Ashes of the crown

POV: Princess Lira ❄️👑

The frost gates of the citadel loomed in the distance as Princess Lira shimmered into view beneath the rising dawn.

She didn't sneak in.

Didn't cloak herself in royal spells or illusions.

Instead, she marched straight toward the front entrance, moonlight magic still humming beneath her skin, her boots crunching confidently over enchanted snow.

The guards at the gate froze—figuratively.

"Good morning," Lira said sweetly. "I see my brother hasn't frozen the place solid in my absence. Impressive."

They didn't stop her.

No one dared to.

Because the only thing colder than Prince Ruvan's wrath… was Lira's indifference to it.

She found him exactly where she expected: in the Iceheart Throne Room, standing like a statue carved from frost and fury.

He didn't look at her when she entered.

Didn't speak.

Didn't breathe.

"Miss me?" she asked lightly, tossing her snow-dusted cloak over a nearby chair. "Or did the silence finally get to you?"

"You went to her." His voice was soft. Too soft.

Lira raised a brow. "I did. She's quite brilliant. Bold. Surprisingly well-balanced for someone being hunted like a wolf."

"You disobeyed a direct order."

"Oh, Ruvan," she sighed. "Since when do I follow orders?"

He finally turned, eyes glinting with that glacial fury only the Shard royals could summon. "You risked everything."

"Everything you're trying to control," she corrected, pacing slowly. "Don't confuse that with actual danger."

"She's not just a girl, Lira."

"And you're not just a prince," she countered. "You're you — which means your obsession has layers."

"It's not an obsession."

"Then why is her name written all over your damn face every time someone says it?"

Ruvan's magic flickered. Frost crawled up the marble pillars like veins of warning.

"You gave her information," he accused.

"I gave her truth. Fragments of it, anyway. Enough to make her question the lies you've wrapped her in."

"She's dangerous."

"So am I," Lira snapped. "So are you. That's never stopped us before."

She stepped closer, lowering her voice.

"What scares you, Ruvan? That she's growing stronger? That she might not break the way you want her to?"

"She will break."

"And if she doesn't?"

Silence.

"Then I'll break her myself," he said coldly.

Lira's laugh echoed like silver bells in the frozen chamber.

"You're already breaking," she said. "You just haven't realized it."

She spun on her heel and began to leave, but paused at the threshold.

"You've always been good at planning, Ruvan. Cold. Precise. But you forgot something important this time."

"What's that?"

"Ariya doesn't play by your rules. She bends them. Burns them. Rebuilds them."

She turned, her gaze sharper now.

"And if you keep trying to cage fire… you'll end up the one in ashes."

With a wink and a mock curtsy, Lira left him in the cold.

Ruvan stood frozen long after she was gone.

He hated how her words echoed inside him.

Because beneath the anger, beneath the magic and the mark pulsing on his skin...

He feared she might be right.