Ryophlira POV

Power snapping like static electricity between us as I looked from my towering, brother to my lady-in-waiting. Riegthar looked entirely wrecked, vibrating with an agony I had never seen in him before. And Ari... Ari’s glassy blue eyes were rimmed with fresh red, her delicate features pale and tight.

When I had first shoved them apart, a protective fury had blinded me. But as the silence stretched, the initial shock faded, leaving behind a strange, dizzying realization. I wasn’t angry. A little confused? Absolutely. Ari was the only thing I had ever known in this wretched palace, and Riegthar was the only sibling who didn’t look at me with outright malice.

But before I could even process the weight of the confession hanging in the air, Ari moved.

She reached out, her small, trembling hand grabbing mine, her grip surprisingly grounding. "It’s not what you think, Ryophlira," she whispered desperately, her voice cracking. "He wasn’t hurting me."

"Let’s talk in his room. The palace walls have eyes and ears," Ari added, her eyes darting nervously down the empty stone corridor before gesturing back toward Riegthar’s door.

I didn’t let go of her hand. Tightening my grip, I practically pulled Ari along with me as the three of us retreated back into the shadows of my brother’s room. Riegthar stepped in last, slamming the heavy door behind us and sliding the physical deadbolts into place with a definitive, hollow thud.

The moment the door sealed, I stepped deeper into the space, and a sudden, bizarre detail hit me like a splash of water.

I stopped dead in my tracks, my eyes sweeping over the dark wood, the heavy curtains, and the stone hearth. I blinked. Nothing. I turned around fully, scanning every corner, every shelf, every table.

Riegthar didn’t have a single plant in his room. Not a fern. Not a rose. Not even a dried leaf. My mind spun backward, colliding with the words Aiyolistra had said to me just minutes ago in Father’s study: I have eyes absolutely everywhere. Have you ever wondered how I knew you were with him last night?And then, Ari’s frantic whisper from the hallway echoed in my ears.

The pieces slid together with a sickening, horrific precision. The exotic flora. The lush green vines. The rare, beautiful potted flowers Mother and Father had been continuously bringing into my room for the last few years under the guise of "brightening my spirit." They weren’t decorations. They were a network. Aiyolistra had been watching my every move, tracking my every breath, and feeding the information directly to our parents.

That was how they knew about the King of the North. That was how they knew everything. A cold, hollow numbness settled deep in my core. I had spent years desperately trying to make my sister love me. I had swallowed her insults, tolerated her cruelty, and practically begged for a crumb of her affection, believing that if I just tried harder, we could be a real family. But it had all been a lie. She wasn’t a sister, she was my enemy. 𝙛𝓻𝒆𝓮𝒘𝙚𝙗𝒏𝙤𝙫𝓮𝒍.𝓬𝒐𝙢

Right then and there, the pathetic, longing child inside me died. I had to stop caring about Aiyolistra. I had to stop agonizing over her feelings or her approval and start caring about myself and those who actually cared about me.

I snapped out of my trance, turning my gaze back to my brother. Riegthar was rubbing his shoulder where he had stopped himself from hitting the wall after I threw him off Ari. He was staring at me like I was a ticking bomb.

"You choose her over me?" Riegthar grunted, his eyes flashing with a mix of defensive pride and exhaustion.

"I didn’t choose anyone," I snapped back, crossing my arms. "She looked like she didn’t want a single thing you had to offer, so I stepped in."

Riegthar let out a heavy sigh, stepping closer to Ari. "Ari and I are in love, Ry."

"Stop joking it’s not funny," I rambled, my voice rising. Still in denial and disbelief.

"How could you two possibly... when did this even happen? You two are like polar opposites!"

I stopped, turning my head sharply to look at Ari. She immediately held her head down, her dark hair casting a shadow over her freckled face, her fingers knotting into her apron.

"It’s been going on for years, Ry," Riegthar said softly, his voice heavy with the weight of a long-hidden truth. "We have just been incredibly careful. At least... that’s what I thought."

I looked at my brother, battle-hardened prince who looked entirely small under the weight of his grief. Without a word, I walked straight over to him and threw my arms around his broad waist, burying my face against his chest in a sudden hug.

Riegthar froze. He was so utterly surprised that he didn’t hug me back at first. Instead, his hands came up, grabbing me gently by the shoulders and pushing me back a few inches so he could look down into my face. "What are you doing? Are you... are you not mad?"

A genuine, bittersweet smile broke across my face. "Why would I be mad? Ari is amazing. And so are you, two of my favorite people together." My smile faded, replaced by a sudden surge of protective anger.

I looked back at him, my fingers curling. I started to ball my fist, a dangerous heat rising in my veins as I prepared to punch him across the room. "But why did you two break up? Did you hurt her? If you hurt her, Riegthar, I swear to God—"

Before I could throw the strike, Ari’s smaller hand darted forward, catching my balled fist mid-air.

"It’s because he has a duty to the kingdom and its people," Ari said quietly. Her eyes flickered over to Riegthar, giving him a tight, warning shake of her head.

I looked between the two of them, the tension between them so thick it was almost tangible. They were hiding something else. Something much bigger, much darker than a simple broken relationship. But I didn’t press. Not yet.

"I am sorry," I whispered, dropping my hand as a wave of guilt washed over me. "Because of me... because of my sudden arrangement, you two didn’t get your happy ending. But I promise you, I am going to fix all of this. Starting with getting rid of every single one of those wretched plants Mother and Father have been bringing into my room."

Riegthar let out a dry, humorless chuckle, shaking his head. "The fact that you are just now realizing that’s how they keep track of what you do is entirely puzzling to me, Ry."

"How would I know anything?!" I yelled, the frustration of a lifetime of isolation bursting through my throat. "No one talks to me! Everyone hides everything from me and treats me like I am some kind of walking disease! I have been trying so incredibly hard to get closer to Ail. I wanted a big sister, Riegthar. Not an enemy. And it backfired completely."

Riegthar’s expression shifted, a heavy, somber shadow falling over his face. He took a deliberate step back from me, his eyes dead serious. "Ry... we did that because people are afraid of your power."

The words cut through the room like a physical blade.

"You lose control so easily," he continued, his voice tight. "Your powers control you, instead of you controlling them. We can’t stress you out. We can’t step on any toes around you without risking the entire capital."

"If you guys would just give me a damn chance!" I continued. "If someone actually showed me how to calm myself, or even how to control this magic, none of this would have happened!"

My voice cracked, the shout dying in my throat until it turned into a hollow, broken whisper. "None of it."

The room went completely, devastatingly silent. I looked down, my throat tight as I mindlessly messed with the gold crescent ring on my finger, staring at my hands.

Then, a cold, heavy steel settled over my soul. I remembered who I was. I remembered the blood flowing through my veins.

A queen never breaks, and she never backs down.

I looked up, my expression completely flattening into stone. I reached out, firmly taking Ari’s hand in mine and leading her directly toward the door and unlocked it. Opening the door I paused at the threshold, tilting my head back over my shoulder to look at my brother one last time.

"You are all entirely within your right to be afraid of my power, big brother," I said, a

slow, dangerous smile spreading across my lips as my eyes began to glow with a blinding, "but my power isn’t what you should fear. It the woman wheeling the power."

Without waiting for his response, I turned and left the room, pulling Ari along with me into the dark, waiting corridors of the palace.