Elara's POV
I saved Iris.
The Old Bell Tower was a trap of course it was but Caspian's guards found us before anything terrible happened. Iris is safe now, guarded in the Noctis wing, shaken but alive.
And somehow, impossibly, I agreed to attend the festival with Caspian.
Now I stand in my room, staring at the dress he sent. Deep blue silk that shimmers like water, more beautiful than anything I've ever worn. A note is pinned to it: Please give me this one night. C
This is insane. The festival is where everything goes wrong. Where Caspian becomes the monster. Where I die.
But Iris almost died tonight because of threats meant for me. If I hide now, whoever's targeting Caspian will just hurt more innocent people.
Maybe if I'm there, I can stop the disaster. Change the story again.
My hands shake as I put on the dress. It fits perfectly.
A knock at the door makes me jump. When I open it, Caspian stands there in formal black, and my breath catches. He's always handsome, but tonight he looks like he stepped out of a fairy tale.
His eyes widen when he sees me. You're beautiful.
Heat floods my face. It's the dress.
It's not the dress. He offers his arm, his voice soft. Shall we?
Against every instinct screaming at me to run, I take his arm.
The festival is magical.
Literally. Floating lights drift through the air like captured stars. Musicians play instruments that hum with enchantment. Students dance and laugh in the courtyard, and for a moment just a moment I let myself forget about doom and death and darkness.
You're smiling, Caspian murmurs as we walk through the festival. I like it.
Don't get used to it.
Too late.
He introduces me to nobles who can barely hide their shock that Duke Noctis is showing favor to someone with no status or power. His hand stays on my lower back the entire time, possessive and protective, and I should hate it but I don't.
You're causing a scandal, I whisper.
Good. Let them talk. He pulls me onto the dance floor suddenly, and I stumble. Dance with me.
I don't know how to dance like this
Follow my lead. I won't let you fall.
And somehow, he's right. His hand holds mine firmly, guiding me through steps I've never learned. When he spins me, I laugh actually laugh and his eyes light up like I've given him a precious gift.
There it is again, he says softly. That smile.
Caspian
I know what you're going to say. That this is temporary. That you're scared. That something bad is going to happen. He pulls me closer as we dance. But right now, in this moment, we're safe. Can't we just enjoy it?
I want to. God, I want to so badly.
But then I see them.
Across the courtyard, watching us with cold calculation. Lady Margot in a elegant gown, her eyes like ice. Lucian beside her, his face twisted with barely hidden hatred.
That feeling hits me like a punch to the gut the same physical unease I felt before finding Caspian poisoned. My stomach drops. My skin prickles.
Something bad is about to happen. Right now.
Caspian. I grip his arm tightly. We need to leave. Immediately.
He stops dancing, instantly alert. What's wrong?
I don't know exactly, but something The feeling intensifies, making me dizzy. Please. Trust me. We need to go.
He doesn't question it. He starts guiding me toward the exit, his body tense and ready for danger.
But we're too slow.
A servant appears out of nowhere, carrying a silver tray with a crystal glass of wine. He heads straight for us, smiling politely.
Duke Noctis, the servant says, bowing. Compliments of Prince Adrian. He wishes to toast your attendance at the festival.
Caspian reaches for the glass automatically, years of noble training making him accept the gesture.
And that's when I see it.
The servant's hand trembles slightly. His smile doesn't reach his eyes. And in the glass, barely visible in the floating lights, something dark swirls through the wine.
Poison.
Time seems to slow down. The glass moves toward Caspian's lips. Lady Margot watches from across the courtyard, her expression triumphant. This is it the moment everything goes wrong.
I don't think. I just move.
My hand shoots out and knocks the glass from Caspian's hand, sending it flying. It shatters on the stone ground, wine splashing everywhere.
The courtyard goes silent. Everyone stops dancing. Stops talking. Stops breathing.
The spilled wine hisses where it touches the ground. Smoke rises from the stone, and the spots where the liquid landed start turning black, burning through solid rock.
Poison. Strong enough to melt stone.
Guards! Caspian's voice cuts through the shocked silence. His shadows explode outward, wrapping around the servant who tried to poison him. Seize him!
But the servant doesn't run. Instead, he laughs a horrible, manic sound.
Too late, the servant gasps. It's already done. The real poison isn't in the wine.
What are you talking about? Caspian demands.
The servant's eyes roll back in his head. Black veins spread across his face the same poison that almost killed Caspian in the library.
The wine was just a distraction, the servant whispers, blood trickling from his mouth. The real poison... is in the air. Everyone at this festival... already breathed it in.
He collapses, dead before he hits the ground.
For one horrible moment, nobody moves.
Then students start screaming. Someone falls to their knees, clutching their chest. Another student's eyes go black, and shadows pour from their hands uncontrollably.
All around us, people start losing control of their magic.
And I realize with horror: this isn't how it happened in the book. In the original story, only Caspian lost control.
But now, because I changed things, because I saved him, the villain found a new way to cause chaos.
They poisoned everyone.
Caspian grabs my shoulders, his eyes wide with panic. Elara, do you feel anything? Any pain? Any
He stops. His eyes start to turn black.
No, I whisper. No, no, no
Run, Caspian gasps, shadows pouring from him like a flood. Elara, run. I can't control it
His magic explodes outward, a wave of darkness that sends everyone flying backward.
And as I watch in horror, Caspian Noctis begins to transform into exactly what everyone feared: the monster from the prophecy.