Princess Roshana had faced the sidelining of her right to the throne as the eldest child due to her gender. However, the dynamics shifted when her younger brother, Prince Vivian Latarias, died during the massacre that took place at his coming-of-age ceremony, positioning Roshana as the first in line for the throne again.

- The History of the Three Kingdoms

Nia started counting the steps in anticipation of her impending reunion with her sister. She wasn’t sure how to describe her emotions. Hope? Fear? Excitement? 

She prayed that she doesn’t run into Russek during her mission. The sagehand had already reassured her beforehand that Russek mostly kept to the guest quarters where he had been staying, so the chances of that happening was low.

In almost no time, she found herself standing before the doors to her sister’s chamber. She paused for a moment, hesitating, before tentatively knocking on the door.

“Come in.” Roshana’s voice cut through the thick doors.

At the sound of her sister’s familiar voice, Nia eagerly threw the door open.

Roshana was quite the sight for sore eyes. Hailed as the most beautiful girl in Saraja, if not all three kingdoms, Roshana had long, silky black hair and sparkling eyes like sapphires. Her features were smooth and refined like a statue crafted by the most skilled craftsmen. She had a regal air of elegance around her that Nia could never hope to achieve.

Gold and jewels dripped from Roshana’s hair and dangled around her neck and wrists. However, the most eye-catching jewelry was the bright engagement ring on her finger.

She was sitting at her desk with a pile of paper before her and a quill in one hand. At the sound of Nia’s abrupt entrance, Roshana looked up with a startled scowl that immediately stiffened into a look of disbelief as she recognized her younger sister’s face.

“Nia?” Roshana dropped her quill and rose from her seat with wide eyes.

Nia’s throat closed up as tears rolled down her cheeks.

“Roshana,” she managed to get out. “It’s me. I missed you.”

She placed the forgotten vase of flowers on one of Roshana’s furniture before running up to her older sister and wrapped her up in a tight hug.

“What—How did you get here?” Roshana asked, sounding as if she was unsure whether she was dreaming or not.

Her question snapped Nia out of her daze and she immediately remembered her mission. “I’m here to save you!”

“What?” 

“I’m here to take you away. You’re not safe as long as you’re in the palace with Prince Russek and his soldiers. Then once we’re out, we’ll go to General Ozar and tell him to drive the Verunan soldiers away from the palace.” Everything came out of Nia’s mouth in a rush.

“Hold on. I’m not in imminent danger as of now, but where have you been?” Roshana sank back down onto her seat.

Nia bit her lips, unsure of how much to tell her. “I got kidnapped by a human trafficker the day after I escaped. That’s why I couldn’t meet up sooner. But I managed to escape and sneaked in here to find you.”

Roshana let out a smile of relief. “It’s good to see that you’re safe now.”

“Roshana,” Nia started, choking up again. “He’d already killed Vivian. And our parents. I don’t want to lose you, too. Please, come with me. We need to leave before the Verunan guards find out I’m here.”

Roshana pressed her lips together, looking torn. “Wouldn’t it be safer to leave at night?”

“I bet Russek tightens his security at night for this very reason.” Nia shook her head. “He would never expect you to run away in broad daylight.”

“Someone needs to take care of the kingdom now that Mother, Father, and Vivian are dead.” Roshana gestured to the pile of papers on her desk.

“Saraja won’t collapse that easily or quickly. The work will probably be pushed to the old geezer for the time being.”

Roshana giggled at Nia’s nickname for the sagehand.

“To be honest, I’m kind of touched that you came for me,” Roshana admitted in a low voice. “I didn’t think you would come since you never made an appearance during my speech the other evening.”

“Of course, I would. You’re the last family member I have left.” Nia assured her.

For some reason, a feeling of unease was pooling in her stomach. Something was wrong. Something at the back of Nia’s mind was screaming danger at her, but she wasn’t sure why.

