The moment Evelisse saw her mother, the dam within her broke. She ran forward and crashed into Seraphina’s embrace, sobbing so hard she could barely breathe.
"Mother—I couldn’t—I didn’t—" Her words drowned in tears, her small hands fisting into the Queen’s dress.
"My darling, hush." Seraphina held her tightly, her arms protective as steel, though her own chest rose and fell too fast. She glanced over Evelisse’s head, her gaze locking on Caelith’s limp form as guards bore him out on a stretcher. Her face blanched. "What happened here?"
Lady Marwen bowed her head deeply, trembling. "Your Majesty... an intruder. Dark magic... like nothing I’ve seen. The wards—were useless."
"Caelith..." Evelisse sobbed, her face crumpling as she collapsed into her mother’s arms. "...Caelith... he’s—he’s—"
The Queen’s eyes flickered to the sight of Caelith being carried ahead, his head lolling, blood on his pale lips. Her regal mask cracked, if only for a second, horror tightening her features.
"Bring him to the infirmary. Immediately," she commanded.
The brothers fell into a protective circle, guiding Evelisse along as if shielding her from the world.
Lucien’s jaw clenched tight, his voice a low thunder. "The castle goes into full lockdown. No one enters, no one leaves." His cold eyes swept across the guards like a blade. "Not a whisper of this leaves Florabelle. Anyone who leaks word of this breach will answer to me directly."
The guards stiffened, voices overlapping in quick affirmations.
"But—Prince Caelith—" Felix’s trembling voice cut through again, tears streaming openly. "He was protecting Evelisse. He almost—" His words broke off in a sob.
Evelisse flinched, the guilt doubling in her chest like claws digging deep. She buried her face against Seraphina’s gown, unable to meet any of their gazes.
Behind them, Fluffy had appeared silently, its soft pink form perched in the shadows where no one noticed. Its glowing eyes watched the chaos, the sobbing princess, the unconscious prince. It said nothing. It could say nothing, not here—not until they were alone. But its small body trembled, fury contained.
Lady Marwen followed the stretcher with shaking steps, torn between duty and fear.
Every fiber of her being screamed at her to protect Caelith, the boy she tutored, the boy she had sworn to guide. Yet another voice gnawed inside her mind: ’If word of this reaches Elaris... if King Elros learns his heir was bloodied under Florabelle’s roof... what retribution will fall upon us?’
She clenched her fists. ’I must keep this quiet. For all our sakes.’
The infirmary doors swung open. Healers swarmed the young prince at once, their hands glowing with magic, murmured incantations weaving around him like threads of light. Evelisse stood frozen at the threshold, watching as they stripped his torn tunic, revealing the full horror of bruises blooming across his ribs and shoulders.
Her chest ached so hard she thought she might split in two.
"Princess." Fluffy’s voice stirred faintly within her mind, softer now, almost mournful.
But Evelisse didn’t answer. She couldn’t. Not while her tears blurred the sight of him lying pale and still on the cot.
In that moment, something inside her twisted. A vow, silent but unyielding, coiling around her breaking heart.
Never again would she stand powerless while those she cared for bled because of her.
As if hearing her, Caelith stirred one last time, his silver eyes fluttering open. They sought her, hazy and dim, but still carrying that stubborn glint that refused to yield. His lips parted faintly.
Then his eyes rolled shut, his body sinking into unconsciousness.
The room broke into frantic commands from the healers. Newest update provided by novel~fire~net
And Evelisse—her hands pressed hard against her lips, her shoulders shaking—made her desperate choice in silence.
She would grow stronger.
Stronger than her tears, stronger than her fear.
Stronger, so that no one would ever suffer in her place again.
Fluffy said nothing, only watching from the corner of her heart. Silent. Waiting.
The world came back to Caelith in pieces.
First was the taste of iron, thick on his tongue. Then the sound of hurried footsteps, muffled, fading in and out as though carried through water. His chest ached with every shallow breath, ribs pulling tight.
A cool pressure pressed against his forehead—soothing yet foreign—and with it came the faintest fragrance of rosewater.
A smaller, warmer sensation grounded him more than all the rest: fingers, delicate but desperate, clasped over his own. The touch was trembling, yet it never let go.
’I know this warmth,’ Caelith thought hazily. ’Evelisse.’
He tried to follow that tether out of the dark. The weight of exhaustion pulled him deeper, but her voice cut through like light.
"I won’t leave you. Not until you open your eyes."
Her whisper was raw, as if she had been repeating it again and again while he drifted in silence. He clung to it. Slowly, painfully, his lids fluttered open.
Silver light seeped into the room as his gaze focused. The infirmary ceiling loomed above him, lanterns casting wavering shadows. His vision cleared just enough to see her—Evelisse, perched at his side, her cheeks streaked with dried tears. Her red-rimmed eyes widened the moment his met hers.
"Caelith!" she gasped, her grip tightening. "You scared me. Don’t you ever—EVER—do that again!"
His throat burned when he tried to laugh, but he forced a faint smile anyway. "Then... you’ll have to keep holding my hand. Just in case."
She choked back another sob, half-scolding, half-relieved. "Idiot prince."
Hours bled together, but Evelisse never left his side. The infirmary’s whitewashed walls, the rustle of linen bandages, the faint sting of herbs ground in stone bowls—none of it registered as much as the rise and fall of Caelith’s chest under her watch.
He drifted in and out of sleep, but every time he stirred, his hand searched weakly for hers until she pressed it back into his.
When healers changed the dressings along his bruised torso, Evelisse had to bite her lip to keep from crying out with him. His breath hitched, yet when he caught her eyes, he still whispered: "Don’t look so sad. It hurts less when you’re here."
Her heart twisted violently at that, guilt weighing heavier than any words. She brushed damp hair from his forehead, whispering, "I’ll stay. I promise. But you have to stop saying things that make me cry."
His faint chuckle melted into a wince. Still, he answered: "Then smile for me, Evelisse. Just once as my very first and real friend. That’s... all I need."