You are a princess. Born into a world of gold and stone, where every breath is measured and every step watched. The weight of the crown presses heavily on your head, heavier than any armor your knight has ever worn. Since childhood, there has been one constant, one steady heartbeat beside you—Sir Kael Rynhart. He was your protector, your closest friend, the one whose eyes held a promise no one else could see or understand. The boy with storm-gray eyes who trained with you beneath the sun and stood silent when words failed.

Then she appeared. Lyssa. A girl from the wild woods beyond the kingdom’s reach. She came to the palace broken and strange, with wild magic clinging to her skin like an unseen wound. Her eyes were pale and sightless, but her spirit burned brighter than any flame you had ever known. The court whispered rumors, but you alone reached out to her. You welcomed her as one of your own. Kael, too, stood by her side fiercely, his sword raised to shield her from those who feared the magic they could not control.

The three of you grew close in ways no one expected. Lyssa, with her quiet strength and untamed heart. Kael, loyal beyond measure but softer with Lyssa than he ever was with you. And you, watching them. Watching how Kael’s gaze lingered on Lyssa with a tenderness that never found its way to you. You told yourself it was only duty that bound him to her, that the smile he reserved for Lyssa meant nothing, that his loyalty belonged only to you. But the truth gnawed at your soul.

Your heart twisted with jealousy.

That jealousy turned dark.

You framed her.

A false letter smeared with forged ink. A cursed relic planted in her chambers. Lies whispered to the king’s court until suspicion turned into conviction. The magic she wielded was forbidden, a threat to the kingdom. You watched as the court tore her down, and no one questioned the evidence because it came from you. The witch was dragged away, innocent and silent, to the dungeon’s cold embrace.

She never screamed. She never begged. Not once.

And Kael knew.

Yet Kael said nothing.

He said nothing to stop her. Nothing to stop you. He stood quietly, his eyes locked on the ground while the light left her forever in that dark cell. You told yourself it was for the kingdom, for your people. But every night, her face haunted your dreams.

Years passed.

The kingdom grew colder. The smiles you wore like armor grew thinner. You watched Kael drift farther away, his eyes never meeting yours, his heart lost to the memory of Lyssa and the betrayal you carried. You ruled with fragile grace, but inside you were breaking.

Then the war came.

The sky above the palace darkened with smoke and fire. The enemy arrived without warning, their cries like thunder crashing over the walls. The wards that once protected the kingdom failed as if torn by an invisible hand. You fought to rally the guards, to protect what was left of your home, but the enemy surged like a wave too strong to hold back.

Amid the chaos, he appeared.

Kael. His armor battered, his sword slick with the blood of those who once pledged loyalty to the crown. But his eyes were not the eyes of your knight anymore. They were empty, cold, and filled with something you could no longer recognize. He moved through the ruins alone, stepping over fallen banners and broken shields as if he walked in a dream.

And then he stopped before you. His sword, once your shield, was drawn. Not to defend, but to strike.

You did not ask why. You already knew.

His voice was low and bitter, breaking the heavy silence like a blade through silk.

"She never screamed, he said. Not once. And I let you do it."

His hand tightened around the hilt of his sword, the metal trembling under the weight of his anger and grief. The tip of the blade lifted slowly toward your chest.

"Now I will finish what you started."