Valessara did not shout.
She did not throw anything.
She did not storm out of the palace like a lesser villain.
Instead, she smiled.
Which was far worse.
From her private chambers overlooking the eastern gardens, Valessara watched Aqura continue as if nothing had changed. Servants moved. Guards rotated. Nobles laughed a little too loudly in public and whispered furiously in private.
They thought she had lost.
She had merely recalculated.
"Send the invitations," Valessara said calmly.
Her attendant hesitated. "All of them, Your Majesty?"
"Yes," Valessara replied. "Every influential house. Every merchant lord. Every foreign envoy still pretending to enjoy this farce."
She lifted her wine.
"We will remind them who stability looks like."
Aerin learned about the party an hour later.
He stared at the parchment in his hands like it might apologize.
"She's hosting a Queen's Evening?" he said incredulously.
Mira read over his shoulder. "A classic power move."
Elira leaned in. "Is it a trap?"
"Yes," Mira and Aerin said together.
Elira nodded. "Good. I will wear shoes suitable for running."
Aerin sighed. "No running. No stabbing. No interrogations."
Elira frowned. "Even polite interrogations?"
"Yes."
Elira sighed dramatically. "Marriage is very restrictive."
The palace transformed that evening.
Music drifted through the halls. Candles burned in elegant clusters. Nobles arrived dressed in silks and false confidence, their smiles sharpened by curiosity.
Valessara stood at the center of it all in silver and black, radiant and cold, greeting guests like a queen who had never been challenged.
Cassian stood behind her.
Not beside her.
Behind.
His posture was stiff. His eyes never left the exits.
Aerin noticed.
He did not comment.
Yet.
Elira entered the hall wearing bright red.
Several people flinched.
Elira smiled at them warmly. "Good evening."
One noble whispered, "She's wearing color."
Another replied, "We're doomed."
Mira walked beside Aerin, serene as always, her presence anchoring him.
Valessara's gaze flicked toward them.
Her smile tightened.
The evening began pleasantly enough.
Which was suspicious.
Wine flowed. Music played. Valessara spoke smoothly about trade, unity, and "the strength of tradition."
People nodded.
Elira whispered to Aerin, "She is lying politely."
Aerin murmured back, "I know."
Valessara raised her glass.
"Tonight," she announced, "we celebrate continuity."
Elira tilted her head. "That sounded threatening."
Valessara continued, "Aqura deserves stability. Predictability. Leadership unburdened by… improvisation."
Several nobles glanced at Elira.
Elira waved.
"Improvisation saved us," she whispered proudly.
Mira sipped her drink. "Careful."
Valessara's eyes glittered.
"And so," she said, "I will be making several appointments tonight."
Aerin stiffened.
Appointments meant power.
Valessara gestured.
"Cassian."
The room hushed.
Cassian stepped forward reluctantly.
Valessara smiled like a blade.
"I appoint you Royal Protector of the Eastern Wing," she said. "You will answer directly to me."
A murmur rippled through the crowd.
Aerin's jaw tightened.
Elira's fingers twitched.
Mira inhaled slowly.
Valessara turned toward Aerin, smile sweet.
"A political necessity," she said.
Aerin took one step forward.
"No."
The word cut cleanly through the room.
Valessara blinked.
"I beg your pardon?"
Aerin's voice stayed calm. "You do not appoint my people."
Valessara laughed lightly. "You forget—"
"I do not," Aerin interrupted. "You are my wife. Not my sovereign."
Silence crashed down.
Cassian's breath caught.
Elira froze — visibly shaking — not with rage, but effort.
Valessara's smile finally cracked.
"You undermine me publicly?" she hissed.
Aerin met her gaze. "You undermined me first."
The nobles shifted uncomfortably.
Valessara straightened slowly.
"Very well," she said. "Let us put the matter to the council."
Elira leaned toward Mira, whispering loudly, "I am doing breathing."
Mira nodded approvingly.
Valessara's retaliation did not stop there.
Later in the evening, whispers spread like smoke.
Rumors.
Subtle ones.
Carefully placed.
About instability.
About assassins.
About unfit leadership.
Aerin heard them.
So did Mira.
Elira heard everything.
She stood near a column, hands clasped, smiling politely as a noblewoman whispered cruelly nearby.
"…dangerous household…"
"…can't trust a king with that woman…"
Elira's smile twitched.
Her breathing sped up.
Mira noticed instantly.
"Elira," she said softly.
"I am fine," Elira whispered. "I am peaceful."
The noble laughed.
"She probably still sleeps with a knife."
Elira's vision narrowed.
She took one step forward.
Stopped.
Her hands trembled.
She closed her eyes.
"I am married," she whispered to herself. "I chose peace."
She turned away.
Mira exhaled.
Aerin watched the whole thing.
Pride hit him like a wave.
The breaking point came when Valessara made her final move.
She approached Aerin in full view of the hall.
"You are surrounded by weakness," she said softly. "A calm woman who enables you. A broken assassin pretending she's healed."
Elira stiffened.
Mira did not react.
"And a kingdom that will suffer for your sentimentality," Valessara finished.
Aerin did not shout.
He did not threaten.
He simply raised his voice enough for the room to hear.
"This gathering is over."
The music stopped.
Every head turned.
Valessara stared at him.
"You don't have the authority—"
"I do," Aerin said firmly. "Because I am King."
The words landed.
Solid.
Unapologetic.
Valessara laughed sharply. "You think they'll follow you?"
Aerin looked around.
Guards straightened.
Nobles hesitated.
Then one bowed.
Then another.
Cassian stepped forward.
"I follow the King," he said clearly.
The room shifted.
Valessara's control shattered — not loudly, not dramatically — but unmistakably.
Elira let out a breath she'd been holding all night.
Mira's lips curved faintly.
Valessara stared at the bowing crowd, fury burning behind her eyes.
"This isn't over," she whispered.
Aerin met her gaze calmly.
"I know."
That night, Elira sat on the floor of Aerin's chambers, exhausted.
"I did not stab," she said quietly.
Aerin smiled and sat beside her. "You were incredible."
She looked at him, eyes shining. "I wanted to."
"I know."
"But I didn't," she said proudly.
Mira joined them, sitting gracefully.
"That was real growth," she said.
Elira leaned into Aerin suddenly, hugging him hard.
"I like being trusted," she said.
Aerin hugged her back. "You earned it."
From the balcony outside, Valessara watched the light beneath Aerin's door.
Her jaw tightened.
They were no longer afraid of her.
Which meant she would need to become something else.
Something worse.
The Harem Alarm chimed once — low, uneasy.
The war for Aqura's soul had begun.