"The Star Garden. It's usually restricted to the royal family and their closest advisors." She looked up at the night sky, where the Red Sun hung like a baleful eye among the stars. "But tonight, exceptions can be made."
Reluctantly, I sat beside her, maintaining a careful distance. The crystal walls around us caught the moonlight and refracted it in patterns that reminded me uncomfortably of mana circuitry—the kind used in advanced containment systems.
"Why did you really bring me here, Alyssara?"
She turned to face me fully, and something in her expression shifted—became more vulnerable, more human. "Because I wanted to speak with you. Alone. Without the weight of our respective positions."
"What's that supposed to mean?"
"It means I know who you are, Arthur. Who you really are." Her voice had dropped to barely above a whisper. "And I think, somewhere deep down, you know who I am too."
