"Mali, if you cry into that silk, you're going to ruin a dress that costs more than my life."
"But My Lady!" Mali sniffling, her hands shaking as she pinned a massive golden *chut thai* skirt around my waist. "The guards outside are checking every tray of food! Prince Phurin's personal guard is supervising the staff! They think you're going to poison the entire Royal Court!"
"Let them watch the kitchen," I said, looking at my reflection in the polished bronze mirror. "The real show isn't happening in the pots."
It was forty-eight hours before the Sun Festival. The palace was a pressure cooker. Everywhere you looked, servants were hanging gold-threaded tapestries, polishing emerald pillars, and preparing for the massive ritual by the river.
But beneath the festive colors, the tension was thick enough to choke on.
Phurin had completely barred me from the main pavilion. I was technically under house arrest, allowed out only under heavy guard to practice my steps for the grand procession. Lali had played her cards perfectly. She was currently staying in the guest wing right next to Phurin's quarters, playing the fragile, traumatized girl who was "so brave" for attending the festival despite the threat on her life.
Every time she walked past my guards, she'd give me that sweet, watery smile that made the soldiers want to fight a dragon for her. But when Phurin turned his back?
Pure ice.
She thought she'd won. She thought I was cornered.
*She forgot that cornered animals bite.*
"Kanya."
A low voice cut through the rustle of silk. I looked toward the balcony.
**Prince Niran** was standing there, stepping out from behind the jasmine vines. He looked exhausted, his hair messy, his glasses slightly crooked. He slipped into the room without making a sound, holding a small leather pouch.
> **Character:** Prince Niran
> **Current Mood:** "I haven't slept in two days because of you."
> **Affection Level:** +18
>
"You shouldn't be here," I whispered, waving Mali to go keep watch by the door. "Phurin will have you locked up next if he catches you with the 'evil villainess.'"
"Phurin is currently supervising the arrival of the Northern Lords," Niran said, his voice flat but intense. He walked up to my vanity and dropped the leather pouch. "I ran the test, Kanya. On the residue from the shattered vial you left in the library."
I paused, a gold hairpin halfway to my head. "And?"
"It wasn't standard medicine," Niran murmured, leaning in close. His breath smelled like strong herbal tea. "It was a chemical binder. A primer. It does nothing on its own, but if the person who drinks it later consumes fire-orchid powder..."
"The heart stops," I finished for him, my voice punchy. "Vane was right. She's not trying to frame me for a petty poisoning. She's setting up a two-step assassination. The binder prepares the body, the orchid powder triggers the stroke. And because it happens in two separate stages, no healer can trace the magic."
Niran stared at me, his eyes wide behind his lenses. "How did you know about the fire-orchids? I had to consult three ancient scrolls to find that reaction."
"I have my sources," I said, checking my nails. "The point is, the King is going to drink that ceremonial wine in less than two days. If we try to tell Phurin, Lali will just cry, fake a faint, and he'll throw me in the dungeon before I can finish my sentence."
"We need proof," Niran said, his jaw tightening. "Physical proof of the orchid powder in her possession."
"We won't get it," a new voice chimed in from the window.
**Prince Kovit** dropped from the ceiling rafters, landing perfectly on his feet without a sound. He was wearing his full royal armor today, looking entirely too cheerful for a guy planning to stop a coup.
> **Character:** Prince Kovit
> **Current Mood:** "The plot thickens!"
> **Affection Level:** +40
>
"I've been tracking her maids," Kovit said, leaning against my bedpost with a wicked grin. "Lali isn't keeping the powder in her room. She's smarter than that. She gave it to the Grand Priest's assistants. It's already inside the ceremonial pavilion, disguised as sacred incense to be burned over the wine vat."
I let out a long breath. *Of course. She's using the ritual itself to deliver the toxin.*
"So here's the plan," I said, stepping away from the mirror, the gold silk of my dress catching the dim candlelight. "Niran, you need to find an antidote. Something that neutralizes the binder before the festival starts."
"That will take time," Niran warned. "And I'll need to slip it to the King without anyone noticing."
"Leave the King to me," Kovit purred, his eyes flashing with a dangerous spark. "I can easily switch his personal flask before the procession. But what about Lali?"
I looked down at the courtyard below, where the festival torches were already being lit, casting long, dancing shadows across the palace walls. Far across the pavilion, I could see Phurin walking alongside Lali, his arm wrapped protectively around her shoulders as she pointed at the stars.
"We let her play her part," I said, my voice turning cold. "Let her think she's the innocent little lamb. Let her think I'm trapped in this room, defeated."
