Isoda

> They erased her name. Burned her bloodline. Left her for dead.

But Milena survived. Reborn into the heart of the empire that destroyed her, she moves through the royal courts like a shadow—silent, sharp, watching.

She has no interest in love. No patience for power games. Only one goal: make the crown remember what it tried to forget.

Then she meets him—the Crown Prince.
The man who unknowingly signed her family’s death.
The man who starts to notice her.
The man who, slowly… she can’t stop thinking about.

This is not the story of a girl who wanted to be queen.

This is the story of a forgotten heir who falls in love with her enemy… and still plans to bring down the kingdom

The forgotten blood

Milena slipped quietly into one of the upper balconies, looking down over the ballroom like a ghost returned to its ruin. Laughter echoed below, strings played sweetly, but her thoughts were far from the dance.

She had seen the Crown Prince up close. Heard his voice. Held his hand.

But something in him stirred when she spoke — a flicker of doubt. Maybe memory. Maybe guilt.

Gareth joined her silently, a goblet in hand.

"He's not what you expected, is he?"

Milena didn't look away. "He's... dangerous."

"He didn't order the purge alone," Gareth said. "He was still a boy then. Twelve, maybe thirteen."

"Old enough to remember the screaming," she said coldly.

As they left the palace later that night, cloaked in moonlight and shadow, a girl slipped from the corner of the garden hedges — young, no older than fifteen. Freckles, wide eyes, palace servant uniform.

She approached Milena like she was touching fire. "My lady," she whispered. "Don't trust him. Don't trust the crown."

Milena stiffened. "What do you know?"

The girl glanced around. "He didn't send the invitation. It wasn't him."

Milena narrowed her eyes. "Then who did?"

But before the girl could answer, a sharp whistle cut through the air.

She panicked, dropped a folded note into Milena's hand, and vanished into the hedges like a fox in the underbrush.

Milena opened the paper. There were only six words:

She looked back at the palace — its towers glowing like fireflies in the dark.

Someone inside the palace knew exactly who she was. And they were watching.

Whispers and Warnings