

  "The festival" he clarifies, tilting his head. "You had the perfect opportunity to disappear." He gestures lazily with his hand. "Honestly, I thought my brother would've helped you."

  My brows furrow, confused. "I have no desire to run."

  He hums. "Even knowing what you're walking into?"

  "I have a duty." I state.

  He leans back, studying me. "You're not afraid?"

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  'There is no love in your future.' Rael's words ring out.

  "I've come to terms that we may never be in love," I say carefully. "But perhaps we could be... friends."

  He smiles grimly. "So, my brother hadn't lied."

  "Excuse me?"

  "You know, there was another like you before," he deflects my confusion. "The last human girl who came here."

  I still, my pulse starting to climb.

  "She was sweet. Compliant." He swirls his drink, watching the movement. "But when the time came--she got scared. Couldn't fulfill her debt."

  "What do you mean?"

  He looks at me again, and this time the warmth in his eyes is completely gone. "She tried to run. And when she did... well."

  'I was ordered to hunt her down.'

  My stomach turns as silence stretches between us.

  "I'm told you saw your mother's name in the ledger... do you know why we grant wishes?"

  I shake my head, sipping my tea nervously.

  "Some do it for money, others for power, but me," his eyes flash, "well, how do you think I've lived so long?"

  I swallow.

  "Souls." The word drops like a hammer. "The very essence of another, it keeps me from becoming... frail." He waves a hand dismissively. "Don't worry, I share with my brother, after all, he does the grueling part."

  "I don't understand," I state.

  "Your mother was clever," he sips his tea, I watch him confusedly. "She must have told you a beautiful lie to get you here."

  "She told me this marriage would seal the treaty."

  A rueful laugh escapes him that makes my skin crawl. "There is no marriage. There never was."

  "Then why--"

  "She came here once, you know," he interjects. "Barren, hopeless. She wanted a child more than anything. Said she would give anything for one... but all wishes come at a cost."

  I stare at him, speechless.

  "The cost?" He smiles wryly. "Her soul."

  The world around me crumbles. "She wouldn't—"

  "She did," he drums his fingers atop the table. "But she was smart. She negotiated. Said she'd give it after she had her children. After she'd raised them." He shrugs. "I graciously accepted."

  I suck in a sharp breath. "That's not true."

  "Oh, it is." He folds his hands neatly on the table. "But your mother was always playing a longer game, so when it came time to pay... she refused. Claimed she couldn't leave her kingdom behind. That she was too valuable, too essential."

  He lets the silence linger, before continuing, "So she offered something else."

  'A treaty sealed with a bride instead of land or coin?' My aunt's words, an alarm bell.

  "Do you wish to know what?" Edros chimes.

  'You are an offering, Selene.' She had said.

  He grabs my hand, fingers icy. "She promised you."

  I surge to my feet, chair screeching across the floor. "No."

  "She made it your burden. She knew you'd come, thinking you were saving your people. Believing you had some noble part to play. That's the kind of girl she raised you to be--naively selfless."

  "You're lying."

  "Oh, I wish I were. That would be kinder, wouldn't it?"

  I stumble back, breath catching in my throat.

  It can't be true.

  It has to be a trick.

  "Your mother must've felt some trace of guilt," he rambles, rising to his feet. "So she told you a pretty lie--dressed it up in love and vows. Something you'd accept without question. That's the kind of woman she is—manipulative, self-serving, willing to throw her beloved daughter to the wolves so long as she survives."

  Tears prick my eyes. "She--"

  "Has she come to save you?" He shakes his head. "She sent you here without a second thought. And you? You didn't question it, smiling right back."

  "I don't believe you," My voice cracks.

  "Very well" He tilts his head. "Believe what you want," he sniffs. "But you were never here for marriage."

  My vision blurs. My legs tremble.

  "Why are you telling me this?" I choke out the question.

  "Because if I were in your place--I'd want to know the truth too. It's cruel, really--all that hope they fed you." He looks up at me and I sway, suddenly dizzy. "A pity no one told you, but even more pathetic is how my brother seems utterly taken with you... I suppose he'll get over it."

  I press a hand to my forehead, but I can no longer feel anything.

  "He's always been drawn to fragile things—like our mother. Thought he could protect her too. But his loyalty has always been mine to command... even when it broke him." He rounds the table toward me. "You should've seen the look on his face when his sword went through her heart..."

  My knees buckle, and I brace myself against the table. My vision swirls, the world spinning as I stare down at the tea.

  A single white petal floats on the surface.

  Moonshade.

  I gasp, my body heavy and sluggish.

  Edros steps closer, brushing a strand of hair behind my ear. "Your mother would've been proud of your poise."

  He catches me in his arms as I fall.