I looked back at the two princes standing in my chambers—the genius scholar and the dangerous flirt.
"When the King raises that golden cup in front of the entire kingdom," I whispered, a sharp, villainous smile cutting across my face, "I'm going to take the stage. And I'm going to make sure her grand finale turns into a total nightmare."
The next forty-eight hours evaporated.
When the morning of the Sun Festival finally arrived, the palace didn't just wake up—it exploded into a riot of color, drums, and the heavy, sweet scent of roasting jasmine. Thousands of citizens lined the banks of the Chao Phraya River, their cheers echoing all the way up to my balcony.
"My Lady, the guard is here," Mali whispered, her voice barely audible over the roar of the crowd outside. She was trembling so hard she could barely smooth down the heavy gold trim of my *sabai*.
"Deep breaths, Mali," I said, checking my reflection one last time. I looked lethal. The dark crimson and gold silk made me look exactly like the villainess the court expected. "Today, we either win or we get a very scenic execution. No pressure."
The door flew open. Two of Phurin's elite guards stood there, swords drawn. "Lady Kanya. The Royal Procession is forming. You are to walk at the rear, under escort."
"Lead the way, boys," I said, giving them a sharp smile.
The grand courtyard was blinding. The tropical sun bounced off thousands of polished silver shields and golden umbrellas. At the front of the line, King bartered laughs with the Northern Lords, looking completely healthy and totally oblivious to the clock ticking down on his life.
Right behind him stood Phurin, tall and rigid in his ceremonial armor. And glued to his side, of course, was Lali. She was wearing pure white silk today, looking like an angel descended from the heavens. The court ministers were practically bowing to her already.
As I took my place at the back, surrounded by spears, Lali looked over her shoulder. Her eyes locked onto mine. The watery, fragile look she gave the crowd vanished for a fraction of a second, replaced by a cold, smug smirk.
*Enjoy it while it lasts, sweetie,* I thought, keeping my face a blank mask.
I scanned the crowd. Kovit was near the King's personal guard, giving me a subtle, two-finger salute from beneath his ceremonial helmet. Niran was further back with the scholars, adjusting his glasses. He gave me a single, firm nod. The antidote was in place. The King's personal flask had been switched.
But the real threat wasn't the flask. It was the wine vat at the main altar, where the fire-orchid incense was already being burned by the unsuspecting priests.
The long drums began to beat—a heavy, rhythmic *thump-thump-thump* that vibrated through the stone floor. The procession began to move.
We marched down the grand white steps toward the river altar. The heat was immense, the air thick with the smoke of a hundred incense burners. As we reached the pavilion, the Grand Priest raised a golden ladle, dipping it into the massive, emerald-encrusted vat of sacred wine.
He poured the dark red liquid into a heavy golden chalice. The vapor rising from it looked normal to the crowd, but my eyes caught the faint, oily shimmer on the surface. The fire-orchid catalyst.
The Priest turned, presenting the cup to the King on his knees.
"To the health of the realm, and the longevity of the Crown," the Priest chanted.
The King smiled, his heavy hands gripping the chalice. Beside him, Lali leaned in closer to Phurin, her breathing shallow, her eyes fixed entirely on that cup. She was leaning forward, just waiting for the first sip that would rewrite the history of the kingdom.
The King raised the cup to his lips.
"Your Majesty, stop!" I yelled.
My voice sliced through the sacred silence of the altar like a glass blade. Every single head snapped toward the back of the procession. The long drums stopped instantly.
Phurin's face turned an ugly shade of dark purple. "Kanya! Silence this instant!"
"Guards, seize her!" General Teerut barked, though his eyes looked more confused than angry.
"Don't drink that wine," I said, stepping past the guards' crossed spears before they could even grab my arms. I marched straight up the marble steps, my crimson silk trailing behind me like spilled blood. "Unless, of course, the King wishes to die of a sudden, untraceable stroke within the next three minutes."
The crowd gasped. Lali instantly fell backward against Phurin's chest, letting out a horrified shriek. "Phurin, she's doing it again! She's trying to ruin the sacred blessing! She wants to curse your father!"
Phurin drew his ceremonial sword, the steel flashing dangerously in the midday sun. He stepped between me and the throne. "Kanya, you have crossed the line for the last time. Drop to your knees, or I will end this farce myself."
I stopped five paces from his blade. I didn't look at him. I looked directly at Lali.
"If I'm lying, Lali, then why are your hands shaking?" I asked, my voice carrying over the silent pavilion. "If it's just sacred wine... why don't you take the first sip to prove your innocence?"