Lumina had just finished overseeing the last of the decorations, exhaustion clinging to her limbs like a second skin.
Her throat was dry from hours of giving instructions. But her heart was light and the hall was perfect. It was her masterpiece.
She was just about to send Stella to fetch the list she had left in the venue when a shadow fell across them.
"My Lady, you looked tense. Is there any problem?" Stella let out worriedly.
"Stella... you sh.."
"Never think of sending her away, you both will co with together."
Lumina and Stella whipped their heads backward only to see him.
"Ceryes?"
He stood in the corridor like a dark sentinel, his expression unreadable. His gaze shifted to Lumina and then back to Stella.
"My lord has summoned the Princess, along with her lady this ti," he said, stepping forward and in seconds his hands held Stella’s hands as he bent them backward, not giving her the chance to move.
Lumina’s lips pressed into a thin line.
"Don’t you dare lay a finger on her," Lumina warned.
"My lady..." Stella’s voice wavered, but Lumina reached out and squeezed her wrist.
"It’s fine," Lumina said, her voice soft but steely. "Let’s go with him."
Ceryes led them away from the main hall, not toward Adam’s chambers but deeper into the palace’s shadowed corridors, where the light grew thin and the air chilled.
"Why aren’t we going to his chambers today?" Lumina asked as they descended a narrow staircase.
Ceryes didn’t answer. He simply kept walking, his boots striking against the ground.
"Move faster," he said at last, "or I will hurt your girl."
Lumina didn’t speak again, loud as she only squared her shoulders and followed until they reached a room tucked away behind a heavy iron door.
The mont the door shut behind them, the mory of her first abduction slamd into Lumina.
The sa cold walls, the faint damp sll of this secluded chamber, and the sa oppressive presence that seed to close in on her.
Adam was there, leaning casually against a stone pillar.
"For soone who the entire realm respects," Lumina said softly, her voice steady despite the tension in her chest, "stooping so low as to harm his brother’s wife over and over again. This is the third ti."
Adam’s head turned slowly toward her, his lips curving into sothing that was not quite a smile. He didn’t speak imdiately. Instead, he began to walk toward Stella.
Stella stiffened, grabbing Lumina’s hand and stepping in front of her as though she could shield her lady from the Crown Prince himself.
"My lady," Stella whispered, her voice tight with fear and defiance, "why have you been keeping this from ..."
Before she could finish, Adam flicked his hand and a dagger whistled through the air, heading straight for Stella’s throat.
Stella’s reflexes saved her as she caught the blade mid-flight, though it sliced deep into her palm. The dagger clattered to the ground, her blood splattering against the floor.
"Stella!" Lumina cried, her heart leaping to her throat.
"Aww... it hurts, my lady!" Stella forced out through gritted teeth, clutching her bleeding hand.
Adam only smirked, stepping closer, his expression amused.
"I love the courage," he said softly. "How devoted you are to your mistress. So devoted you would rather bleed for her than step aside."
"Crown Prince," Lumina snapped, her voice shaking with fury, "Face if you have an issue with , don’t you dare hurt my girl!"
Adam’s smirk deepened. "You are brave and brave won tend to break so beautifully."
He closed the distance between them in two strides, one hand snapping up to grab Lumina by the throat.
She choked, clawing at his wrist, but his grip was firm, not enough to crush, just enough to remind her he could.
"Do you think I have forgotten what happened yesterday?" His voice was soft, deadly. "Do you think I wasn’t in my senses yesterday?"
He pressed the edge of his dagger against her cheek, trailing it slowly until it rested just beneath her blindfold.
"One word," he murmured, his breath hot against her face, "one wrong move, and I will pluck out those lovely eyes. You might be blind, but you still value what little you have, don’t you?"
Lumina swallowed hard, refusing to speak. "Well, I get to find out that those are one of your powers."
Adam’s other hand traced down her throat, to her collarbone, then lower, until she felt the warmth of his breath against the exposed skin at her chest.
"My brother does have good taste," he whispered, his lips dangerously close to hers. "Such a well-kept little wife."
Lumina’s hands trembled with fury, but when he pressed her roughly against him, she went rigid, her body locking in revulsion.
"Don’t you dare," she hissed. His chuckle was low and dark. " I saw what you did to your sister and I really want to know what you are going to do to if I cross the line with you."
"My lady!" Stella called out about to stand up, but imdiately fire shot out from Adam’s hands as they surrounded Stella.
"Don’t think of passing through that dragon fire if you don’t want to be burnt beyond recognition." This made Stella stop at once, she knew of all things, she couldn’t not ss with the dragon fire.
Lumina eyes shut as she controls herself, "What do you want?" she let out annoyed.
Adam released her throat, but his dagger never left her eye.
"There will be an audit soon, a tax investigation that will shake the palace," he said. "I want you to get the ledger having the quota for the year which is with your husband before that happens."
Lumina let out a short laugh, though her voice trembled. "I am blind. Do you expect to find a ledger I have never seen, in an office I have only been in once?"
"You are clever," Adam said, leaning closer until she could feel the curve of his smirk against her cheek. "And if you want to keep your maid alive, you will find a way."
In a flash of movent, a spear whistled out of nowhere, striking Stella in the thigh.
"Stella!" Lumina scread,
Stella dropped to the floor as blood began to spread across the fabric, and this seed to have shaken Lumina.
"She did nothing wrong! Why hurt her!" Adam leaned closer, watching with cruel satisfaction.
"You heal quickly when poisoned," he said softly, "but your girl? She will not. This poison is slow and excruciating."
"You bastard!" Lumina’s voice cracked with rage.
Adam grabbed her chin, forcing her to look in his direction though she couldn’t see him. "How could I have thought earlier that hurting her would be what would trigger you!" She struggled for him to let go but his grip was stronger.
"I am very good at poisons. Even Lord Drex cannot undo what I have created without the antidote coming from . Trust , Princess this is not a wound she can survive because of the little powers she has if you take too long."
He released her suddenly, and she fell to the cold floor, Stella groaning in her arms.
"You have two days," Adam said, his voice once more calm, almost casual.
"Get that ledger or you will watch her die."
Then, as though nothing had happened, he turned and walked out of the room.
The fire that had sprung up around Stella flickered out.
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