Chapter 16: The Thorn in the Rose Garden

The path curved away from the tea table, winding beneath trellises heavy with wisteria. Aveline walked beside Prince Thorne in silence, her footsteps light on the gravel.

He didn't speak at first.

Didn't smile.

Just studied her the way one might study an unfamiliar blade—curious, cautious, intrigued by its potential to cut.

"You're very composed," he said at last, voice low. "Even under fire."

Aveline didn't break stride. "Is that a compliment or a warning?"

Thorne gave a faint smile. "Both."

They stopped by a marble fountain. The water trickled steadily, a hush beneath their words.

He turned to face her fully now. "Do you know why I interrupted?"

"Because you wanted to rattle Calista," she said simply. "Or because you wanted to see how I'd react."

"And you didn't disappoint."

She met his gaze steadily.

"I don't intend to."

Thorne studied her for a long moment. Then he stepped closer—not threatening, but uncomfortably perceptive.

"There are rumors circling you, Aveline. Dangerous ones."

"Good," she said. "Let them circle. I have teeth."

He laughed—quiet and real.

"I see now why Lucien is so interested."

Her brows arched ever so slightly.

"Lucien?"

Thorne nodded, his smile fading into something sharper. "He's not the only one watching you. Be careful, Lady Everwind. Power is a dance… but court is a pit of blades."

"And yet," she murmured, turning back toward the path, "I've always had good balance."

As Aveline returned to her wing, the sun dipped low, casting long shadows through the corridors. The guards bowed. The maids dipped their heads. But all of them watched her just a little longer than usual.

Whispers followed her like perfume.

Elise met her at the door, hands folded, her eyes unusually alert.

"My lady," she said, voice hushed. "A letter arrived while you were gone. No seal. No crest."

Aveline took it calmly, though her pulse ticked faster.

The envelope was simple—cream parchment, folded precisely. The handwriting inside was elegant, masculine, and unfamiliar.

But the message?

Short. And deliberate.

"You are not the only one with unfinished business.

If you want the truth, come alone.

Midnight. The west tower. Burn this."

Aveline's fingers lingered on the paper just a moment longer—then she held it to the candle.

Flame devoured it fast.

Elise watched with worry in her eyes. "Should I prepare the guard?"

"No," Aveline said coolly, watching the ashes curl.

"Midnight is a witch's hour. Let's see which ghost comes calling."

The castle was a different creature at midnight.

Gone was the gleam of polished floors and warm candlelight. The halls were colder now, cloaked in silence. Aveline moved like a shadow, her pale cloak blending with moonlight as she climbed the narrow spiral stairs of the west tower.

She didn't bring Elise.

Didn't bring a blade.

But what she carried was sharper—her silence, her suspicion, her resolve.

The door at the top was ajar.

Beyond it, a single lantern flickered.

And a figure stood waiting.

Tall. Hooded. Familiar—and not.

He turned as she stepped inside.

"You came."

His voice was low, quiet as the grave.

Aveline didn't blink. "You sent for me. Speak."

The hood fell back.

A man in his late twenties. Dark hair. Eyes the color of ash after fire. Not a noble she recognized, but there was something in his face… something vaguely familiar.

"I knew your mother," he said.

The words dropped like stones in still water.

Aveline's breath caught.

He stepped forward slightly, hands clasped behind his back. "And I knew what they did to her."

Silence stretched thin between them.

"My mother died of illness," Aveline said slowly.

"Is that what they told you?" he said softly. "She was poisoned. The same way they tried to poison you—subtly, methodically. Over time. A legacy of silence."

Aveline's throat went dry.

His eyes didn't waver.

"They buried the truth with her name. And now, they plan to bury you the same way."

The lantern flickered violently, casting wild shadows.

He reached into his coat and pulled out a sealed envelope—this one waxed in black.

"Inside are names. Allies. Traitors. Those who feared your mother's fire… and now fear yours."

She took it with a steady hand.

"And why help me?"

He gave a small, bitter smile.

"Because if you fall, we all burn."