The twenty-ninth day dawned with an ironic brightness. The Imperial Ball—the grand event marking the end of the diplomatic summit—was only forty-eight hours away. For the rest of the palace, it was a night of music and celebration. For Riha, it was the deadline. It would be the night she would finally expose the "Black Ledger" to the international envoys and shatter Helios's reputation.
But to destroy a Prince at a ball, one first had to look the part of a Princess.
"You've been staring at those maps for a month, Riha," Nalani said, practically dragging her toward the royal carriage. "If you don't get out of this room and breathe something other than old parchment and candle smoke, I'm going to tell the Emperor you're ill."
Riha sighed, tucking a small, concealed blade into her belt beneath her casual tunic. "Fine. But we are here for business, Nalani. I need to blend in, not stand out."
Nalani laughed, a bright sound that felt out of place in Riha's world of dark secrets. "Blunting your shine is impossible. Now, let's go. The capital's finest silk district waits for no one."
The Lavender Thread
The Silk District was a riot of color and noise. Vials of expensive perfumes sat alongside rolls of fabric that cost more than a commoner earned in a decade. They entered The Lavender Thread, the most exclusive boutique in the empire, where the air was thick with the scent of sandalwood and the soft rustle of expensive layers.
Nalani immediately gravitated toward the lighter shades. She picked out a gown of shimmering carnation pink, the silk so fine it looked like a petal caught in the wind. She held up a pair of dangling teardrop earrings encrusted with rose quartz. "What do you think? Too much?"
"It's perfect," Riha said, her eyes scanning the shop not for beauty, but for exits and vantage points. "It matches your spirit, Nalani."
Then, Riha saw it.
Tucked away in the back of the boutique, draped over a mannequin like a captured piece of the cosmos, was a gown that stopped her heart. It was a deep, midnight violet—so dark it was almost black in the shadows, but vivid purple where the light hit the folds. It was encrusted with thousands of microscopic, glittering stones that mimicked a star-strewn sky.
"That one," Riha whispered. It was the color of the secrets she kept. It was the color of the night she had watched the slave trade from the rafters. It was also the exact shade to match the violet tiara she had brought from her own kingdom—an heirloom she had hidden in her storage space.
"Oh, Riha," Nalani breathed. "You'll look like a goddess of the night."
The Prince's Arrival
As the seamstresses began to gather the violet silk to take it to the fitting room, the bell at the entrance chimed. Riha didn't need to turn around to know who it was. The air in the room suddenly felt heavy, charged with that familiar, frustrating magnetism.
Prince Helios entered, flanked by the rihas ever-present shadow, the blue-haired knight, Caspian . The Prince looked regal even in his traveling clothes, but his eyes were fixed on the very fabric Riha had just claimed.
"A striking color," Helios remarked, his voice smooth and low, sending a shiver of annoyance down Riha's spine. He reached out to touch a roll of matching dark violet velvet intended for a man's formal suit. "I believe this would suit the occasion perfectly for the host's attire. Master Weaver, I'll take a tailored suit in this shade."
Riha's jaw tightened. The thought of standing in that ballroom, wearing the same color as the man she intended to ruin—appearing to the world as if they were a matched set—was intolerable. It would look like a union. It would look like she was on his side.
Before the weaver could bow, Riha stepped forward, her movement graceful but swift. She intercepted the roll of velvet.
"Actually," Riha said, her voice dripping with a sweetness that masked a blade. "I was just looking at this for Caspian."
The blue-haired knight blinked in surprise. Helios narrowed his eyes, his hand hovering in mid-air.
"Caspian?" Helios repeated, a hint of a challenge in his tone.
"Yes," Riha said, turning to the knight with a charming smile that didn't reach her eyes. She held the dark violet fabric up against Caspian's chest. "The deep violet complements your hair and your stoic nature perfectly, Knight. It would be a waste to see such a regal shade on someone who... well, someone who already commands so much attention."
She then turned her gaze back to Helios, her expression one of faux-thoughtfulness. She began walking through the aisles, plucking out a vibrant, sunny yellow silk and a stark, brilliant white satin.
"For you, Your Highness," she said, draping the bright, aggressive colors over his arm before he could protest. "Yellow and white. The colors of the midday sun. They suit your... public persona. Bright, open, and impossible to miss. Why hide in the shadows of violet when you love to be the center of the world?"
It was a subtle dig at his "midday" mask versus his "midnight" crimes.
Helios looked down at the bright yellow fabric, then back at Riha. He wasn't a fool; he knew she was intentionally sabotaging his wardrobe choices to ensure they didn't match. He saw the fire in her eyes—the same fire he'd seen when she held a knife to his throat.
"Yellow and white," Helios mused, his voice dropping so only she could hear. "A bit loud for my taste, Princess. Are you trying to make sure everyone sees me coming? Or are you just trying to make sure I don't get too close to you?"
"I think you've had enough of my 'closeness' lately, Your Highness," Riha replied, her voice an icy whisper. "Stick to the sun. The night belongs to me."
The Final Purchase
The tension in the shop was thick enough to cut with a pair of shears. Nalani stood frozen by the jewelry case, her pink dress forgotten for a moment. Caspian looked incredibly uncomfortable, holding the violet velvet like it was a live explosive.
"Fine," Helios said suddenly, a sharp, knowing smile breaking across his face. "If the Princess insists on dressing my guard in my colors, I shall defer to her... impeccable taste. Master Weaver, prepare the white and gold for me. Let us be as bright as the Empress desires."
He bowed to her, a gesture that felt more like a vow of war than an act of chivalry. "I look forward to seeing you in the dark, Riha."
He turned and strode out of the shop, caspian trailing behind him with the violet fabric.
Riha let out a breath she hadn't realized she was holding. She turned back to the weaver, her face hardening. "Wrap the dress. And the tiara stays with me."
As they left the shop, Nalani clutching her pink gown and new earrings, she looked at Riha with concern. "That was... intense. Why did you do that? You practically forced him into a different color."
"Because, Nalani," Riha said, looking toward the palace where the violet tiara would soon sit atop a head full of dangerous truths. "I don't want there to be any confusion on that dance floor. We are not on the same side. We never were."
The shopping trip was over. The armor was bought. In forty-eight hours, the violet star-gemmed gown would be the last thing Prince Helios saw before his world came crashing down.