“That’s nice,” Roshana continued. Was her voice turning colder or was that Nia’s imagination? “Such a shame your efforts were for nothing.”

“What do you mean?” Nia didn’t understand her sister’s words. She just continued to stare at Roshana in confusion, so taken aback that she barely noticed when Roshana’s hand slipped into the pocket of her silk dress.

Then Roshana lunged at Nia.

All Nia saw was a flash of silver, and everything within her screamed at her to move.

Nia clumsily dodged out of the way. But she was not fast enough. She cried out as something sliced across her left arm, sending pain blazing through that limb. 

It took her a moment to understand what had just happened. Roshana had just attacked her with a dagger.

“Roshana, what are you doing?” Nia demanded, clutching her arm. Did her sister just try to kill her? 

No, the dagger had been aimed at Nia’s shoulder and not a vital area, but Roshana had definitely intended to stab her just now.

Roshana simply gave her a cold smile as she advanced toward Nia again, blood dripping down the silver dagger in her hand. “What do you think?”

Nia backed up away from her slowly, her confusion giving way to fear and betrayal. Did Roshana make a deal with Russek to spare her life in exchange for Nia’s?

No, she realized, as the old sagehand’s words echoed in her head.

“But… Roshana benefits too…”

“You were working with Prince Russek!” Nia accused, her eyes blazing with anger as she continued to back away. “You’re not his prisoner! You let him kill our family—so you can get the throne!”

The sagehand had been right. Roshana did benefit from the massacre that happened on Vivian’s birthday. No wonder Russek was so willing to spare her at that time. Roshana had been completely unharmed that night, albeit a little rattled at the bloody scene.

Roshana didn’t even deny Nia’s accusation. “How do you think Vivian died? He was one of the brightest swordsmen in the palace. Such a shame that he was too kindhearted and trusting. He could have escaped, but he returned for me.”

“And you stabbed him in the back.” Nia realized as she remembered her brother’s body at the night of the assassination. He didn’t fall to the assassins like Nia originally thought. He was betrayed by his own sister.

Roshana let out a laugh that chilled Nia to her core. “I knew you would come back. I thought you would try to get in touch with me during the evening speech the next day. I even had all the guards scouting the area for you, but you never appeared. I thought I miscalculated, but yet, here you are, right in my trap.”

Something wasn’t adding up. “Why did you let me get away that night?”

“Wait!” Roshana grabbed his arm, which halted everyone in their tracks.

Nia didn’t wait for them to change their minds and come after her. She took advantage of their momentary distraction and fled again, this time without returning.

Because of that, Nia never heard Roshana’s next words, “Let her live. She won’t be much of a threat.”

Roshana paused and a look of something Nia couldn’t identify flickered across her face. “I made a deal with a demon. He wants a female sacrifice from the Lunare family, and that was supposed to be you.”

“What deal?” Nothing was making sense anymore.

Roshana shook her head. “It doesn’t matter. I won’t kill you because he prefers you alive. But I will hurt you if you don’t stop struggling.”

“I’d rather die!” Nia spat out. “I can’t believe you betrayed our family for an outsider!”

“Fine. Have it your way.” Roshana narrowed her eyes and lifted the dagger once more. 

The world seemed to slow down as the blade flew toward Nia in a shining arc. There was a blur as someone tackled Roshana and pinned her to the floor.

“What are you doing? Move!” A familiar voice shouted at Nia, pulling her out of her shocked state. Nia recognized that voice. She immediately unfroze.

“Khiran?”

“Don’t just stand there! Do you want to be killed?”

It was Khiran all right. He had lost his cowl and his white hair was completely exposed. The pupils in his eyes had narrowed into slits.

Roshana looked startled to see the unexpected newcomer. Before she could react, Khiran clamped a hand over Roshana’s mouth to stiffle her angry shouts for the guards. With his other hand, he twisted her wrist until she was forced to drop her dagger before shoving her onto her bed.

“Run!” Khiran snatched up the dagger and grabbed Nia’s hand before running out through the open doorway.

