Chapter 15
---
The night was thick with silence.
Evelina sat in her study, candlelight flickering across the polished wood of her desk. The Queen's words still echoed in her mind.
"You are either useful to me, or you are nothing at all."
She exhaled, fingers tapping against the sealed letters before her. Reports, invitations, quiet warnings. Pieces of the game shifting faster than ever.
And somewhere in the city, Seraphina was moving.
Evelina knew it.
Felt it.
She set her quill down, rising to her feet.
The storm was closer than ever.
And she would not be caught unaware.
---
Seraphina sat in the grand hall of House Lenore, the scent of jasmine and candle smoke curling in the air.
Rosamund leaned back in her chair, her emerald eyes gleaming.
"You've been quiet," the Duchess murmured. "I assume you have something planned?"
Seraphina exhaled slowly.
"I need to strike before she recovers."
Rosamund arched a brow.
"She hasn't fallen yet."
Seraphina's fingers tightened against the silk of her sleeves.
"Then I will make sure she does."
Rosamund chuckled.
"You're learning."
A pause.
Then—
"What do you intend to do?"
Seraphina met her gaze, steady and unshaken.
"I'm going to take everything she has left."
Rosamund smirked.
"Now that," she murmured, "is a move worth watching."
---
The Academy was restless when Evelina arrived the next morning.
She felt the shift the moment she stepped past the marble entrance.
Noble students stood in clusters, speaking in hushed, urgent tones.
Something had happened.
Evelina adjusted the folds of her gloves and moved forward, unhurried.
She did not need to ask.
The answer would come to her.
And it did.
Clarisse Ivonne, her eyes wide with barely concealed nerves, rushed toward her.
Evelina exhaled softly.
Ah.
So it had begun.
---
"They're saying your father is losing favor with the King."
Clarisse's voice was low, urgent.
Evelina did not react immediately.
She reached for her tea, slow, deliberate.
Then, after a careful sip—
"Is that so?"
Clarisse stared at her.
"You don't seem surprised."
Evelina set her cup down, her expression calm.
"I wonder why that is."
Clarisse hesitated.
Then—
"The rumors are spreading fast," she whispered. "If this continues—"
Evelina lifted a hand, cutting her off.
"It won't."
Clarisse blinked.
"But how can you be so sure?"
Evelina smiled.
"Because I will make sure of it."
A pause.
Clarisse swallowed.
Then, softly—
"You're terrifying."
Evelina chuckled.
"Thank you."
---
Leon Valcrest found her in the courtyard.
"You should address this now," he said, arms crossed.
Evelina glanced at him, unimpressed.
"If I react too quickly, I give them power."
Leon's jaw tightened.
"And if you wait too long?"
Evelina tilted her head.
"Then I make them regret it."
A pause.
Then—**unexpectedly—**Leon laughed.
It was low, rough, almost reluctant.
"You are either brilliant or reckless," he muttered.
Evelina smiled.
"Why not both?"
Leon sighed, rubbing his temple.
"You are impossible."
Evelina turned, the wind catching in her hair.
"And yet," she murmured, "you're still here."
Leon watched her go, his fingers twitching at his side.
Troubling.
Very troubling.
---
Adrian was waiting for her near the marble stairwell.
His silver-gray eyes gleamed with undeniable amusement.
"You're the talk of the court," he mused.
Evelina hummed.
"How exhausting."
Adrian chuckled.
"Seraphina made a bold move."
Evelina met his gaze.
"Then it's my turn."
A flicker of curiosity.
Adrian leaned closer.
"And what will that be, Lady Evelina?"
A pause.
Then, softly—
"A reminder."
Adrian's smirk widened.
"This," he murmured, "I need to see."
---
Seraphina sat at the head of the Academy's social circle, basking in the murmurs of approval.
She had done it.
She had planted the seed.
Now, she only needed to watch Evelina fall.
The grand doors of the Academy's hall opened.
The whispers halted.
Evelina stepped inside.
She was not rushed.
Not shaken.
She moved as if nothing had changed.
And yet—
Something in the air shifted.
Seraphina's fingers tightened.
Evelina walked past her without stopping.
Without acknowledging her.
As if Seraphina were nothing.
A calculated strike.
And Seraphina felt it.
Her heart pounded.
No.
This wasn't how it was supposed to go.
Evelina was supposed to be losing.
So why did it feel like she was winning?
---
That evening, Evelina sat in her carriage, fingers tapping lightly against her lap.
Seraphina had been bold.
Now, it was time to show her what happened to bold but foolish people.
She turned to the waiting messenger.
"Deliver this letter to House Aurelius."
The man bowed. "At once, my lady."
Evelina exhaled.
The game had shifted again.
And this time?
She would end it.
---