The Caged Bird

Seraphine felt the shift immediately.

It began subtly—a missing note, a delayed message. Servants who had always carried out her requests without question now hesitated.

Then, the walls closed in.

A scheduled meeting with a noblewoman was quietly canceled. A trusted maid was reassigned without explanation.

And when Seraphine sent for a simple letter to be delivered to the eastern quarter, the steward himself returned with the response.

"I regret to inform you, my lady," he said carefully, "that all correspondences must now go through the prince's approval."

Seraphine's hands remained still in her lap. She did not let her expression change.

But inside, cold fury churned.

Kaelith was boxing her in. Testing her.

And worse—he wanted her to know it.

A Dangerous Game

She left the steward with a polite nod, walking through the palace with deliberate grace.

But as she entered her chambers, the door barely closed before her mask cracked.

She exhaled sharply, fingers pressing into the edge of her desk. He suspects too much.

And yet… Seraphine had spent her life in the courts of men who played power games.

She knew the truth beneath Kaelith's actions.

He was not certain.

If he were, he would have already confronted her with evidence. He was still searching—and that meant she still had a chance to mislead him.

A slow smile curved her lips.

Kaelith thought he was the hunter.

She would remind him that even the caged bird had claws.

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