The ball continued.

  The atmosphere was solemn. Guests enjoyed their drinks and quiet conversations while the royal family moved among them, dancing and conversing with the nobles as though the outside world did not exist.

  When the king and his wife started dancing, the room fell silent. Their elegance and calm held everyone's attention, as though nothing else mattered in that moment.

  Kael was the only one who missed it all.

  He stood alone on the balcony, leaning against the cold stone railing. The laughter and music from the ballroom reached him only as a distant murmur. His gaze rested on the snow-covered gardens below; their frozen beauty mirrored his own situation — perfect, untouched and suffocating.

  He could no longer endure the ball.

  He had slipped outside to be alone, to wait for midnight, for the new year, for the moment when he could finally put this night behind him.

  Everything is becoming tangled, he thought, exhaling slowly as he looked at the frozen pond below. The moonlight shimmered on its surface, cold and unyielding.

  I should just let it happen. Endure it. Leave this place behind and never look back.

  From this moment on, I should only look forward.

  His gaze drifted upwards to meet the pale glow of the moon.

  But I still need to talk to Lia. I can’t leave things like this. I can’t let that be our last moment together.

  He was about to turn back towards the door when it opened behind him.

  Zaros stepped out onto the balcony and leaned against the railing opposite Kael, his back to the gardens and his eyes fixed on his friend.

  "Lia went back to the academy," Zaros said after a moment of silence. "She said she doesn't feel well."

  Kael nodded slowly. He had expected as much.

  “What happened?” Zaros asked, his irritation clear in his voice. “Did you find out why she broke down like that?”

  Kael shook his head, avoiding Zaros’ gaze and staring into the night instead.

  "She told me to wait until midnight," he said quietly. "She said that’s when I’ll understand."

  Zaros straightened up, his jaw tightening. Resolve hardened his expression.

  “Then to hell with that,” he snapped. “Let’s go back to the academy and be with Lia. She needs us more than that woman who humiliated her."

  Kael sighed heavily with exhaustion.

  "We don't know what Cassandra told her," he replied. "I don’t think she wanted to hurt Lia. I think she told her something she didn’t want her to hear later. Something that would have been worse if it had come out in front of everyone."

  Zaros frowned, his voice rising.

  “Are you serious? You’re defending her?” He took a step forward. "Even if that were true, it wouldn’t change anything."

  He turned towards the door.

  “Come on. Let’s go.”

  But Kael remained where he was, his gaze fixed on the dark sky above the gardens.

  Zaros’s eyes widened.

  "You're really staying here?" he asked, his voice sharp with disbelief. "At this ball? With people you’ve hated from the very beginning? In a place full of nobles who don't care about people like you?" His voice trembled. "And you’re staying here while one of your best friends is falling apart? A friend who loves you, as you know, yet you keep hurting her over and over again?”

  You might be reading a stolen copy. Visit Royal Road for the authentic version.

  Kael turned around sharply.

  "What do you want me to say?" he snapped.

  His anger flared, but not at Zaros. At himself. Because every word Zaros had spoken was true.

  "I want you to say that you're coming with me," Zaros replied quietly, his voice unsteady as if he couldn't believe Kael was hesitating at all.

  "I can't,"

  For the first time, he met Zaros’ gaze properly.

  "I can’t leave now."

  "Why?" Zaros demanded. Realisation flickered across his face. "Is she threatening you?" He turned away abruptly. "How dare she! I’ll show her what happens when she messes with my best friend!”

  “No!”

  Kael’s shout cracked through the cold air, sounding both fragile and sharp.

  I can’t let him talk to her. He mustn't find out.

  I don’t know what she’d do if he confronted her here. Not now. Not in public.

  Zaros turned back, confusion written across his face.

  Kael swallowed. His chest tightened. His next words tasted bitter.

  "I'm staying," he said slowly, forcing the lie past his lips. "Because I... because I love her."

  His voice faltered.

  "And I want to spend the New Year with her."

  The words hung between them, heavy and false.

  Zaros’s eyes widened.

  "That can’t be true," he said quietly. "You wouldn't do something that cruel to her."

