Selena.
The sound of water used to calm .
Back ho, there was a stream that ran behind the palace grounds, quiet and clear, hidden beneath low trees and soft grass, a place I would go there with my father in those days to just enjoy the sight of it.
When the triplets first brought here, I was happy and it felt like I had gain a piece of what I had lost in the past.
Not anymore.
I sat on a low rock near the edge, my hands resting in my lap, my gaze fixed sowhere ahead without truly seeing anything.
But I could heard them.
Nyra’s laughter ca first, happy and careless as she splashed water toward Ronan, her movents quick, playful, completely at ease in a way I had never seen in myself these past months.
"You are getting too fast," she teased, her voice light as she moved away from him, water catching against her skin as she turned.
Ronan only smirked, stepping forward into the stream with no hesitation. "Or maybe you are just getting predictable."
She laughed again, shaking her head as Kael moved behind her, catching her wrist just as she tried to slip past him. The movent was easy, familiar, like sothing they had done a hundred tis before.
"Careful," Kael murmured, his voice lower, closer. "You are looking for trouble."
Nyra tilted her head slightly, glancing between them, her smile slow and knowing. "That never stopped before."
Edris stepped in then, water shifting around him as he closed the space between them, and for a mont, the four of them moved like they belonged together, like pieces of the sa thing, their laughter blending, their movents seamless.
Like I was not there.
My chest tightened, but it was dull now. Not sharp like before. Not overwhelming. Just... there.
A quiet ache.
Sothing I had learned to live with.
Nyra’s gaze found then.
Of course it did.
She leaned back slightly against Kael, her eyes locking onto mine with a softness that wasn’t real, a smile curving her lips in a way that felt deliberate.
"Selena," she called lightly, as though we were friends, as though she hadn’t spent days trying to tear down piece by piece. "You look lonely over there."
I said nothing.
Ronan followed her gaze, glancing at briefly before looking away again, uninterested.
"She prefers it," he said.
Nyra humd softly, pretending to consider that. "Or maybe she is just waiting for an invitation."
I kept my expression still.
Not reacting.
Not giving her anything.
"Co join us," she continued, her tone shifting slightly, more pointed now. "Or are you afraid the stream won’t contain you?"
I t her eyes for a brief second, then looked away again.
"I am fine here," I said quietly.
The water continued to rush.
Their laughter returned.
But it felt different now.
Sharper.
Because she hadn’t gotten what she wanted.
And Nyra did not like that.
She tried again.
She moved closer to Kael, her hands sliding up his chest in a way that was too intentional to ignore, her laughter softer now, more intimate, her voice lowering as she spoke sothing I couldn’t fully hear.
But I didn’t look.
I didn’t move.
I didn’t react.
And that... seed to irritate her more than anything else.
By the ti they stepped out of the stream, water dripping from their skin, the air had shifted again.
Quieter.
Tenser.
I remained where I was, my hands still in my lap, my gaze steady.
Nyra approached .
She stopped in front of , blocking what little view I had, her shadow falling over as she tilted her head slightly.
"You are very good at pretending you don’t care," she said, her voice softer now, almost thoughtful.
I did not answer.
Her eyes narrowed slightly.
"But I know you do and I know you are jealous," she added.
Still, I said nothing.
Sothing in her expression hardened.
"It must be hard for you, isn’t it?" she asked, her tone sharper now. "Watching them with ."
I looked up at her then, not with anger, not with pain, just... calm.
"It does not matter," I said.
The words landed heavier than I expected.
Because they were true.
Her lips pressed together faintly.
"And why is that?" she pushed.
I held her gaze.
"Because I know they would leave you once they have had their fill, like they did before," I said simply.
Her eyes snapped opened in surprise, her eyes blazing in rage.
Her hand moved before I could react.
The sound of it echoed sharply as it connected with my face, the force snapping my head slightly to the side, heat blooming instantly across my skin.
"How dare you?" She barked.
For a second, everything stilled.
The triplets shifted behind her.
But before they could say anything—
Sothing in broke.
Or maybe it didn’t break.
Maybe it had just... been waiting.
I moved.
Not carefully.
Not thoughtfully.
I surged forward, my hands catching her shoulders as I drove her back, the force of it enough to knock her off balance, sending her down hard against the ground.
The breath left her in a sharp gasp.
And then I didn’t stop.
My hands tangled in her hair as I pinned her down, my weight pressing into her as I struck her, once, twice, again, every hit fueled by sothing deeper than anger, sothing that had been building for months.
"You—" she tried, her voice breaking as she struggled beneath .
But I didn’t let her finish.
For once, I didn’t hold back.
For once, I didn’t stay still.
Her nails caught my arm, sharp and desperate, but I barely felt it, my focus locked, my chest heaving as everything I had buried forced its way out in one violent, unstoppable mont.
"Enough!"
Hands grabbed .
Strong.
Unyielding.
I was pulled back, forced away from her as Ronan and Edris dragged off, my body still tense, still ready to move, to fight, to not stop.
Nyra scrambled back, breathing hard, her face flushed, her hair disheveled, her eyes wide with sothing that looked like shock.
Kael stepped forward imdiately, his attention on her.
"Are you hurt?" he asked, his voice sharp.
"I’m fine," she snapped, though her gaze flicked back to , sothing darker settling there now.
Ronan’s grip tightened slightly on my arm as he looked down at , his expression cold.
"What do you think you were doing?" he demanded.
I said nothing.
Edris stepped closer, his gaze hard, unforgiving. "You do not get to touch her."
Still, I said nothing.
My chest rose and fell, my pulse loud in my ears, but my face remained calm.
Calr than it had any right to be.
"She started it," Nyra said from behind them, her tone sharper now.
"That does not matter," Kael replied imdiately.
My lips pressed together faintly.
Of course it didn’t.
Ronan’s grip loosened slightly, but his gaze didn’t soften. "You forget your place."
I looked at him then.
Not with fear.
Not with anger.
Just... emptiness.
And that seed to unsettle him more than anything else.
Without a word, I pulled my arm free.
They didn’t stop .
Not this ti.
I turned and walked away, my steps steady, my back straight, even though my skin still burned, even though my chest still felt tight.
Behind , I could hear them.
Nyra speaking.
The triplets responding.
But it all felt distant.
Faded.
Because for the first ti in months...
I hadn’t just stood there.
And even though I knew they would punish for it later...
Even though I knew this would make everything worse...
A small, quiet part of didn’t regret it.
Not even a little.
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