I was no longer the hunted.
I had become the hunter, lying in wait.
As the wagon rumbled to a halt, the deafening roar of a bloodthirsty crowd greeted me.Their cheers surged through the night, an orchestra of cruelty, a prelude to the final act of this masquerade.
Kew Palace loomed before me, bathed in golden light—ornate, gleaming, decadent.It was a palace built on power and corruption, its grand halls now serving as the stage for my supposed downfall.
Rough hands clawed at me, dragging me from my confines, their fingers digging into my arms as they paraded me before the sea of masked faces.Laughter swelled, a hideous revelry, each jeer a celebration of my suffering.
And then I saw her.
Elizabeth.
Radiant, poised—a blade wrapped in silk.
But my breath caught, my heart constricting at the sight of Winston’s gnarled fingers curled around her wrist.
The sight of his hand upon her was a slow, agonizing poison.
Her gown cascaded around her, a waterfall of silk and lace—a portrait of innocence, yet her eyes told another tale.Steel cloaked in velvet, fire smothered beneath constraint.
And in that instant, my determination hardened into something unbreakable.
Lord Winston did not yet know it.
But after tonight, his hands would never touch her again.
A slow, burning fury coiled in my gut, its heat spreading through my limbs, but I did not move.Not yet.
Instead, I exhaled, soft, patient.
“Stay strong,” I whispered, the words barely leaving my lips, a silent vow carried on the wind.
For now, I would play the part of the puppet in chains.
But soon—very soon?—
The strings would be cut.
And vengeance would be mine.
Lord Alexander’s voice thundered over the revelry, each syllable honed like a blade.
“Ladies and gentlemen,” he proclaimed, his tone slicing through the noise, demanding absolute attention.“Thank you for gathering here tonight for this momentous engagement—a union of two powerful families that will solidify our strength and secure our future.
“The wedding will occur next week, and you are all invited to witness this historic alliance.But tonight?—”
He paused, his gaze sweeping over the room—cold, calculating.He let the tension coil tighter, feeding off the anticipation.
“Tonight, we celebrate!”
The crowd erupted into applause, their cheers laced with the excitement that only power and cruelty could inspire.
Then, Lord Alexander raised a single hand, silencing the room.His voice dropped, weighty and intentional.
“As you all know, our society has been ruthlessly hunted, our ranks ravaged by a shadow in the night—by the infamous Black Wraith.”
A murmur rippled through the gathering, uncertainty slithering beneath their gilded masks.
