{Third Person}
Eventually, the banquet began to wrap up, and King Sebastian stood once more.
The winners of the combat were called forward and rewarded generously. Applause followed, more spirited this ti as the tension of the night had eased.
Then, the King gave his closing remarks. He thanked both sides for their presence, acknowledged the success of the event, and finally turned his attention to the Human delegates.
"We wish you a safe journey as you return to your kingdom tomorrow," he said.
Servants stepped forward, presenting gifts prepared for the Human guests. Gracious smiles and polite bows. The formalities concluded smoothly.
Soon after, the King and Queen rose to their feet. Imdiately, everyone followed suit.
As they took their leave, the gathering began to loosen. So guests started to depart, while many others remained behind, engaging in quiet conversations.
Amara did not hesitate. The mont the royal couple left, she stood up. This was her chance.
Without sparing a glance behind her, she made her way toward the Human side.
However, Alexander stayed seated. His eyes tracked her as she walked away, but he made no effort to stop her, showing no indication he planned to leave anyti soon.
Amara didn’t notice, as her eyes were already searching for Lila. She found her after so effort, and her steps subtly quickened.
But before she could reach her—
"Amara." Her mother’s voice rang, stopping her imdiately.
Amara slowly turned despite her reluctance to give her ti to her right at this mont.
Matilda was already approaching, with Anthony beside her. They soon closed the distance.
Matilda reached her first. "How have you been faring?" she asked, her voice soft, almost concerned.
But the question hit wrong. Amara just stared at her without saying anything for a mont.
’Is she pretending to show she cares, or is she trying to mock ?’ she thought as she observed her parents.
Then, quietly, she replied without reservation, "Look at ... and answer that yourself."
Matilda froze. Her lips parted slightly, but no words ca out. Anthony stepped in instead. "This is not our fault," he said to Amara.
Amara let out a short, disbelieving scoff. "Not your fault?" she repeated, her voice tightening. Then, she scoffed again, shaking her head slightly as she fought back the sting behind her eyes.
She refused to break here. At least not in front of them.
She swallowed it down and changed the subject abruptly. "Did you get my letter?" she asked.
Anthony frowned. "What letter?"
Amara blinked a few tis, with confusion masking her expression. "I wrote to you, and it was successfully delivered to the house. I asked you to bring my friends to the banquet."
Anthony and Matilda exchanged a glance. Both of them looked genuinely confused.
"I didn’t receive any letter," Anthony said.
Amara stared at him. For almost a minute, she didn’t know whether to feel confused or sothing else. She was in total disbelief because sohow, she was sure the letter had been sent.
She trusted Mrs. Woods’ assurance, so how co...?
Amara let out a faint breath and subtly shook her head. This wasn’t the mont, so she dropped it.
Then, her gaze hardened slightly. "What about Lila and Torin?" she asked. "What is going on between them?"
This ti, it was Matilda who answered. "They are in a relationship," she said. "They are already engaged."
The words landed like a punch straight to Amara’s face. Her restraint snapped as soon as she recovered from the shock.
"What?" she demanded, her voice rising before she could stop herself. She looked at both of them, disbelief written all over her face.
"You knew Torin was the one I was dating, didn’t you? Or is it normal now—for a sister to take her sister’s man?"
"Amara—" Anthony cut in sharply, glancing around. "Lower your voice and mind your image."
She looked at him, utterly stunned. This was the least reaction she had expected from him.
"And why are you still concerned about a past relationship?" he continued, his tone turning colder. "You are a political bride now. Married to the heir of the Werewolf Kingdom. Focus on your current life."
Amara felt sothing in her chest crack. That was it? That was all he had to say?
For a mont, she couldn’t even respond. Then she let out a shaky breath and turned slightly, no longer wanting to stand there. She didn’t want to hear anything else.
But Matilda reached out and stopped her. "Amara," she said gently, "you must mind your image."
Amara scoffed. Of course. That again.
Before she could walk away, Anthony spoke once more. "There is sothing important I need to confirm."
His tone grew lower and more cautious. "Did you tell anyone... that you are not a Caldwell?"
It took quite so ti for Amara to react. When she did, her expression had briefly turned serious.
"No. I haven’t told anyone, not even my friends."
Then almost imdiately, sothing clicked, and her expression sharpened. "But your precious daughter would be more than happy to let that slip."
Anthony’s expression shifted slightly.
Amara didn’t wait to see more. She turned and walked away, her eyes scanning the crowd again for Lila and for Torin.
Now, it was clear Torin didn’t discover her identity through her. It was entirely Lila’s doing.
Matilda watched Amara’s retreating figure until she disappeared into the crowd. Only then did she turn slightly toward Anthony, her voice dropping to a near whisper.
"If Amara didn’t reveal this to anyone, how then did that anonymous letter co about? How did anyone find out the truth?" she said, her brows knitting together,
Anthony’s expression darkened. For a mont, he said nothing, his gaze fixed ahead, as if trying to piece together sothing that refused to fall into place.
Then, slowly, he spoke. "We have to be very careful now," he muttered. "We are standing in the light... while our enemies are hidden in the dark."
Matilda felt a chill run down her spine. Then, she nodded. "You’re right," she said quietly.
Neither of them spoke again.
—
anwhile, Amara continued moving with purpose. Her steps were steady as her eyes had already found Torin.
He was standing alone now, a short distance from the others, a glass in his hand, with a relaxed posture but an unreadable expression.
Amara didn’t second-guess herself, so her steps remained steady. Tonight, she sought answers. And she was determined to get them.
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