They always underestimated her.
That was their first mistake.
Isabella stood before the mirror in her dormitory, brushing her hair with languid, practiced strokes. A picture of elegance. A model student. A sister with a patient smile and soft voice.
Evelyn's ribbon—the one she'd once proudly worn in her braid—now rested in a small glass case hidden beneath Isabella's bed.
How poetic it had been, staining it red. She'd enjoyed watching Evelyn flinch when she saw it. That tiny crack in her perfect control.
It wouldn't be the last one.
She snapped the brush down onto her vanity and rose gracefully, her silk robe whispering against her skin. Crossing the room, she pulled open her wardrobe—not to pick a dress, but to slide aside the false panel behind it.
Inside, tucked in shadow, sat a stack of letters. Correspondence. Exchanges. Plans.
And at the top: a single folded note, marked with a sigil that wasn't hers.
She picked it up, eyes scanning the contents quickly.
"You're pushing too fast. Let her unravel herself. Wait for the festival. I'll handle Valerius."
Isabella's lips curled.
She traced the sigil at the bottom—a stylized serpent coiled around a sword. Old. Discreet. Not a name, never a name, but she knew who it was.
And more importantly, she knew they hated Evelyn just as much as she did.
Not because Evelyn was pure.
But because Evelyn was chosen.
Everything always landed at Evelyn's feet—sympathy, praise, attention. Even him. The man who didn't look at anyone, yet paused for her.
Alexander Valerius.
Isabella's fingers clenched the edge of the note, nails digging into paper.
She'd seen the way he looked at Evelyn, how he stood beside her like a wall of silent protection. It made Isabella's blood simmer.
But it wouldn't last.
Because soon, Evelyn would be too broken to stand beside him. And Alexander?
He'd learn what happened when someone like her was denied.
With a satisfied breath, Isabella folded the note and slipped it back into the hidden space. She turned toward the window, watching the moonlight flicker through the glass.
Evelyn didn't even realize the game had changed.
And the next move?Was already in play.