Page 3 of Haunted Crowns
Stephan’s jaw tightened, his eyes narrowing with sudden suspicion.
“Has he done anything to you while I’ve been away?”
She felt it instantly—the shift in him. And yes, Raphael had punished her in the only ways he knew: silence for her defiance, isolation before official visits to hide her trances, and endless, needling lectures. But Stephan didn’t need to know. If he did... he’d lose it.
Eris shook her head lightly.
“No. He’s been too busy pressing you with expectations.” She sighed. “I don’t know how you stand him. He’s been suffocating you with duty and discipline since we were children.”
Stephan dragged a hand through his hair.
“Who says I do?” He exhaled again. “But there’s too much at stake. For our family, the kingdom. I can’t just ignore him.” Then, with a teasing smile: “Besides, you’ve always been enough trouble for both of us. Someone has to be the responsible one.”
Eris’s mouth dropped in mock outrage. “Excuse me? If I hadn’t pulled you intomytrouble, you’d have lived the dullest life imaginable. You should be thanking me.”
Stephan stepped closer, eyes gleaming. “Oh, I am grateful, Your Highness,” he said. “Have I ever once complained about being your babysitter?”
The word landed deliberately. Eris gasped, clutching her chest.
“Babysitter? Please. I never noticed you were one. Especially since you’re never here anymore!” Then her voice softened. Something darker crept in. She turned away, fingers brushing the window’s cold pane. “At least you’re not the cursed one. Constantly watched, smothered, never let beyond these walls.” Her breath fogged the glass. “Must be nice... Seeing new cities.Sitting in councils. Playing diplomat. Definitely better than being forgotten in here.”
Stephan’s eyes darkened. He stepped toward her, his hands gentle as he turned her to face him.
“Hey. You’re not cursed,” he said. “And yes, I hate what they’ve done to you. Keeping you locked away like this.” His voice dropped. One hand rose, lifting her chin just enough for their eyes to meet. “But I swear to you,” he said softly, “soon enough, we won’t have to hide what we are anymore.” He held her gaze. The silence between them grew dense, thick with everything neither of them had ever dared to say. “Eris, I—”
A voice exploded down the hall.
"You cannot be serious, Yori."
They froze. Eris blinked, disoriented. Stephan’s hand had tightened in hers without her realizing. The moment shattered.
Another voice followed, low and equally sharp.
Their fathers.
She looked toward the corridor, then back at him.
"What now?" she whispered.
Without a word, he led her toward the sound.
The doors to the war room yawned open on a silence already splintered. Inside, maps lay scattered across the long stone table like wounds half-healed. Two goblets—one half-drained, one untouched—marked the line between agreement and division. The twin kings of Goznoth stood at opposite ends like stormfronts about to collide.
Raphael’s voice cracked through the room like lightning.
“You’re sending her to the Astareth Summit?” His jaw twitched as he paced a slow arc. “You’ve lost your mind.”
“She needs a life beyond these walls,” Yori replied evenly. “She’ll attend next year, like every other Goznothian of age.”
Raphael barked a humorless laugh and turned, his coat flaring.
“That summit is a battlefield, not a debutante gathering. Lycans. Obsidian Order. Rebel bloodlines hungry for chaos. You’d feed your daughter to that? They’re circling like wolves, Yori. She’ll hand them the opening they want.” His hand slapped a map, the echo sharp, a sound that made Eris flinch at the door. “She’s not fit for it!”
Eris stiffened at the edge of the doorway, her breath catching.Fit for it?The words echoed too easily, like something she'd heard whispered behind her back too many times before. Her hands curled at her sides. Was that all they saw when they looked at her? A weakness. A risk.
“She’ll be trained. Prepared,” Yori said firmly. “I won’t bury her alive in this manor just because you’re afraid.”
"She is a danger," Raphael hissed. "A liability. If she slips into trance in front of the wrong people, she won’t just disgrace herself. She’ll disgrace us all. You’d risk Stephan’s name too? He’s the future king!"
