Not This Time,My Lord

, the warmth of a bed that didn't stink of mold and despair. She lay there, staring at the high ceiling of her childhood room, listening to the familiar hush of palace servants scurrying just beyo

reshing." Elaria blinked once. So that's how it would begin. The marriage proposal was already in motion. Seren's spoon clinked sharply against her teacup. "He finds everything 'refreshing' before he takes it for himself," she murmured, voice light, but her eyes didn't meet anyone's. "Oh, Seren, must you always speak so cynically?" Amira sighed. "You don't know Lord Kael like I do. He's a visionary. He'll make a fine match." Her mother nodded in affirmation. "For her?" Seren asked, smiling too sweetly now. "Or for your power?" Elaria sipped her tea, unfazed. "Elaria," her mother said, voice velvet over steel. "Silent reflection? Or sulking?" The smile didn't reach her eyes. She nodded once. "A little tired" "Hmm," her mother said. "Well, you'll need to adjust. It's your turn to step up. Your sister's powers were already visible by this age. Yours are still" Her eyes narrowed slightly. "Unstable. Or... perhaps nonexistent?" Seren smiled behind her teacup. Elaria met her mother's gaze. "Sometimes the strongest powers take the longest to wake." There was a flicker in her voice. A heat that hadn't been there yesterday. Her mother waved her off. "Let's hope they wake before your wedding night. We wouldn't want you marrying Lord Kael with nothing to offer but charm." Elaria smiled. "What I offer doesn't come gift-wrapped...and it never comes free." Seren finally looked at her. Her expression wasn't smug this time. It was cautious. Like she was seeing a ghost slip back into its skin. ⸻ The letter came in the late afternoon. Gold wax seal. Stamped with the Kael crest-a serpent eating its own tail. Her mother squealed. Actually squealed. The gold seal gleamed like a warning. Even before she read it, Elaria knew what it said. "It's official," her mother whispered, clutching the scroll like a crown Elaria hadn't earned. "He's chosen you." Seren rolled her eyes. "Of course he did.He likes obedient girls with pretty faces." Elaria didn't even look up from her book. "That's enough," Amira snapped at Seren. "You'll not ruin this for your sister." Seren stood. "I'll be in the greenhouse." "Brooding like a ghost," Elaria muttered under her breath. Seren paused, glancing over her shoulder. "What was that?" Elaria looked up slowly. Her eyes glinted. "I said you look... lost.