The door clicked shut behind the maid.
I stood at the window, my fingers tightening around the ribbon in my hand. Below, the gardens were lit by lampposts—mocking my confinement with their soft glow.
"So, what did she say?" I asked without turning.
Beatrice, the maid, shifted nervously by the door. "I tried, my lady, but the head maid refused. She... she said you're not to correspond with anyone until further notice."
Now they'd taken not just my freedom of movement, but my voice. Was this even legal?
"Until further notice," I repeated, tasting the words like poison on my tongue.
Beatrice lowered her gaze. "I'm sorry, my lady. But this may lift your spirits—you have a visitor."
Cedric entered, his cloak still damp from the evening mist. He looked the same—dark-haired, composed—but to me now, he was a stranger. A traitor.
"Well, look who we have here," I sneered, turning back to the window.
"I came to see if you're alright," he said softly.
"I am. Now leave."
"I did this for you," Cedric said. "You're safer here than back at the manor. God forbid what Mother might do if she got to you again…"
Ah, of course. He did this out of protection. For the greater good. But he hadn't warned me. He hadn't trusted me.
"Save it," I cut in, my voice sharp. "You said you'd protect me. And what did you do? Hand me over to the very man who'd see me hanging from a noose?"
He sighed. "Iris…"
"Don't call me that!" I snapped.
The room fell silent. I could hear my own breath, shallow and fast. I turned to him slowly. His face was unreadable, but his eyes searched mine like they were looking for something buried deep.
I swallowed hard. "Don't say my name when you've caged me."
He frowned. "I see it now."
"See what?" I asked, a sliver of panic creeping into my voice.
"Mother says you're more Rebekah than Iris," he said. "She's been… erratic. Desperate. She's looking for both of you."
"Well, whoever I am—get me out of here."
"Investigations are underway and—"
"What have you found?" I cut in. "Anything useful? Or should I prepare for my noose?"
"Don't make jokes like that," he said, his voice tight, eyes suddenly soft with worry.
"Then help me. I had nothing to do with any of what is happening," I begged.
Cedric opened his mouth to speak, but the door creaked open.
Another guest, at this late hour.
The crown prince—Andrew Von Matteo—stepped in, his presence like a gust of cold wind. His sharp eyes landed on me and didn't stray.
"Am I interrupting?" he asked, voice smooth, almost lazy.
Cedric bowed stiffly.
"Yes, you are," I said, rolling my eyes.
Cedric shot me a warning nudge. I ignored him. He deserved worse.
Prince Andrew arched a brow, amusement flickering in his gaze. "She's an odd one, isn't she?"
I lifted my chin. "We have a pending conversation, I presume."
"That's why I'm here," he replied, stepping further into the room. "Word reached me—cages delivered at the docks. Late at night."
"They must be making their move," Cedric added grimly.
I folded my arms. "And what, pray tell, does that have to do with me? I'm already caged, remember?"
Prince Andrew gave a small, knowing smile. "Exactly."
He took one more step forward, close enough that I could see the cold calculation behind his eyes.
"That's what I'll hold against you," he said quietly. "Your freedom—and proof of your innocence."
He never meant to help me in the first place.
Locking me up here was never about safety. It was strategy. I was a trophy. And if the investigations failed, I would be a peace offering. A scapegoat.
He'd deliver me to the people with a neat little bow—absolved of guilt, his hands clean. A hero. The mighty and just king.
But he didn't act alone. His recklessness had never made him this strategic.
Then the truth settled into my bones.
I looked at Prince Andrew—polished boots, cloaked arrogance. I knew him. I wrote him.
Then my eyes shifted to Cedric. I had written him too.
Never once in his life had he warmed up to his sister, Iris. Not even now. He would never want to save me. To him, Iris was a spoiled girl who dragged the Tahenna name through the mud—who tarnished his precious, polished reputation.
And now, he had betrayed me again.
"She did give me the vials to drink," I said, my voice cutting through the silence. "One turned my hair this beautiful black. The other changed my eye color."
They stared at me, caught off guard, trying to process what I had just admitted.
"Isn't this what you both wanted?" I asked, stepping forward. "A confession?"
Cedric blinked, " what .....are you saying?"
His voice faltered but not with concern. How was I blind not to see it. He was calculative, that man. All that worry and brotherly affection was all an act.
Prince Andrew on the other hand smiled. Not a kind smile. A slow deliberate one, like a man who'd uncovered the weakness in a well guarded wall.
"Well then," he said, folding his arms. "Cats out of the bag."
I kept my gaze steady. This men were dangerous. I had to think of something.
"I can no longer help you," I had to cut of access, then they would beg me to help them. If that failed, I would just run away.
"We no longer need your help,"
I failed.