CHAPTER 2: The Masked Fair

The mask itched slightly against her cheek, but Aurelia couldn't stop smiling.

It was silly, really just a painted piece of fabric and a borrowed cloak from Mirelle's cousin, but it felt like freedom. Like adventure. Like she was someone else entirely, if only for a while.

The village was alive.

Lanterns floated above cobbled streets. Musicians played quick, cheerful tunes on lutes and pipes. Children ran with ribbons in their hands, and vendors shouted over each other, trying to sell candied apples, spiced meats, and bright glass trinkets.

She moved among the crowd unnoticed, her hood low and steps light.

No titles.

No eyes following her.

No destiny weighing on her shoulders.

Aurelia stopped at a stall and bought a piece of honey bread, laughing when the warm syrup stuck to her fingers. She spun in the street when music swelled, letting the scent of flowers and fire swirl around her.

So this was what it meant to be free.

But freedom never lasted long.

She turned down a quieter path, away from the main square, chasing the sound of wind chimes, and that's when she felt it.

Eyes.

Shadows moved behind her. Footsteps—too quiet, too deliberate.

Her heart beat quickened.

She picked up her pace, slipping between two buildings, but rough hands grabbed her from behind and yanked her into the alley.

A cloth pressed over her mouth.

Her scream caught in her throat.

"Quiet, pretty thing," one of the men growled. "Royal or not, you'll fetch a fine price."

Her pulse thundered in her ears.

But before fear could fully settle, a flash of silver blurred through the air; and then one of the men collapsed with a groan.

The others barely had time to react.

A cloaked figure appeared from the shadows, moving fast—silent as wind, sharp as lightning. In two swift strikes, her attackers were on the ground, groaning or unconscious.

Aurelia fell back against the wall, breathless, wide-eyed.

The figure turned toward her.

A tall man. Midnight cloak. Gloved hands. His face was half-hidden by a dark mask, but his eyes—

Silver, bright and inhuman. Like a moon caught in storm clouds.

She couldn't look away.

And for a heartbeat, neither could he.

The silence between them was thick with something she didn't understand. The hairs on her arms stood, but not from fear. There was something… ancient about him. Cold, but not cruel. Familiar, but impossible.

He stepped forward slowly, voice low and smooth.

"You shouldn't be here, Princess."

Her breath hitched. "How do you—"

But then guards shouted in the distance, drawn by the commotion. The man glanced toward the sound, then back at her.

"Go. Now."

And before she could say another word, he vanished into the shadows

She stood frozen for a moment, heart racing. The alley was empty now, save for the groaning forms of the men who'd tried to take her. She clutched the necklace beneath her cloak without thinking, the cool crystal grounding her.

Those eyes.

She would never forget those eyes.

The sound of guards grew closer, and her instincts finally kicked in. Aurelia darted from the alley, pulling her hood low, weaving through the crowd like a hunted bird until she reached the outer gate of the village.

Mirelle's cousin was waiting, just as promised, with a panicked look on his face. He hurried her onto a waiting horse-drawn cart, and before long, the castle walls came into view under the light of a waning moon.

No one saw her slip back through the servant's entrance.

No one except him.

From the shadows of a nearby rooftop, the cloaked figure watched her go.

LUCIEN

His silver eyes narrowed, his expression unreadable.

So that was the princess.

The one wearing the sacred crystal he'd been sent to retrieve. The one who unknowingly carried his kingdom's future around her neck.

He had expected a spoiled, frightened noble girl. A human barely worth the trouble.

He hadn't expected… this.

Not the warmth in her laughter at the fair. Not the stubborn courage in her eyes when faced with danger. And certainly not the strange pull he felt, like something ancient and unspoken linking their fates together.

Lucien cursed under his breath, pulling his hood lower.

This would be harder than he thought.

But the mission remained; Get close to her.

Find the necklace.

Take it back.

No matter what.

And if those silver eyes lingered a little longer in the darkness before he turned away… no one would know.