Chapter 41: Shadows of the Past

Aria sat by the window in her chambers, her thoughts spinning like the autumn leaves caught in the wind outside. The recent events at the palace had left her troubled, but she couldn’t afford to show weakness, not with the growing tension among the courtiers and the ever-present threat of the curse.

Prince Damien had been distant lately, more so than usual. Though they had grown closer since the day he confided in her about the curse, there was a barrier between them, an invisible wall that neither seemed able to breach. Aria knew it had something to do with the mysterious figure she had seen in the palace courtyard the night before, the one Damien had swiftly dismissed as a mere shadow. But Aria wasn’t so sure.