Nia’s injured arm had stopped feeling like it was on fire. Instead, it felt like it was freezing into ice, slowly losing all sensation. She must be going into shock.

“This way!” Khiran jerked her in another direction, different from the one she arrived from. “There are fewer people in this direction. Stop the bleeding or you’re going to leave a blood trail for them.”

“Where are we going?” Nia weakly asked.

“We exit through the kitchen waste chute, remember? It’s not like we can climb to the highest point of the palace and summon a griffin.” Khiran huffed, eyeing her with concern.

“Thank you for saving my skin again, but how did you know I needed help?” Nia panted as her legs pumped hard to keep up with Khiran’s supernatural speed. What she wouldn’t give for a demon physique like his.

“I just figure that you’re completely useless without me.” Khiran replied, his eyes having returned to normal again.

“That’s not true!” Nia growled. Her left arm was completely numb now. Was this normal? She glanced at her arm, but the wound didn’t look that deep. “I think my sister made a deal with a demon or something. She needed some sort of sacrificial lamb from my bloodline or something, which was why she spared me in the first place.” 

Khiran started in surprise. “Do royal blood have some special properties or something? How did she get in contact with one?”

Nia shook her head. “I don’t know! And it’s not royal blood they want. It’s the Lunare blood.”

Khiran frowned. “Let’s focus on that later. Right now, we need to focus on getting out of here.”

“How much gold did you take from the treasury?” Nia asked, unable to suppress her curiosity.

“Enough to get by. My true goal was only a book.” Khiran replied, patting his chest to show that something thick was hidden under his garment.

“A book?” Nia asked in disbelief, unsure whether to laugh or face-palm herself. “All the royal treasures in that room, and you chose a book?”

“Knowledge is power.” Khiran shrugged. “And I also stole your sister’s engagement ring off her finger because I’m petty that way. It must be worth a fortune.”

Nia’s eyes widened even further, then she threw her head back and let out a laugh. Of course, he would. This was the same boy who stole the sagehand’s handclock and hid it in a vase right under his nose.

They didn’t run into any servants or guards in their way, which Nia was grateful for. They must have looked quite the sight, Khiran with his white hair and Nia with her bloody arm.

“Coast is clear,” Khiran confirmed as he peered into the kitchen waste disposal room, which was a separate room adjacent to the bustling kitchen. 

Of course, the coast was clear. Most of the servants were out on lunch break at the moment.

“Wrapped up that arm so it doesn’t get infected. I’m pretty sure that the kitchen waste chute leads to a river, and you don’t want to get that injury wet.”

Nia made a face as she attempted to wrap up her injured arm with a clean towel. She froze as she realized something with painful clarity.

“Khiran?”

He turned around at the sound of fear and despair in her voice.

“Nia, what’s wrong?”

“I can’t feel my arm,” Nia admitted with dread pooling in her stomach once more as she stared blankly at the wound. “I’m getting really dizzy and my vision is getting dark.”

It wasn’t from blood loss. The cut was shallow and short, and the bleeding had already slowed. Which means…

“Poison,” Khiran cursed, the pupils of his eyes narrowed into slits again in his anger. “Here, grab on to me. I’ll help you get out of the palace.”

Nia was surprised she didn’t notice her symptoms sooner. Now the adrenaline from the near-death experience and the sprint was wearing off, she was struggling to stay conscious, fighting the darkness creeping from the corners of her vision. The numbness was already spreading to her shoulder and torso. She didn’t have much time left before she succumbed to the darkness.

Roshana was too vicious, going as far as to poison her own sister. But if Roshana had been telling the truth earlier and needed Nia alive to be the ‘sacrifice’, then that meant the poison shouldn’t be lethal. 

“Here, hold on!” Khiran’s urgent voice broke through the fog in her mind. However, his voice was sounding farther and farther away.

The last thing Nia remembered was reaching out to him… 

And promptly passed out in his arms.