prince

"Your baseness knows no bounds, Evelyn! Your engagement is the only chain keeping you from the scaffold," Prince Alistair's voice boomed over the terrace. At my feet, amid the shards of a glass, the "holy" virgin trembled dramatically, staining her white dress with wine.

Instead of the usual sobs, I let out a dry laugh. Slowly wiping my fingers with a silk handkerchief, I raised an icy gaze to him.

"Your Highness, you threaten to break up so often that it sounds like a plea. Go ahead. My suitcases will be packed by morning."

I vanished from the light. While the court whispered of my madness, I locked myself in the von Stern library. The shadow magic I had suppressed for years for the sake of the "light" prince blossomed into full force. Among the ancient scrolls, I found not only power, but also the corrupt secrets of the empire—and the true, far from holy face of the prince's mistress.

A month later, Alistair showed up himself. He found me in the garden, the living shadows obligingly holding an umbrella over my book. "Why weren't you at the triumph?" his voice held a strange resentment. "Your absence was... noticeable."

I didn't even raise my head. "I was busy with more important things than watching you. Wasn't it freedom you craved?"

"Your silence irritates me more than your screams!" he breathed, stepping forward.

I closed the book, causing the shadows to melt, and moved closer. "How ironic, Alistair. You've dreamed of silencing me for years. And now that I've deprived you of my attention, you come crawling back for it yourself. Has the light really become too dull without shadow?"