Chapter 12
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Evelina never liked the quiet.
It was never truly silent, not when you knew where to listen. A shift in the air, a glance held too long, the slow tightening of fingers against silk. It spoke louder than words.
And today, the Academy screamed.
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"Did you hear?"
"Her father's influence is crumbling."
"The Queen has stopped favoring her."
"House Aurelius will fall."
The rumors slid through the halls like a sharpened blade. Soft, subtle, but cutting.
They were not reckless lies.
They were whispers that could be believed.
And that made them dangerous.
Evelina sat at the center of the lecture hall, her spine straight, her expression unreadable.
She had not denied them.
She had not fed them.
She let them rot.
And the nobility did not know what to do with that.
Because a woman about to lose everything should have panicked.
Instead, she smiled.
---
Seraphina moved through the Academy gardens, her golden hair catching the late afternoon light.
She did not need to glance over her shoulder to know the shift had begun.
The ladies who once trailed after Evelina now whispered in her company. The gentlemen who had watched the former villainess with fascination hesitated.
Hesitation was enough.
It was the first sign of doubt.
And doubt destroyed empires.
Rosamund's voice echoed in her memory. "You must take something she cannot afford to lose."
Seraphina's fingers tightened around the stem of her teacup.
And she would.
---
"Lady Evelina."
Evelina barely glanced up from her book.
Clarisse Ivonne stood before her, fingers twisting against the lace of her sleeve.
A spectator.
No, a weathervane.
A girl who bent whichever way the wind blew.
Evelina closed her book.
"Lady Clarisse," she murmured, "how unexpected."
A pause.
A carefully measured breath.
"I thought it best to speak with you directly," Clarisse said, voice light but too practiced. "There have been… concerns."
Evelina tilted her head.
"Concerns?"
Clarisse exhaled, as if she were doing her a favor.
"Many are saying that House Aurelius is not what it once was."
A flicker of amusement curled in Evelina's chest.
This was not Clarisse's voice.
It was the voice of the nobility. The voice of the court.
A test.
Evelina smiled.
"Strange," she mused, "considering House Ivonne's debt to my father's trade network."
Clarisse stiffened.
Evelina did not look away.
Did not blink.
And Clarisse folded.
She lowered her gaze, murmuring something about misunderstandings before retreating.
The nobility wanted a response.
Evelina gave them a lesson.
---
Leon found her in the east wing's library.
"You're letting them talk."
Evelina turned a page. "People talk regardless."
Leon exhaled sharply, dropping into the chair across from her.
"You could end this."
She met his gaze. "Could I?"
A flicker of something frustrated, almost exasperated crossed his face.
"You could speak to the Queen directly. You could demand a statement from your father. You could—"
Evelina set her book aside.
"And then what, Sir Leon?"
A pause.
"You think Seraphina will stop?" she asked, voice softer now. "You think the court will suddenly remember that I am not so easily removed?"
Leon's fingers curled against the armrest.
"You are playing a dangerous game."
Evelina smiled.
"I always have."
---
Cassius was waiting for her outside.
He stood in the courtyard, half-hidden beneath the shade of an old oak tree.
The sight of him, poised but restless, sent something odd twisting in her chest.
"Your Highness," she greeted smoothly.
Cassius exhaled.
"You should leave court politics alone."
Evelina raised a brow.
"Is that advice or an order?"
Cassius's jaw tightened.
"You know what I mean."
Evelina studied him.
He was worried.
Not for himself.
For her.
A strange warmth curled in her chest, unfamiliar and unwelcome.
She stepped closer.
"If you are here to warn me, Your Highness," she murmured, "you are too late."
Cassius didn't move.
Didn't look away.
Then—
"You're impossible."
She smiled.
"And yet, here you are."
A pause.
Then, softer—
"Be careful."
Evelina tilted her head, violet eyes glinting.
"Why?"
Cassius's fingers twitched.
Then, finally—
"Because I don't want to see you fall."
The words should not have mattered.
They should not have meant anything.
And yet—
Evelina's breath caught.
Cassius turned before she could speak, walking away.
Evelina watched him go, her fingers tightening slightly against her skirts.
Dangerous.
This was dangerous.
---
Seraphina stood at the grand ballroom's balcony, overlooking the city.
Rosamund leaned against the marble railing beside her, swirling a glass of wine.
"You were right," Seraphina murmured.
Rosamund smirked.
"Of course I was."
Seraphina exhaled slowly.
"But it's not enough, is it?"
Rosamund tilted her head.
"Not yet."
Seraphina clenched her hands.
She had taken the first piece.
But she needed more.
"Then what should I do?"
Rosamund set down her glass.
"You take the next piece off the board."
A pause.
Seraphina's heart pounded.
"You mean—"
Rosamund smiled.
Sharp. Unforgiving.
"Yes."
Seraphina exhaled.
Then, slowly—
She nodded.
---
Evelina stepped into her carriage, adjusting the folds of her gown.
She had expected a battle.
She had expected to fight.
What she hadn't expected—
Was the next strike to come so soon.
A messenger arrived just as she was about to leave.
She unfolded the letter.
Her breath stilled.
Lady Evelina,
Your presence is required immediately at House Aurelius. There is an urgent matter that demands your attention.
It was signed by one of her father's stewards.
Evelina's heart pounded.
Something was wrong.
She turned to the driver.
"To the Aurelius estate. Now."
The carriage lurched forward.
Evelina exhaled, forcing herself to remain still.
This was it.
The moment they had been waiting for.
And she would not be caught unprepared.
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