The chapel was forgotten by most.
Tucked behind the west wing of the old palace, it had long since fallen out of favor—its statues dulled by dust, its marble altar cracked by time. But the shadows here were loyal. And silent.
Aria stepped inside with measured calm.
The silence greeted her like an old friend.
No guards. No torches. Only the faint light of moon filtering through stained glass, casting fractured color across the stone floor.
She heard him before she saw him.
Boots on stone. Controlled. Confident.
"You chose an interesting place," Prince Thorian said from the shadows. "I haven't been here since my mother died."
Aria did not flinch. "I remember. They say the Queen prayed here every morning. For the realm. For her son."
He emerged slowly from behind a pillar, his cloak rustling faintly with the motion. He had changed little—still lean, still cold-eyed, still too composed for a man who'd once watched a woman burn.
But his gaze tonight was different.
"Impressive," he said, "that you managed to reach me directly. Most noblewomen send flowers or bribes. You send riddles."
Aria's lips curved. "I thought riddles might suit you better. Flowers wilt. Bribes bore. But mystery? That you always notice."
He studied her.
"You look younger," he said finally.
"I am."
The silence that followed stretched—taut, thin, dangerous.
"You died," he said softly. "I watched it happen."
"I remember," she replied, tone steady. "You didn't look away."
"Neither did you."
Their eyes locked.
For a moment, neither spoke. The past hung between them like a third presence—weightless, yet suffocating.
"I don't believe in ghosts," he said at last.
"Neither do I."
"Then explain."
Aria tilted her head, watching him the way a strategist might watch a lion in a cage.
"Some truths," she said, "are better fed to a man in slices than thrown at him whole."
His eyes narrowed. "So feed me."
She took a slow breath. "There is someone in your court who will betray you before the season ends. Someone close. Trusted. Their plans are already in motion."
A beat.
"And you know this because…?"
"Because I've seen the end of that path," she said. "And it leads to fire. Again."
Thorian's hand curled at his side, but his face remained unreadable.
"So you're a seer now?"
"No," she said. "I'm something worse."
He stepped closer, until only a breath separated them.
"Who are you really, Aria Valtoria?"
She met his gaze without flinching.
"The same girl you let burn. Only this time, I came back with the match."
End of Chapter 3