Dinner again.

  Same velvet curtain. Same instructions. Same knots twisting in her stomach.

  Zora stood quietly, tucked into her corner of the grand dining hall like she wasn’t even real. Her father hadn’t even looked her in the eye when he gave her the order earlier that day. Hide. Listen. Report. Like she was some sort of tool he could just pull off a shelf whenever he needed it.

  She’d barely slept the night before. After everything she’d overheard, after what almost happened in the hallway with Cole, her mind wouldn’t stop racing.

  And now she was here again. Same room, same mission. But something about tonight felt… different.

  The nobles looked tense. The air was heavier somehow. Not that anyone would admit it. The plates were still piled high, the wine still pouring, everyone still wearing fake smiles like masks. But underneath it all—something was off.

  She pressed herself further into the curtain, slowing her breath, trying not to think too hard. Her powers were on edge lately, and she didn’t want another slip.

  She couldn’t afford one.

  The last time she lost control, people died.

  It had been five years, and she could still see their faces—eyes wide, hands clutching their heads, screaming as their minds cracked from the inside. She hadn’t meant to. It had all happened so fast. But that didn’t matter. Not to her father. Not to anyone.

  She remembered the look in his eyes when it was over. Not grief. Not horror. Just… disgust. Like she wasn’t his daughter anymore.

  Since then, she’d been locked away, hidden like a stain on the royal name. Her siblings got the titles, the clothes, the attention. Zora got a tower and silence.

  So no—she didn’t exactly feel sentimental about being stuck here tonight. But she was nervous. Something was wrong. She could feel it in her gut.

  She tried reaching out gently with her telepathy—just skimming the surface thoughts in the room like static. Most of it was useless. Nobles complaining silently about the food. A guard wondering if he was going to get a break. Her sister Nyra thinking about how pretty she looked in her dress.

  But then the tone shifted.

  Her father stood up.

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  “We are grateful for your arrival,” he said, loud and clear. “And even more grateful for the opportunity to strengthen the ties between our kingdoms.”

  Zora stiffened. That was the line he’d practiced. Word for word. She remembered overhearing it while he mumbled to himself in the study earlier.

  Then came Cole’s voice. Calm. Confident. But… too smooth.

  “We’re grateful as well, King of Velar. And tonight, we come bearing truth.”

  Zora frowned.

  What truth?

  She leaned in, just a little, focusing harder.

  Kael’s voice followed. Quiet, sharp. “A century ago, Velar took something from us. A royal. You executed him. Called him a traitor.”

  The entire room went still.

  Zora’s pulse quickened.

  “That was over a hundred years ago,” her father said stiffly.

  Cole’s voice dropped lower. “And you think time made it right?”

  Something shifted. Zora could feel it. The power in the room tilted—like the air changed direction.

  Cole stood.

  “We didn’t come here for unity.”

  Zora’s breath caught.

  There was a loud scrape as someone pushed back their chair. A few of the nobles were starting to rise, confused. Nyra looked nervous. Her brother stood halfway, glancing at the guards.

  Then the shadows hit.

  They moved fast. Too fast. Like smoke being sucked into the room from every corner, swirling and twisting and crashing into the light. The candles went out in an instant. All of them.

  Darkness swallowed the entire room.

  And then the screaming started.

  Zora could barely see through the curtain, but she caught flashes. Shapes. Cole, standing in the chaos like it didn’t touch him. Darkness wrapped around his hands like claws.

  One of the nobles lunged forward. A tendril of shadow slammed into his chest and threw him back into the wall.

  Zora’s eyes widened as her father stood, hand reaching for his sword.

  Too late.

  A blade of shadow tore through him like nothing.

  He hit the ground.

  Hard.

  Zora didn’t flinch. She didn’t cry. She didn’t even look away.

  He was gone. Just like that.

  Nyra screamed. Another shadow slammed her into the table, and she stopped.

  Two guards tried to fight. They didn’t last long.

  Zora stood frozen behind the curtain, heart pounding, the sound of her blood roaring in her ears. Her body wanted to move, to run—but her mind was somewhere else. Watching. Processing.

  Her whole family. Dead.

  Just like that.

  She didn’t feel sad.

  Not really.

  She felt… free.

  And furious.

  She stepped out from behind the curtain before she even knew what she was doing.

  Cole turned instantly. Shadows curled at his feet, ready to strike again—but paused when he saw her.

  Zora didn’t wait.

  She reached with her mind, pushing past the noise and chaos and straight into his head. His walls were high—cold, iron strong—but she didn’t care. She pushed anyway.

  Anger. Pain. Years of being ignored. Locked away. Controlled. All of it poured out like wildfire.

  She didn’t think. She just hit.

  Cole staggered slightly, blinking hard like something had cracked through the surface.

  It wasn’t much. But it was enough.

  The shadows flinched.

  Zora didn’t waste the moment. She turned and bolted.

  Through the halls. Past the shattered dining doors. Past the stunned silence of the few people still alive.

  She didn’t know where she was going.

  But she knew one thing now—

  She wasn’t hiding anymore.