The private salon adjacent to the royal ballroom was supposed to be a place of celebration.
Instead, it became a battlefield of broken glass and barely contained fury.
Crown Prince Teivel Scougall stood in the center of the room, chest heaving, a shattered bottle of expensive southern wine at his feet. The dark red liquid spread across the marble like blood, pooling around the hem of Lady Seraphine Voss's pale blue gown. She stood frozen, eyes wide with shock and growing self-doubt, her hands trembling as she tried to step back without slipping.
The engagement ball had ended only an hour ago.
The announcement had been perfect — the King had formally declared their union, the first dance as fiancés had sealed the bond in front of the entire empire, and the powerful Voss family had publicly pledged their military and financial support to Teivel's future ascension.
Everything should have been triumphant.
Instead, Teivel was raging.
He smashed another bottle against the wall, shards exploding outward. A servant flinched and backed away quickly.
"How?" he snarled, voice raw with fury. "How did that bastard thwart me again? I had the consort watched! I made sure to attack him when he is defenseless yet...and still — still — that damn consort slipped through my fingers once more!"
Lady Seraphine took a hesitant step forward, her voice soft and careful, trying to soothe the storm.
"My prince… please, calm yourself. The rare blooded boy is gone, but we can find him. My father's spies are already moving across the border. We will bring him back. You don't need to—"
Teivel whirled on her, eyes blazing.
"Don't tell me what I need!" he shouted. The words echoed off the walls. "You think your father's gold and soldiers make you irreplaceable? You are a tool, Mallory. A pretty alliance. Nothing more. And it has been almost three fucking years, you think your father can still find that rare blooded boy?!"
Mallory's face paled. She looked down at the wine staining her gown, then back at Teivel. Her voice trembled with self-doubt.
"Is that all I am?" she whispered. "A tool? A replacement for… her?"
Teivel didn't answer. He turned away, fists clenched, breathing hard.
Mallory's eyes filled with tears she refused to let fall.
She had known from the beginning that her engagement was political. Her father had made it clear — the Voss family needed the throne's favor, and Teivel needed their army. But she had hoped, in her quiet heart, that she could become more than a placeholder.
Now she wondered if she would ever be good enough to replace the ghost who still haunted Teivel's bed and his ambitions.
Gorgina Wadee.
The Duke who had been avoiding him completely since the engagement was announced.
Teivel's rage suddenly shifted. He stormed toward the side door leading to the private corridors, ignoring Mallory's quiet plea for him to stop.
He found Gorgina in one of the shadowed alcoves near the east wing — a dark corner hidden from the main ballroom, where lovers and conspirators often met.
She was alone, leaning against the stone wall, a glass of untouched wine in her hand. Her burgundy gown shimmered in the low lantern light, but her expression was the same cold, aloof mask she had worn for two years.
Teivel didn't speak.
He grabbed her by the waist, pulled her roughly into the deeper shadows, and crushed his mouth against hers in a forceful, possessive kiss.
For one second, Gorgina froze.
Then she bit him — hard.
Teivel jerked back with a hiss of pain, blood welling on his lower lip.
Gorgina shoved him away with both hands, her golden-amber eyes blazing with cold fury.
"Enough," she said, voice low and sharp as a blade. "We end this. Whatever unlabelled thing existed between us — it dies tonight."
Teivel wiped the blood from his lip, eyes narrowing. "You dare—"
"I dare," she cut him off, stepping back. "You are engaged, Teivel. You have made your choice in front of the entire empire. I will not keep betraying my husband — even if he is a traitor rotting in my mansion. I have my own house to protect. My own power to maintain. I will not be your secret anymore."
Teivel's face twisted with rage and something closer to desperation.
"You loved it," he hissed. "You loved the danger. The power. The way I took you while your little husband slept in the night."
Gorgina's expression didn't change. The mask remained perfect.
"I loved the illusion," she said coldly. "But illusions break. And I am done pretending. Stay away from me, Teivel. Or I will make sure the King hears exactly how you have been using the Duke of Wadee while planning your ascension."
She turned and walked away without looking back, her cape swirling behind her like a banner of finality.
Teivel stood alone in the dark corner, blood on his lip, fists clenched.
He smashed another bottle against the wall, the crash echoing through the corridor.
Lady Mallory, who had followed him silently, stood a few paces away, watching with wide, hurt eyes.
She said nothing.
But in her heart, the self-doubt grew louder.
Will I ever be good enough to replace her?
Will I ever be more than a political tool in his eyes?
The Winter Ball had ended peacefully on the surface.
But beneath the snow and silk, the fractures were deepening.
And somewhere in the east tower of the Wadee villa, under house arrest, Gerffron Wadee sat in silence, turning the two pebbles from Styrmir over and over in his palm.