The atmosphere in the meeting chamber was thick enough to choke the air from your lungs.

We sat around a massive obsidian table, the black stone polished to a mirror shine. Servants moved like ghosts, pouring wine into crystal goblets that cost more than a commoner’s life.

Across from me sat Yue-Senn. He didn’t slouch; he sat with a predatory stillness that made my skin crawl in the best possible way. Every time I shifted, his green eyes tracked the movement. He wasn’t looking at a Princess he was measuring an opponent.

"Let us get straight to it," Father said. The warmth he’d had earlier was gone, replaced by the iron-cold tone of a King negotiating a border.

He slid a stack of parchment across the obsidian.

"As discussed, your son will wed my eldest, Aiyolistra, in two weeks. In exchange, the West provides the North with food, healers, and military support through the winter ."

Beside me, Aiyolistra straightened her spine, her expression a mask of dutiful sacrifice.

"And," Father added, his voice dropping an octave, "Feylight Isle will be returned to the West. Signed and sealed."

Silence followed. It was heavy. Dangerous.

I leaned back, trying to ignore how the lace of my corset was digging into my skin. Gods, I’d rather be back on the roof in the rain.

I noticed Yue-Senn lean toward his father or the man we thought was King Kaizor and whisper something. The Northern King’s eyes flickered to me, then back to Aiyolistra, then back to me again.

"Seriously?" Aiyolistra hissed under her breath, her eyes darting toward me. "You’re already ruining this for me just by sitting there."

"I’m literally doing nothing," I whispered back.

"Your existence is ’doing something,’" She continued. "If you hadn’t lost control ten years ago, we wouldn’t be desperate enough to sell ourselves to these ice-barbarians."

The words felt like a physical slap. Before I could retort, King Kaizor cleared his throat.

"My son has had a change of heart," the Northern King announced, his voice smooth as oil. "He shall marry your youngest daughter instead."

The sound of my father’s jaw clicking shut echoed through the room.

"What—" I started to bolt upright, but Aiyolistra’s hand clamped onto my wrist like a shackle, yanking me back down.

"I do not play games with my bloodlines, Kaizor," Father growled, his mismatched eyes—gold and blue—beginning to burn with a faint, terrifying light. "This was not the agreement."

"The agreement stated ’a daughter,’" Kaizor replied, casually sipping his tea. "It never specified which one. My son believes Princess Ryophlira would be a more... beneficial addition to the North."

Beneficial.

He didn’t say beautiful. He didn’t say charming. He said it the way a general talks about a siege engine.

CRACK.

The teacup in King Kaizor’s hand shattered. Then, one by one, every glass in the room exploded. Crystal rained down like diamonds, and wine bled across the obsidian table.

Neither King moved. They stared at each other through the rain of shards.

"Control," Mother whispered, her hand resting gently on Father’s fist.

The room was vibrating. Riegthar stood up, his chair clattering back, his own eyes beginning to glow.

"Take your sisters outside," Mother ordered, her voice like cracking ice. "Now."

We didn’t argue. We scrambled.

The moment the doors slammed behind us, the palace shook. Dust drifted from the ceiling as a muffled roar vibrated through the stone.

"Hey," I grabbed Riegthar’s arm, feeling the heat radiating off him. "Calm down. You’re going to bring the roof down on their heads."

He exhaled, his ears slowly rising from their flattened position. The shaking stopped.

Then, Aiyolistra shoved me. Hard.

"Ota fchi esie pirch zote genni," she snarled in the old tongue. I wish you were never born.

My breath hitched. The hallway felt too small.

"Don’t say that," Riegthar snapped.

"Why not? It’s the truth!" Aiyolistra’s face was twisted. "She’s a curse. First she burns the city and now she steals my future!"

"Aack esie, esie yla!" I screamed back, shoving her into the wall. Fuck you, you bitch!

"That’s rich," she laughed, though her wet eyes. "Coming from the unwanted child."

The world went still. Unwanted.

Before I could tear her hair out, the doors burst open. Mother stood there, wreathed in a faint, violet aura of draconic magic. She looked like a goddess of war.

"Stop acting like wild animals," she commanded. "Get back inside. Now."

We walked back in, and I froze. The room was a disaster. Pillars were cracked, the windows were gone, and the Northern King looked like he’d been dragged through a hedge.

But Yue-Senn? He was perfectly fine. He was still sitting there, watching me with that same, calculating look.

He wasn’t scared of my father’s rage. He was impressed by it.