Page 59 of Beneath the Thorned Crown

I make my way to my room, slipping out of my heels the moment the door shuts behind me. My bare feet press against the cold floor as I move toward the window, my mind reeling with the events of the day. I try to piece everything together, to make sense of what happened, but the thoughts tangle, looping in endless circles.

An hour passes. Maybe more. I don’t bother checking the time.

When the silence gets too unbearable, I slip out of my room. I pad down the hallway, each step careful, measured. When I reach the end of the corridor, I hear voices.

Nico and Dominic.

I press myself against the wall, the firelight from inside the library casting long shadows through the crack in the door.

“Are you out of your fucking mind?” Nico hisses, his voice low but sharp. “This wasn’t just a warning. You know what this means, don’t you?”

Dominic’s voice follows, lower, measured, but brimming with restrained fury. “I know exactly what it means.”

“Do you?” Nico challenges. “Because from where I’m standing, it looks like you’re handling this like a goddamn personal vendetta instead of a war strategy.”

A pause.

Then Dominic’s voice, quiet but lethal. “You think this isn’t personal?”

Nico exhales harshly. “That’s not what I meant.”

Silence stretches between them.

Then Dominic speaks again, his words edged with frustration. “They knew, Nico. About Isabella. About the fucking painting. And God knows what.”

My breath catches.

The ring.

I take a careful step forward, the words burning in my mind. They knew about the ring. The one Demitri stole. The same one that symbolizes my relationship with the DeLuca’s.

“How?” Nico asks, his voice lower now, cautious.

Dominic doesn’t answer immediately. Then—

“We have a rat.”

My stomach drops.

“We knew that,” Nico mutters. “We just didn’t know how deep the rot went.”

Silence. Then the scrape of a glass against the desk, the sound of Dominic’s exhale—tired, controlled.

“This ends soon,” he says.

Nico doesn’t respond.

My heart hammers in my chest, my mind racing. I step closer, ready to push the door open, demand answers, but before I can—

Dominic’s voice cuts through the air like a blade.

“You’ve been eavesdropping long enough.”

I freeze.

Then the door swings open.

Dominic stands in the doorway, his dark eyes locking onto mine, his expression hardened.

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