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    I opened my eyes to a room full of familiar faces. Their smiles were soft and rehearsed enough to almost pass for relief. But I knew better. None of them were d to see me breathing.


    And as I scanned their faces, I couldn’t help but wonder, were they already nning their next attempt… or just trying to figure out how to make sure it worked this time?


    Maybe even both.


    I shuddered inwardly.


    “Atasha… how could you scare your mother like that?” Genevieve murmured, clutching my hand like it meant something. I let out a weak, gentle cough.


    Hearing this, Mendez stepped forward. “As you can see, the Lady is fine, but she’s not—”


    “Do not interrupt when I’m speaking to my daughter!” Genevieve snapped.


    To anyone else, she probably looked like a mother fraying at the edges with worry. But now I could <i>see </i>the truth. Just like Celeste, Genevieve wasn’t worried. She was performing. And she was very, very good at it. Currently, she was trying to let everyone see how caring she really


    was.


    “I almost died with worry. These people refused to let us in. Even your sister had to kneel outside of the tent under the rain just for Lord Cassian to allow us toe,” Genevieve said, tears pooling in her eyes like a mother on the edge of heartbreak.


    Right. Of course. She was worried, worried her n didn’t work. Now I could see it as clear as day. The disappointment in her eyes wasn’t for what almost happened to me… it was for what didn’t. They must’ve chosen the perfect assassin. And still, it failed.


    It was almostughable how obvious their regret was now. Almost.


    Genevieve shifted her weight and turned to Mendez. “You may leave now. We’d like a moment alone with Atasha.”


    “Apologies,” Mendez didn’t budge. “I’m under the Prince’s directmand,” he said evenly. “The consort is still recovering. I will remain by her side.”


    Genevieve’s jaw clenched. “Atasha, dear, tell this man it’s fine. You need rest, not strangers hovering.”


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    I knew this wasing. Of course she’d try to clear the room. I forced a tired smile and nodded once toward Mendez. “It’s alright. I just need a private moment with my mother and sister.”


    He frowned. “With all due respect, my Lady… that goes against Lord Cassian’s instructions.”


    I held his gaze, letting my voice tremble just enough. “Please. I won’t be long. I just… I want to speak with them before anything else happens.”


    Before they were ever allowed inside this tent, Cassian had already warned Mendez what would happen. They’ll want to be alone with you, he’d said. Let them believe they’re in control. “Let them believe you’re weak. Mendez will act offended, just enough to make it believable,then leave. The rest is up to you. But I want you to make them think they’ve won a small battle. Let them.”


    It was all part of the performance. And I was the centerpiece.


    I let out another cough, but this time it wasn’t for show. It wed up from my throat and dragged a fresh ache across my chest. My whole body felt like it was sinking into the bed, pulled down by something heavier than pain.


    Exhaustion.


    It wrapped around me like a wet cloak, suffocating and inescapable. I’d only healed seven people.


    Seven.


    And I was already this weak.


    What would happen if I had to heal dozens? Hundreds? What if Cassian brought me to the front lines and told me to raise the half–dead like a saint in silk? My fingers curled slightly, hidden beneath the nket.


    No. I wasn’t a saint. And this gift, this curse, wasn’t limitless.


    Each time I used it, it took a piece of me. And I was starting to feel the cost.


    But I couldn’t show that. Not while my mother sat beside me with tear–bright eyes and venom on her breath.


    So I leaned back, closed my eyes for just a second, and breathed through the pain.


    The show wasn’t over yet. And I still had a part to y.


    Just as I expected, Mendez hesitated. However, he must have known that I was no longer faking it. He had seen my state before my mother and Celeste arrived and knew that I had


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    exhausted my abilities. He let out a sigh before he used his hand to touch my forehead.


    “You are starting to have a fever,” he said. Then, after a moment’s


    pause, he gave a reluctant nod. “Ten minutes,” he said. “Then I’ming back in.” He threw Genevieve a sharp nce as he stepped outside, the tent p falling shut behind him.


    And just like that… It was just the three of us now.


    Genevieve was on me in seconds, her hands cupping my face, the scent ofvender clinging to her sleeves. “How did it happen?” she asked, her voice dipped in maternal concern. “Tell me everything… who would dare hurt you like this?”


    I blinked slowly, feigning fragility. “A maid brought in some tea,” I whispered. “She said it was from the Lord… I drank it and… I don’t remember anything after that.”


    Genevieve’s brows furrowed. “So it was Poison?” she echoed. “Are you sure?”


    I nodded. “That’s what Mr. Mendez said when I woke up. He said I had been poisoned.”


    Her eyes widened a little too quickly, as if surprised by the confirmation rather than the event itself. “Do you remember anything else?” she pressed.


    I shook my head, dropping my gaze. “I must have fainted…”


    Inside, I repeated the words Cassian had whispered before he left the tent with my father. Act weak. Act docile. And when the timees… show them who the monster really is.


    Tears welled up in my eyes, just enough to shimmer beneath myshes.


    “Mother… I’m scared,” I whispered, my voice so faint it nearly broke. For the first time in my life, I gave them something that wasn’t real. For years, they had fooled me with their well- rehearsed concern, now it was my turn to return the favor.


    “I- I don’t understand why someone would want to hurt me,” I said, letting just enough tremor slip into my voice to make it sound convincing. “You told me this marriage was only a formality… that it would give me freedom. That once it was over, I could live quietly, far away from court and expectation.”


    I lowered my gaze, allowing the silence to stretch before adding, softer still, “But now… I don’t even know if I’ll survive the journey to the north.”


    Tears began to slip down my checks. My eyes widened, ssy with panic, as I looked up at her. “Mother… I don’t want to stay married to the Lord. Please,” I begged. “I don’t want to be Lord Cassian’s Bride!”


    <b>11:06 </b>Wed, Sep 10