  Kael met his gaze steadily, though the pain he saw in Zaros' eyes cut straight through his chest.

  "Sometimes," Kael said slowly, "you discover a side of someone you thought you knew."

  Zaros closed his eyes, clearly fighting against the storm of emotions rising within him. When he opened them again, his expression was empty and sealed off.

  "You’re right," he said indifferently. "Enjoy your evening, Kael."

  Then he turned around and walked back into the hall, the door closing softly behind him.

  Kael stood his ground. He leaned against the railing once more, but this time his composure shattered. Tears welled up and spilled freely onto the snow below, leaving small, dark marks, while his quiet sobs dissolved into the still night air.

  Now I'm truly alone.

  A soft rustle reached his ears.

  Something brushed gently against his cheek.

  Kael looked up to see Ausma perched on the railing beside him. A sad smile tugged at his lips. He no longer questioned how the falcon always managed to find him.

  "You always appear when I’m at my weakest, don’t you?" Kael murmured, running his fingers carefully through Ausma’s feathers.

  Then a voice spoke behind him.

  “You have a fascinating companion.”

  Startled, Kael turned around to see the princess standing there, having slipped away from the ball unnoticed. He quickly wiped his tears away and forced a polite smile.

  "It’s an honor, Your Highness."

  She waved a hand dismissively.

  “Oh, please. I know you commoners don't care much for titles. Just call me Artelia.”

  Her amber eyes lingered on Ausma as she stepped closer, moving with effortless confidence. She lifted her hand as if to touch him, but Ausma spread his wings and soared upwards into the night sky.

  They both followed his flight with their eyes.

  Artelia didn’t seem offended. She turned back to Kael calmly.

  "A Falco lunaris," she said. "A rare species. They usually live far in the north. You don’t see them in these lands.”

  "You're very knowledgeable, Artelia," Kael replied, correcting himself mid-sentence.

  She met his gaze, showing neither warmth nor disdain.

  "Humans are dull," she said plainly. “Predictable. Arrogant when driven by greed, and broken the moment they lose everything."

  Her eyes drifted upward again, searching the dark sky.

  "Animals are far more interesting. They act only on instinct. On desire."

  She paused, her voice lowering.

  "Especially falcons. Hunters. Devourers. Majestic."

  The last word was barely more than a breath, but Kael could hear genuine admiration in it.

  She doesn't sound anything like how people describe her, Kael thought.

  Not cruel. Not distant. Just... different.

  Artelia turned back to him, curiosity flickering in her eyes.

  "So," she said softly, "I wonder who managed to earn the trust of a creature that rarely forms bonds."

  Kael couldn’t help but smile at the memory of their first encounter.

  "I don't know," he replied quietly. "I helped him when he was injured, and after that, he simply stayed. It feels less like I chose him and more like he chose me.”

  Artelia’s amber eyes narrowed slightly.

  “Interesting,” she murmured. "You truly are interesting."

  She stepped closer, her voice lowering. "I shouldn't have hesitated after the evaluation."

  Before Kael could ask what she meant, she closed the distance between them and lifted her hand to his cheek.

  "Cassandra has already laid claim to you," she said softly. "What a pity."

  Kael reacted on instinct. He caught her wrist and pushed her arm away before her fingers could touch his skin.

  "Nobody has claimed me," he said sharply.

  Only then did he realize it.

  His eyes widened.

  "I—I'm sorry, Princess. I shouldn’t have—"

  But Artelia didn’t look offended.

  She stared at him with an intensity that made his skin prickle. Then, her lips slowly curved into a smile.

  "So," she whispered. Suddenly, she began to laugh, low and amused.

  “So you don’t know.”

  Kael frowned, feeling unease creep into his chest.

  “What do you mean?”

  She didn’t answer.

  Still laughing softly to herself, Artelia turned away, slipped back into the hall, and disappeared among the guests as if nothing had happened.

  Kael remained where he was, confusion knotting his mind.

  A moment later, Ausma returned, landing lightly on his shoulder. The falcon’s sharp, watchful gaze stayed fixed on the spot where the princess had stood.