Chapter 5

The Prince listened, still and silent, as I spun the rest of my tale—fabricated on the spot, laced with just enough mystery to keep him interested and vague enough to avoid suspicion. I wasn't a bard. I wasn't even particularly good at storytelling under pressure. But I'd spent my whole life lying to survive. This was no different.

Except it was.

Because he was watching me like I was prey.

When I finished the story—something about the girl and a wolf who made a pact in the woods—he poured another glass of wine, swirling it in his hand like it held the answer to some riddle only he knew.

"That was... unexpectedly compelling," he said, voice low and thoughtful. "You have a gift, Lira."

I curtsied with careful neutrality. "Thank you, my lord."

He turned to me again, face unreadable. "But I can't help but wonder…" He took a slow step forward. "Why would a maid waste such talent on dirty hearths and silver trays?"

There it was. The suspicion.

I forced my lips into a faint, confused smile. "We all waste something, don't we, my lord?"

His eyes narrowed. "That sounds like a challenge."

"I meant no offense." I kept my gaze respectfully lowered, though every muscle in my body screamed to punch that smug expression off his face. "Only an observation."

He circled me slowly, like a cat toying with a mouse. His steps were light, soundless, yet each one thundered in my ears.

"I've met a thousand maids," he murmured. "None like you."

Maybe because most of them didn't want to plunge a knife into your cold, condescending heart, I thought.

I offered a mild, obedient shrug. "Perhaps I'm simply newer than most."

His smirk returned, sharp as glass. "New and full of secrets."

"I have none, my lord."

He stopped behind me, and I could feel his presence like a shadow against my back. His voice dropped low.

"We all have secrets, little maid. Some of us are just better at hiding them."

I didn't flinch.

But it took everything I had not to.

"You may go," he said at last.

I bowed, quickly and without grace. "Yes, my lord."

And then I left, each step calm and measured until the door closed behind me.

Only once I reached the hallway did I allow myself to breathe.

I'd done it. I'd fooled him. But it was far from over.

The Prince wasn't like the others. He wasn't just a part of the system I had to navigate—he was the system. Every moment spent under his scrutiny meant a hundred more chances to slip up, to expose the lies I had carefully constructed.

But I was good at lying. Better than anyone in this place could guess.

I was good at pretending to be nothing.

And as long as I could keep up the act, maybe I could unravel the secrets of this palace from the inside.

Maybe.

I rounded the corner into the servants' hall, the weight of my breath pressing against my ribs. The tension hadn't entirely left me, and it wasn't just from the Prince's unsettling presence. There was something else in the air. A pull, like the tension before a storm.

But that wasn't something I could afford to think about. Not now.

I focused instead on the servants' duties awaiting me: dusting, organizing, delivering trays to higher-ranking members of the court. The usual.

But as I set to work, the world beyond the servants' quarters seemed to whisper at the edges of my thoughts—every shadow in the hall, every low murmur in the corners. The palace wasn't just filled with Fae. It was filled with secrets.

And for the first time since stepping through the gates, I wasn't sure if I was strong enough to unearth them all.

The low hum of the palace was ever-present. It thrummed beneath my feet, whispered through the cracks of the walls. The Fae—their magic, their whispers, their games—clung to every inch of this place like a disease. The higher-ranking servants rarely spoke, and when they did, it was with a careful, almost reverent tone. They weren't afraid of their masters, not in the way I was, but there was something almost worse: a sort of loyalty that bound them here, as much as I was bound by the same desperation.

I didn't belong here. Not in this world. Not in this palace. Not in their cold, arrogant courts. But I wasn't here to belong. I was here to burn it all down.

Each step, each glance, each conversation was a piece of the puzzle I was piecing together. And yet, the Prince… he was a different problem entirely.

I didn't know what he wanted. I didn't know what he was really after. But I knew his kind. I had watched them for years. The cold, calculating Fae. But he wasn't like the others. His arrogance was obvious, but there was something underneath it, something sharp and dangerous. And he had already started to see me as something other than a maid.

That was a problem. Because if he kept asking questions, if he kept looking at me like that, it wouldn't be long before he found out I wasn't just some servant to be pushed around. I wasn't some mindless pawn to be moved on a chessboard.

I was a weapon.

And I wasn't about to let him use me as one of his toys.

I was good at keeping my face neutral. But inside, I was already planning my next move. I needed information. I needed the King's weaknesses. I needed his plans, his movements. The Fae were powerful, but they weren't invincible. They just didn't think they could be touched.

The more I worked, the more I kept my head down, the more I listened and watched. The more I realized the King wasn't the only danger in this palace.

The Prince, though… He was a mystery. One I needed to figure out before he figured me out. And from what I had seen of him so far, he was far too good at keeping his secrets.

But I had time. I could wait. And when the moment came, I'd be ready.

For now, I was just another maid. But that wouldn't last forever.

Not when I was so close to the heart of the storm.