Adina sat in front of the mirror, her hair tied into a bun. She looked at the makeup items Thessara had given her and nodded to herself as if she was about to conquer the world. She unscrewed the cap and began.

She had no idea how to go about it, and it would be her second time using it. The first time was when she got mated to Roman.

She dabbed a little powder on her cheeks, applied a bit of eye shadow, and some lip stain, but it ended up looking odd. She paused, frowning. It wasn't the result she was expecting. She reached for the powder again, only to pause when she heard a knock on the door.

"Oh shoot. Could that be Thorne?" She thought to herself, then shook her head. Thorne wouldn't knock.

"Adina," Kora called quietly.

Adina stood up from the vanity with a sigh and, then pulled the door open.

Kora stood outside the door, grinning like she had just won the lottery. "I thought you weren't—" she paused in her tracks, eyes widening.

"What are you doing?" She asked, her gaze shifting to the vanity behind Adina.

"Makeup," Adina mumbled. "Why are you here, though?" She asked.

Kora had come to see her a couple times when she was locked up in the dungeon and when Thorne saved her from being hanged.

Kora stared at her incredulously, "Why am I here? Are you really asking me that question after all that's happened?" She asked offendedly, as if she'd been told to jump off a bridge.

"I was just…"

Her words were cut off as Kora jumped on her and pulled her into a tight hug."Kora!"

The other giggled loudly. "Gods, Adina, why didn't you tell me the king is your mate?" She asked, and at this, Adina smiled.

"Oh well…you know."

Kora pulled back, holding Adina at arm's length with a dramatic shake of her head. "No, no no, I actually don't know but, you know what, it's fine. At least I know now, and so does everyone in the kingdom."

Adina's smile turned shy, remembering the words Thorne had said to her, to everyone. If she hadn't been so worried after he went in on for the second time, she'd have had the time to swoon properly.

"And just so you know, I knew he liked you. The way he stared at you. I mean… I just didn't think it was 'mate mate'" she grinned as she said this.

"Wait, are you doing this for him? You want to look prettier?" She asked, and Adina nodded.

"It doesn't look good, right? Perhaps if I practice more, then I can—"

"What? No! I'll help you out," Kora said, already dragging Adina towards the vanity. She made her sit down and then unpacked the items Thessara had given her. She wiped the mess Adina had made and finally began. Although, she was unable to stop talking. She spoke about how she knew Adina liked Thorne, how she was excited to rub this newly found information in the faces of the other girls.

At one point, Adina zoned out, just keeping her face still while Kora did her work.

After some minutes of Kora speaking to herself without a response, she paused, brows furrowed.

"Adina…" she called, but no response. "Adina!" She called again, louder than intended.

Adina blinked, jolting out of her thoughts. "What? Are you done?" She asked.

Kora shook her head, "No, but I was saying something and you—" she shook her head. "That doesn't matter. What's bothering you?"

"Nothing," Adina replied quickly. Maybe too quickly.

Kora furrowed her eyebrows. "You know you can tell me anything, right?"

Adina sighed, hesitant, then nodded. "Did you hear—Before Elara's death. Did you hear what she said?"

"She said a lot of things. Which are you talking about?"

Adina paused for some seconds. "Umm… She kept talking about her and Tho—the king. That they were together at a point."

Kora blinked, caught off guard by the sudden shift. "Oh… yeah, I did." She set the lip stain down gently, her tone turning softer. "She was clearly trying to get in your head."

Adina wanted to scoff. If that was the case, Thorne would've addressed it, right? He would've told her nothing of that sort happened, but since he didn't…it must've happened.

It made sense why Elara was so against her now.

"I don't think that was just what she was trying to do," she replied.

"Adina," Kora's voice was much softer now. "It shouldn't matter what happened back then."

Adina stood up, slightly agitated. "I know…it doesn't matter…it's just.." she trailed off.

"Weird? Odd? Uncomfortable?" Kora listed.

Adina huffed, "I wasn't expecting that."

Kora nodded, "I get it, really, but Adina, he lost his mate years ago. Did you really think he'd stay alone? All these years?"

"No, of course not. It's just…it's Elara." She paused. "I didn't think it would be Elara." She sighed and looked away, biting her bottom lip. "I don't know. It's stupid. I know it happened before me, I know it was in the past, but … I still feel weird about it."

Kora nodded slowly, lips pressing into a line. "It's not stupid."

Adina looked up at her, surprised.

"It's not," Kora repeated. "It's normal. You're in love with him. Of course, it's gonna sting a little knowing he's been with someone else—especially someone who tried her hardest to ruin your life."

Adina stayed quiet.

"But listen," Kora continued gently, "you have to know that his majesty—gods, the man is obsessed with you. Elara could've come back from the dead and stood naked in front of him, and he'd still only have eyes for you."

Adina laughed. "That's oddly specific."

"I stand by it," Kora said, placing a hand over her heart dramatically. "Elara's been past tense for such a long time. She just had issues understanding it. Don't let old ghosts get in the way of what you have."

Neither of them realized that just outside the door, Thorne stood, unmoving, having caught every word.