The tea room was quiet when Aliena entered.
Too quiet.
Sunlight poured through tall windows, painting everything in warm gold — porcelain cups, polished wood, silk gowns.
Hermia stood near the table.
Lydia and Helena were already seated.
Dinna was the first to notice her.
"My lady—"
Aliena didn't think.
She crossed the room and pulled Dinna into a tight embrace.
Dinna trembled in her arms.
"You look so different," Dinna whispered tearfully.
Aliena smiled softly. "I am different."
When she pulled away, she kept holding Dinna's hands.
And that was when Lydia saw it.
A glint.
Sharp.
Blinding.
On Aliena's left hand.
Her eyes dropped.
Then widened.
Helena followed her gaze.
The room shifted.
Hermia noticed last.
But when she did...
Her breath caught.
The ring was not delicate.
It was deliberate.
A large stone — deep and fiery — set in silver that curved like intertwined flames. It was unmistakably royal. It was unmistakably expensive.
