CHAPTER 382: CHANGE OF PLANS

Vincent/Vaelthor~

I stood in the shadows, listening to every word, every breath.

The Royals were already suspicious. Alexander suspected us. And if Alexander suspected, then Queen Natalie and King Zane wouldn’t be far behind. Their family didn’t ignore warning signs—they probably destroyed them. Just like they did my parents.

I’d thought I had time. A month, maybe more. Enough time to make Katrina love me completely. Enough time to make them all drop their guard.

But time was a luxury I no longer had.

I would have to move faster. Strike faster. End this before they had the chance to strike first.

The irony? She was here defending me with her whole heart while I was planning to burn everything she loved to ash. She was right—she trusted me. Stupidly. Blindly.

Perfectly.

Her loyalty was going to be my weapon.

But Nicholas... Nicholas was a problem. His hybrid instincts made him sharp. And he was already on the fence.

If I couldn’t turn him, I’d have to remove him.

I exhaled slowly, the shadows around me thickening like ink. The garden blurred into sharper focus—the silver droplets clinging to the grass, the soft rise and fall of Katrina’s shoulders as she glared at her friend, the way Nicholas’s heartbeat stuttered when she turned away from him.

It was almost beautiful, in a tragic kind of way.

Nicholas finally sighed, shoulders slumping. "Fine. Fine. I’m not going to fight with you about this."

"You just did."

He groaned. "I mean I’m not going to keep fighting about it. You’re angry. I get it. But you know Alex, Kat. He doesn’t throw suspicions around lightly. If he thinks something’s off, it’s probably for a reason."

Her voice softened just a fraction. "Yeah. But Alex also sees danger in everything. You’ve seen how he is with me. I can’t even breathe without someone watching me. I can’t live like that with Vincent. I won’t."

Nicholas’s expression wavered between concern and something darker—envy, maybe. He glanced away. "Just... be careful, okay?"

She exhaled softly, a sound that seemed to carry the weight of something unspoken, and brushed past him without another glance. Her fingertips grazed the cool edge of the stone fountain, leaving behind a faint shimmer of water that caught the sunlight. The early morning light poured over her like liquid gold, wrapping her in a soft, radiant glow. For that fleeting moment, she didn’t look real—she looked untouchable, completely celestial. And standing there, watching her drift away, it struck me hard... someone like me could never belong in a world that held someone like her.

Nicholas followed her, quiet now, his earlier fight dimming to a low, simmering worry.

They walked back toward the castle together, their voices fading into the distance.

I stayed hidden. I waited until their footsteps disappeared, until the garden fell silent again except for the wind in the leaves and the fountain’s steady trickle.

And then I stepped out from behind the oak.

The shadows peeled off my skin like smoke. I inhaled deeply, letting the cool air fill my lungs. My fingers flexed at my sides, a dark smile tugging at the corners of my mouth.

"They’re already suspecting us," I muttered to myself. "Alright then."

They thought they were being clever—watching us, talking in quiet corners, testing our loyalty like we were stray wolves sniffing around their precious kingdom.

They had no idea the predator wasn’t outside their walls. He was standing beneath their tree, smiling at the sun.

Katrina was blinded by her love. That made her easy to use.

Nicholas, however... he’d always been a little too clever. A little too cautious. The kind of person who noticed when shadows moved where they shouldn’t.

I’d have to decide what to do with him soon.

And Sylthara. Sweet, stubborn Sylthara. She’d hate me if I dragged her into this deeper. But she was already in it whether she liked it or not. The moment she fell for Nicholas, letting the mate bond control her, she tied herself to this doomed family.

I could still hear her voice ringing in my ears. "Not Nicholas. Not him."

She didn’t understand. This was bigger than him. Bigger than us. It was about our mother’s blood. About the man and woman who ripped her from us, slaughtered her, and called it justice.

The royal family thought their light was pure. They thought their thrones were built on righteousness. But they were built on shadows—our shadows.

It was time they learned what happens when the dark stops hiding.

I tilted my head toward the path Katrina and Nicholas had taken, my expression hardening. "You just made it easier for me, Princess," I whispered.

She trusted me blindly.

And blind people are so very easy to lead into the dark.

I turned on my heel, letting the shadows curl around me like smoke, and slipped away through the garden paths without a sound.

Sylthara had stormed off toward the western side of the grounds. Back in the demon realm, she always found somewhere quiet when she was upset—I followed her essence through our mind connection and found her near the abandoned fountain behind the hedge maze. She hated being around people when her emotions boiled over.

I would go to her. And I’d tell her everything. About Alexander’s suspicions. About Nicholas’s hesitation. About how our timeline had just been slashed in half.

She would hate it. She’d try to stop me. But she wouldn’t leave me. She never did.

And whether she liked it or not, she’d stand beside me when the night finally came for the royal family.

I walked through the winding paths, the castle looming in the distance like some ancient beast waiting to be slain. The sunlight on my skin felt too bright, too clean for what lived inside me.

A small, humorless laugh escaped me.

Katrina had no idea she was defending the villain in her own story.

And the cruelest part? I loved the way she believed in me anyway.

She’d make the perfect key to their downfall.

And when the time came... she’d never see it coming.

The wind shifted, carrying the faint scent of roses and her magic with it. My heart clenched unexpectedly.

"Don’t look at me like that," I muttered to the ghost of her presence. "I warned you. You just didn’t listen."

I disappeared into the shadows, leaving behind nothing but the whisper of my footsteps and the rustling of the oak leaves.