Only one day remained before Daniel's scheduled release. Lina was drowning in restless thoughts, dark circles haunting her eyes after countless sleepless nights. Time was against her, but at last, a plan had taken shape in her mind. A dangerous, desperate plan.
She whispered to herself, staring blankly at the flickering candlelight:
"They said he killed Darius, so let him bear the punishment. Let him rot in prison... Then I'll bring him out myself, make him fall for me. As for Caris, convincing him won't be hard. He hasn't touched me in years. I only need to endure for a little while... He might be sent off to war soon—he's eager for me. That will grant me the freedom I need to be with Daniel... to finally unleash everything I've kept buried for years."
A subtle smile curled on her lips as she imagined herself in Daniel's arms, wrapped in a warmth no longer forbidden, their room filled with the perfume of long-restrained romance.
Elsewhere in the palace, Max, Elena, and Alex sat at a small table. The untouched cups of tea had gone cold long ago. The air between them buzzed with unspoken tension.
Max broke the silence, voice laced with urgency:
"Have you found someone to seduce him? He'll be released tomorrow. If we don't act now, we may lose our only chance."
Elena's voice was grim, weary as if her thoughts had already spiraled through a thousand failed scenarios:
"There are candidates. But execution is the problem. His maid, Kara—she's the real obstacle. She never leaves his side, not even at night. And the stimulant... it's nearly impossible to get it to him without her noticing. All it takes is one slip and everything crumbles."
Both Max and Alex sank into deep thought. For a moment, only the ticking of the ornate wall clock filled the silence. Then, suddenly, Max's eyes gleamed with a cunning light, like a conductor about to strike the first chord of a dangerous symphony.
He leaned forward, his voice uncharacteristically calm:
"Elena, let me ask you something—if my life were in danger, and my enemy was about to strike me down… what would you do?"
The question landed like a slap. Elena looked at him, startled, replying with unsteady breath:
"What sort of question is that, Max? Why now? Of course I'd fight him... I'd buy you time to escape if I had to. You're the Crown Prince. Your survival is everything."
Max's smile widened, touched with a warmth that didn't quite reach his eyes:
"Then, dear sister... the time has come for you to fulfill that duty."
Elena froze. So did Alex, who immediately snapped:
"You're not serious. Are you telling us Elena should kill Daniel? Are you out of your mind?!"
Max waved his hand dismissively.
"Idiot. Of course not. He'd overpower her in a second. And that harlot of a maid—she guards him night and day, like his shadow. What I mean... is that she seduce him. Make him lose his virginity. She's the only one who can pull it off... quietly, effectively, without raising the maid's suspicion."
Both Elena and Alex were struck silent. Disbelief hardened into grim horror on their faces.
Elena finally managed to speak:
"He's my blood brother... and you want me to sleep with him? How can you even suggest such a thing? And I'm about to enter my Awakening after you—I've been preparing myself for this ordeal for years."
Alex cut in, fuming:
"Have you lost all sense, Max?! All you care about is your own goal? You'd sacrifice her for your ambition?"
Max's face darkened, his voice heavy with frustrated resolve:
"You're both fools. I'm not sending her to die. I'm doing this to save our lives from that bastard's future betrayal."
He stood, pacing slowly, his tone tightening:
"I've overheard Father. He plans to send Daniel to the front lines. If that happens, killing him becomes nearly impossible. He'll gain real combat experience. If he survives the Awakening, no one—not even us—can stop him."
He paused, meeting both their gazes.
"And if we try to eliminate him at the front, Mother will protect him. She'll assign a shadow guard to watch him. And worst of all... Father will send us to follow him soon after. We'll be walking into our deaths."
Elena and Alex exchanged a glance, faces etched with doubt and dread.
Max, sensing the softening in their resistance, delivered the final blow:
"Losing her virginity... is far better than losing all our lives."
The air was sucked from the room. Elena's eyes widened in horror. Alex exhaled sharply. But the truth, as hideous as it was, now sat in the center of the room—undeniable.
At last, they both nodded. Silently. Reluctantly. The decision had been made.
The next day arrived.
Daniel emerged from the depths of Kalers' cell. The heavy basket pulled him upward, two guards dragging him out into the dim corridor above.
For the second time, he ascended the shaft. The guards eyed him in disbelief—his clothes were as neat as the day he'd entered. Not a tear. Not a drop of blood. Not a single visible wound.
Marcus, standing nearby, clenched his jaw and muttered bitterly:
"Did we send him on a holiday? Is this the Kalers' Dungeon I know—or a damned royal garden?"
Daniel caught his gaze and smiled with icy amusement, forcing Marcus to avert his eyes.
Then, he saw her.
Kara stood at the end of the corridor, behind the guards. Her face radiated joy, completely unhidden. She was smiling for him—and only for him.
The guards, distracted by her beauty, ogled her openly. Their gazes crawled over her from head to toe, their lips parted, and a vile hunger glazed their eyes.
But something shifted.
Suddenly, a wave of cold terror washed over them. A presence—ominous and suffocating—closed in from behind. They turned their heads slowly… only to find Daniel staring at them.
His eyes—burning with a bloodlust barely restrained—pierced through their very spines. Sweat pooled on their foreheads. Their breath caught in their throats.
He stepped closer, voice low, lethal, and meant for their ears alone:
"No one looks at my maid like that... unless I allow it."
The guards swallowed hard and nodded obediently, trembling.
And for the first time... Kara laughed. A small, sharp laugh—yet somehow louder than a scream.