Crowds gathered in the capital's square, awaiting execution. Screams, the smell of blood and metal mixed with the hot air made people excited. There were the usual conversations about power, fear, and punishment. But she was standing in the shadow of the upper roofs—Raven.

All she was interested in that day was one man, an executioner guilty of torture and murder. But her gaze happened to rise higher, to the balcony, and stopped on her. Princess Nefer stood among the banners and gold, high above the crowd, her dark green hair and deep green eyes standing out against the background of marble and floating flags. She did not grimace at the sight, did not hide behind the guards. Her gaze was steady and attentive, calm, but with a subtle sharpness, like a person who knows how to see the truth even in chaos.

Raven froze. She hadn't expected anything like this. People usually scream, fall to their knees, and die in fear. But Nefer didn't react. And that cold, confident look hooked Raven deeper than she could have imagined. When the executioner collapsed under her hands, and the screams of the crowd filled the square, their eyes met once more. The princess was looking right at her. Fear and disgust were absent. Only interest. And for a moment, the whole world seemed to freeze around her.

Raven went into the shadows, disappeared into the darkness, but the echo of her heart was now constantly felt — Nefer's beating, strong and alive, unbroken, alien to human fear, like a magnet.

Raven stayed in town for the next few days and nights. She was watching. From the roofs, from the alleys, from the shadows. She saw the princess negotiating, arguing with her advisers, and personally visiting areas where people were suffering. She saw her fists clenching with anger, saw the weariness in her eyes when she had to make harsh decisions, saw the loneliness of power. Raven could feel her heart even from a distance. It was alive, strong, and steady. And then she realized — this feeling is not like hunger. It was love, painful and impossible. She could have had enough of Nefer's blood if she wanted to. But the thought of harming her disgusted her.