It’d only been a couple days, but it felt like a century since I’d visited the prince’s quarters. I didn’t think I’d see this place again. The afternoon sun shone brightly on us, beating against my robes.

I could hear ringing in my ears from my nervousness. What if Rylan decided to chase me away the moment our eyes met? Would I be able to handle it?

“It’ll be all right,” Micah said as he set me down.

“Let’s hope.” I picked up the front of my robes and walked up the stairs, perhaps slowing my steps too much. Micah walked beside me, and I sought comfort in his company.

My mind raced as I searched my eyes through their quarters.

A servant—one I’d seen many times before—rushed up to us. “His Highness says that you shouldn’t be—”

Micah silenced her by raising a hand. “She’s here under my invite.”

“But you shouldn’t be with her in the first place.”

“Are you giving me orders?”

The servant’s face turned a pale white. “No, Your Highness.”

Micah led me past her. We climbed up to Rylan’s room. All that anticipation and steeling myself, and his room was empty. It looked completely different from how I’d last seen it.

The curtains had been torn from it, and crumpled pieces of paper were strewn around the place. Ink was splattered on the carpet, and some books had been knocked from their shelves.

“What happened here?” I asked.

“Looks like a fight,” Micah said. “Or a tantrum.”

A bookshelf had been thrown off balance, and blocked the window partially, not letting sunlight in.

“Do you think he’s okay—”

“What are you doing here?” Rylan interrupted me.

I spun around, my gaze meeting the crown prince’s eyes. He was… different. A hollow quality had sunk into his eye sockets, his braid was missing, and he had taken off his earring.

Rylan strode past me and sat down, next to his desk. “Micah, I told you not to talk to her anymore.” He exhaled a deep sigh and slouched into his study chair. It had tear marks on its sides.

“Hidraes aren’t the best at following orders,” Micah replied. “And I wasn’t keen on throwing Sera aside. Not like the rest of you.”

Rylan flexed his jaw. His gaze burrowed into me. “You’re not supposed to be here. What do you want?”

“We need a favor,” I said, my voice almost hitching in my throat.

“I’m not in a position to give you any.”

“Please. Only you can help.”

“What is it?”

“We need entrance into the royal records.”

Rylan’s eyes widened, if only a fraction. A pause hung between us. He stared at me, deep in thought. “I can’t do that.”

“Prick,” Micah said underneath his breath, but loud enough for all of us to hear. “You discarded Sera, and now you can’t even give her a little help?”

“It’s not a little.” Rylan tapped his fingers on his desk. “I need to seek permission from Father to enter the records. It’s top-secret information, involving the histories of Constanria. I can’t just let you waltz in there.”

“If you don’t let us look at it, then Sera’s going to be sent away.”

Rylan’s hard expression wavered. “What do you need from it?”

“The record of the original spell,” I said, fidgeting. “The one the Dragon Mother used to create dragons.”

Rylan snorted. I hadn’t expected amusement to come from him. “The original spell. You expect me to just hand it to you?”

“We think we might be able to use it to solve the famine.”

“Even then, who are you? A lowly member of the Council of Intelligence? You’re not even that anymore. I can’t let you go into the royal records and simply request such an important document. If that’s not favoritism, I don’t know what is. It will ruin the name of the Everbornes forev—”

Micah snarled. “You don’t have to say those things to Sera.”

“But it’s the truth, is it not? She’s an outcast now. Hated by the court. And if I help her to that extent—”

“Why are you saying such hurtful things?” I asked Rylan.

He brushed his gaze across my face then clenched his fist. “It might be hurtful, but you have to hear it. You’ll have to accept it, like I did, because Father—”

Micah rushed up to Rylan and punched his brother in the face.

I started. The desk fell over, spilling more papers onto the already messy floor.

Rylan skidded across the ground. He sat up and looked at us, his eyes still hollow. He grabbed his cheek where Micah had punched, and propped himself with his left arm. “I probably deserved that.”

I walked closer to Micah. “Stop, what are you—”

“You fucking moron,” Micah said to Rylan. “Are you listening to yourself? Can you not think about Sera feels? You want to protect the family, I understand that, but you don’t have to throw insults at her while you’re at it.”

“I know.” Rylan picked himself up. “But I’m just stating the facts.” He shot a look of challenge at Micah, as if he was taunting his brother to give him a few more punches.

Micah advanced again, raising his fist. Before he could swing at Rylan’s face, I hugged my arms around his, halting him. “Let’s go, Micah. We shouldn’t waste our breath. He’s not going to help. We’ll think of something else.”

Rylan directed his attention to me. “I’m glad you understand where I’m coming from.” He was holing himself up with all his fear and stubbornness. I wanted to fish him out of it. He’d hurt me, but his pain was so obvious.

Why did he have to make it this way?

I never should have visited Rylan. I probably should have known this would happen. I felt my heart gaping open once again, freshly wounded by a second rejection. Our plan had failed. Time to ignore the pain in my chest and come up with another plan. I wasn’t sure if I could think of something else, however, and with every passing minute, it felt like my fate was becoming increasingly set in stone.

Micah shot a glare at his brother and grabbed my arm. He led me to the exit.

“There’s one thing I can do,” Rylan said, not bothering to pick up the toppled desk or sort out the mess around his study. “But I can’t guarantee anything.”

“Save it, Rylan,” Micah said. “You’ve made it plenty obvious that you don’t care.”

Rylan shook his head. “You’re not bound by the same things I am. You don’t understand.”

“You’re just a coward. We can deal with the Gavrils. There are other ways to go about this, ways that don’t involve hurting Sera, but you’re taking the easy way out. You do everything Father asks you to because you’re his lap dog.”

“Maybe you’re right.”

Just then, Anatolia, the princess, rushed in. She halted at the doorway, looking at me, then at the mess. “What happened here?”

Rylan smiled at his sister. “Nothing, Ana. Come here.” Anatolia rushed up to her brother, and he picked her up. “What are you here for?”

“I’m bored of all the lessons Mama gives me. Let’s play.”

“Sure, what do you want to play?”

“Micah can join us. Hide and seek, maybe?” The princess glanced at me. “But you’re not invited.”

“Sorry to hear that,” I replied.

She stuck out her tongue. “Because Rylan’s mine.”

I intertwined my fingers into Micah’s. “You can have him.”

It was a mistake searching for him in the first place. At that moment, I felt a part of me dying—the part that wanted to rely on Rylan. I still had a place for him in my heart, but I felt it stitching closed.

“Let’s go, Sera,” Micah said.

“Yeah, let’s,” I replied. My feet felt heavy. I wanted to hug Rylan, to tell him to stop being so idiotic and torturing himself, but that might just set me up for being tossed aside again.

I strode off with Micah, leaving Rylan behind.