Chapter 2

I woke the next morning with the scent of his shadows clinging to my skin.

I didn't yet know what that meant in the Shadow Realm.

As I crossed the corridor toward the courtyard, a group of Fae noblewomen fell silent. Their laughter snapped shut the second they saw me.

They stared at me like dirt scraped off a boot. Even passing servants didn't hide the disgust in their eyes.

Before I reached my old quarters, two guards blocked my path.

I was escorted to a secure suite down the hall from the Prince.

"She is under my jurisdiction." Valerius's words echoed through the realm.

With that warning, the Fae females didn't dare strike openly, but their resentment followed me everywhere.

The price of sharing the Prince's bed was becoming his possession.

But the compensation was real. Roasted meat and silk gowns were delivered to my room daily. I no longer went to bed starving.

Rumors claimed the Shadow Prince was a cold killing machine without desires.

What a joke.

Since that night, Valerius had lost control. The second he returned to his chambers, he claimed me.

In the bathing pool, against the dining table, or pressed against the window. No matter where I went, he pinned me down.

"Ella..." he rasped, his chest heaving. He touched me with frantic desperation, as if trying to crush my body into his bones.

His kisses were an aggressive assault, suffocating me in his scent and heat.

My bones ached from his relentless pace. My fingers dug desperately into his shoulders, clinging to him like a lifeline.

Under his hunger, I'd bite down on my lip, yet I still couldn't smother my whimpers.

Until one afternoon, leaning against the window, I heard two servants whispering outside.

"The purebloods are dying out. The Queen Dowager is frantic."

"What if a human is born?"

"Insane? Human offspring are an abomination. They'd throw the bastard into the fire!"

My blood ran cold.

What if I got pregnant? Would my baby be Fae or human? Would my child be tossed into the flames?

That night, Valerius pulled me against his chest in bed.

I gripped the sheets. "Valerius..." I whispered. "What happens... if I have a human baby?"

His hand on my waist went rigid.

"You just stay by my side," he ordered, his voice dropping. "You don't think about the rest."

From the next day on, after every time, he fed me Night-thorn sap.

The black liquid slid down my throat like ice.

"It's a Court draught," Valerius murmured, his eyes unreadable. "It will anchor your mortal soul so you can endure the magic."

I stared at him and swallowed it.

I had no idea it was a contraceptive potion. 

Clearly, Valerius never intended for me to bear his child.

During the day, he made me sit beside his desk while he worked.

His hand would envelope mine, guiding my fingers to teach me Fae runes and contract clauses.

To the world, he was ruthless. To me, he showed endless patience.

I would hold the quill and trace his name on the paper.

Valerius.

Panic tightened my chest as I stared at the letters. This wasn't just survival anymore. I was falling for him.

The Full Moon Festival arrived.

Traveling to the sacred grounds was a royal duty.

The night before his departure, Valerius was feral.

He pressed his forehead against mine, moving with a bruising intensity, as if trying to shatter my ribs and tuck me directly inside his own cage of bone.

And I was just as insane. For once, I didn't hold back. I dug my fingers in and clung to him with equal desperation.

That night, the primal excitement made his eyes glow with an eerie, unearthly silver light.

When he left, I stared at the empty room, feeling drained.

His wards kept danger out, but not the whispers.

"She's just a mana battery."

"A breeding toy. The Prince is just having fun."

I slid down the wall, my mind repeating a Fae proverb he taught me.

Shadow and moon, a lonely heart cannot sleep.

I finally admitted the truth: This wasn't just survival anymore. I was doomed.

When Valerius returned, he shoved open my door.

He strode over and opened his palm, presenting a small silver box.

"For you," he rasped, looking exhausted.

Inside was a drop of Moon-branch dew.

It was sap from the sacred tree—a realm treasure. He had smuggled it for me.

I bit my lip, tears in my eyes.

An absurd thought hit me: Maybe I could survive here. Right by his side.

But I crushed the thought. Wake up, Ella. What are you? Nothing.

That brief illusion was shattered by court trumpets.

The herald announced the decree to the realm.

The Prince was to be betrothed to the Witch Princess, Seraphina, to solidify the alliance.

I stood in the corridor until several Fae females blocked my path.

They didn't hide their malice. They laughed.

"Did you hear?" The leader shoved my shoulder. "The real Queen is here. Time for the toy to step aside."

Outside the Hall, the court formed two lines to welcome the bride.

I was pushed to the back of the crowd.

Seraphina walked in wearing a white-gold cloak, clinging to Valerius's arm.

I stared at them, my breath catching.