Isolde stood by the cold, deep hearth in the Obsidian Suite. The fire was a small, contained thing, barely fighting off the chill of the stone walls. She was waiting for Silvana. The meeting felt like another piece of the ritual designed to strip away her identity... a lesson in court etiquette taught by a girl who was likely just as much a captive as she was.
She had spent the last hour thinking about the Queen. The Queen's command had been simple... Silvana will teach you. Nyx's instruction had been different... Earn her trust, become necessary. Isolde knew the trap was set by Nyx, not by the Queen.
Silvana was meant to be the soft blade, the quiet listener who would report any crack in Isolde's shield.
Isolde made a promise to herself... she would not lie, but she would not reveal anything vital. She would let Silvana do the talking.
The door opened softly, and Silvana entered. She was unlike her brother or sister. Damon was a threat of ice, Nyx a threat of cutting wind. Silvana was a threat of quiet, deep water. She wore a dress the color of faded rose petals, which looked surprisingly pale against the blackness of the room. Her dark chestnut hair was simply braided, and her pale amber eyes were enormous and slightly shadowed.
"Princess Isolde," Silvana murmured, her voice soft, almost tentative. She executed a perfect, deep curtsy, an act of formal respect that felt strangely fragile.
"Princess Silvana," Isolde replied, keeping her voice even and cool. She did not return the curtsy. I will not act like a grateful supplicant.
Silvana rose, looking momentarily uncertain. She didn't move any closer. "My mother... the Queen... asked me to assist you with the court expectations. And to show you the acceptable paths around the Citadel. It is... a confusing place."
"It is a prison," Isolde stated simply.
Silvana didn't flinch, or pretend to be offended. She walked toward a small table set with crystal glasses and a silver pitcher. "It is what you make of it. For us, it is home. For you, it is a contract. Both are difficult to live in." She poured a glass of cool, clear water and offered it to Isolde.
Isolde watched the movement carefully. It was water, not the strange, metallic liquid the Queen had given her. It was a small act of human decency, and it surprised Isolde. She took the glass.
"Nyx came to see me yesterday," Isolde said, watching Silvana's reaction.
Silvana's face tightened almost imperceptibly. "Nyx is... efficient. And she has very strong ideas about how the future should run. Her ideas often involve the rest of us not having opinions." Silvana walked to the hearth, warming her pale hands near the weak flames
.
"She told me I am to be a quiet bride," Isolde continued. "And that she will watch me fail."
Silvana sighed, a sound of genuine weariness. "That is her ambition speaking. She wants the throne. She wants power. And she sees you, a human from a lesser kingdom, succeeding in a political marriage where she has not, as an insult."
Isolde studied her. Silvana's pale amber eyes did not dart away. She seemed nervous, not manipulative. This was not the sharp, serpentine threat of Nyx. This was a lonely girl talking about her overbearing sister.
"And what do you want, Silvana?" Isolde asked directly.
Silvana looked up, her expression complicated. "I want this conflict to end. I want peace. I want everyone to stop fighting and scheming. I want to read my old books in the library without having to worry about my brother starting a war with Draconus." She paused, then added in a quiet rush, "And I want Nyx to stop using me as her eyes and ears in court."
Isolde's strategy shifted. This girl was not a threat... she was a victim of the same politics. She was a pawn.
"Nyx told me to be polite to you," Isolde said. "She thinks you are a necessary ally."
"And I am telling you that Nyx is always planning five steps ahead," Silvana countered, finally meeting Isolde's gaze with a flicker of genuine anxiety. "She expects me to report every detail of your weakness to her. If you lie to me, I will report the lie and she will be satisfied. If you show me weakness, I will have to report it. But if you trust me, Isolde, I might be the only one who can warn you when Nyx sets a real trap."
Isolde took a sip of water, cooling the slight burn the Queen's tonic had left in her throat. "That sounds like a fragile alliance."
"In this Citadel, fragile is the best you can hope for," Silvana admitted. She moved closer, dropping her voice to a near whisper. "Did you see the Dragon leave the ceremony?"
The question was sudden, raw, and entirely human. Isolde knew immediately that this was the real reason for Silvana's presence, the thing she cared about most.
"I saw him," Isolde said. "He made a grand exit."
Silvana looked down at her hands, twisting the fine silk of her skirt. "He is Draven. The Chief's son. His mother was Kira, a Fire Dragon who was killed by a Vampire officer ten cycles ago. He hates my family. He hates this kingdom. He is magnificent and dangerous."
"And you admire that danger?" Isolde asked, observing the subtle flush of warmth in Silvana's usually pale cheeks
.
Silvana looked up, shame battling fascination in her eyes. "I admire that he is real. Every man here is a performance of power. Draven is just... pure force. He is everything we are not." She then fixed her gaze on Isolde, the jealousy raw but controlled. "He also looked at you. Not as a weapon, like Damon. But as a thing he wanted to claim. That is why he was here. He meant to provoke Damon over you."
The sudden intensity of the personal stake made Isolde lean in. "He is an enemy of your family, Silvana. You shouldn't speak of him with such fascination."
"I know my duty," Silvana whispered, but her eyes belied her words. "But I also know that he is the most interesting man on the continent. And now, he is obsessed with you, Isolde. That makes you the most interesting woman in the world." She paused, then added, "If he comes back, you must be careful. Damon will kill him, and you, for the slightest misstep."
Isolde felt the shift in power. Silvana was not just a spy... she was a conduit for information and a deeply conflicted soul. Her secret obsession with Draven was the only true thing about her, and Isolde could use that.
"Very well, Silvana," Isolde said, setting the glass down. "Let the lessons begin. You may show me the paths around this confusing place. But we will start with the library, not the grand court. I prefer to learn from books before I learn from fools."
Silvana smiled then, a brief, genuine expression of relief and quiet happiness. The arrangement suited her perfectly... she got to be useful, she got to be an ally, and she got to talk about the terrifying Dragon Prince whose gaze she desperately craved. It was a friendship built on fear, strategy, and a shared fascination with the fire outside the walls.
They were two pawns making their own small, necessary alliance in the great, cold game of the Vampire court.