It was too late by the time her eyes met that mix-matched gaze.

  Her world seemed to crumble and she was back, back to that moment where she’d just seen her kingdom fall at the hands of her parents and the other nobles.

  Back when everything was in pieces.

  She was frozen before the king and once he was gone she had to run for the doors, out onto the cliffs overlooking the bay. The wind whipped around her, tugging at her dress as if wishing to tug her down, down, down.

  Her eyes closed as she tried to close out the sight of those mix-matched eyes and that foreboding warning, but all she saw was the past.

  The past where the prince loved her, where the mage’s brother cared for her, and where she was to be crown princess.

  Before the Thornes’ house came crumbling down, before Vienna died what was seen as a noble death by the people; before the Duke pulled his support of the royals.

  This tale has been unlawfully lifted from Royal Road; report any instances of this story if found elsewhere.

  Before when things were simpler, she grit her teeth, how naive that young woman was. So very foolish, nothing had truly been in her grasp. Everything slipped through her fingers like sand.

  She tucked her hair behind her ear and raised her head.

  She was stronger and smarter than she once was, and this time she had the nobles on her side. She’d stolen them from her parents using her charms. She had them in the palm of her hand, it didn’t matter if the prince thought he was in love with another. The nobles would support Adeena, the royals would see what the wisest decision was.

  Throwing her shoulders back, she wiped the tears that had fallen down her face. She pinched her cheeks before nodding. She was above this, she walked back into the hall with her head held high only to stop in her tracks as her gaze fell upon the dancing couple at the center of the hall.

  No, it couldn’t be and yet there she was; Vienna Thorne dancing with the king of the Elem. The man who had once held Adeena’s fate in his hands.

  How could everything go so wrong so quickly?

  Adeena’s nails bit into her palms as she clenched her fists, no, this couldn’t be happening.

  She watched the fond look pass through those terrifyingly handsome features.

  No, no, no...

  Something cracked inside her.

  She would just have to get rid of Vienna Thorne once and for all time.