Page 72 of A Kingdom of Shadow and Ash

Alina gasped, scandalised. ‘Ash! You are to be a king one day! You cannot throw food!’

Her brother only laughed harder, his golden eyes gleaming with mischief. Not satisfied, he reached for a handful of grapes and a slice of pear, launching them in her direction.

Alina barely had time to dodge before she joined in, hurling a small tart back at him, both of them dissolving into childish laughter—until the great doors swung open with a forceful thud.

Immediately, Alina straightened in her chair, smoothing her skirts as her mirth died on her lips.

Hagan strode in, clad in his scarlet Red Guard uniform, his posture rigid, hands claspedneatly behind his back. He moved with the effortless precision of a soldier, the warmth he had once carried now replaced with something colder, sharper. Alina scowled at the sight of him.

Gone were the mornings where the three of them had breakfast together, whispering secrets over stolen sweet rolls. Now, he entered not as their childhood friend, but as a soldier, his duty stripping him of the intimacy they had once shared.

He leaned down to whisper something into Ash’s ear.

Alina’s frown deepened as her brother immediately stood.

‘What’s wrong?’

Ash sighed. ‘Mother has requested me.’

Alina placed her serviette onto the table, preparing to rise. ‘I suppose I should have a maid fetch me something formal.’ But before she could move, Hagan’s voice cut through the room, smooth as steel drawn from its sheath.

‘Notyou, princess.’

Alina turned to him, arms crossing over her chest.‘What?’

‘The queen has requested the prince alone.’

Alina’s lips parted in disbelief. ‘Why?’

Hagan’s expression remained unreadable. ‘Wedding arrangements she wishes to discuss with him.’

Ash gave a curt nod and left swiftly, the door closing behind him with an air of finality. Alina exhaled sharply, dropping back into her seat, irritation simmering beneath her skin. Was she not part of this wedding too? Surely there were decisions that required her approval—plans, preparations, matters that concernedher,not just the bride and groom. Yet she was left here, discarded like an afterthought.

With a huff, she reached for a slice of pear, biting into its tender flesh, the juice bursting against her tongue. She chewed absently, her gaze drifting towards the sea below, the expanse of watervisible from her balcony, its surface shimmering beneath the morning light.

‘Why are you still here?’ Alina's voice was cool, detached, as she sat staring at the still waters, refusing to turn and face the man behind her.

‘I wanted to speak with you.’

‘Then speak.’ She lifted the pear to her lips, its juices cool against her tongue, her gaze fixed on the tranquil ripples in the sea ahead. The water gleamed under the morning sun, but the peace it offered was brittle, fragile against the presence that loomed behind her.

That voice. It still held the same deep timbre that once could have unraveled her with a single murmur. Now, it only grated against her nerves, like steel scraping against stone.

‘You ought to be careful of the wyverian prince.’ Hagan’s words were even, but beneath them lurked something darker. ‘What I saw the other day was despicable. He dragged you into the water. If he could forcethat, what else could he force, princess?’

Alina twisted, fury igniting behind her ribs like fire meeting dry parchment.

‘How dare you insinuate such vile things.’

Hagan’s face remained unreadable, his stance unwavering. ‘You were naked in the water with him.’

‘I was not naked!’ She wasalmostnaked. ‘And whether I was or wasn’t, it is none of your concern. You areno one, Hagan. No one to dictate what I do.’

Something flickered in his dark eyes, something dangerous, something almost cruel. The glimpse was fleeting, gone before she could place it, leaving only unease in its wake.

He stepped closer, the space between them vanishing into tension. ‘He wants you, Alina. I see it in the way he looks atyou. He wants to bed you.’ His breath was warm against her skin, his words laced with venom. ‘And when he does—when he’s had his fill—he will discard you like all the rest. But he will never marry you.’

Alina’s fury crackled through her bones, white-hot and relentless.

---