After Chester vanished back through the rippling glass, Evangeline remained seated on her velvet stool. She stared at her hands, her mind spinning with a hundred thoughts, each more tangled than the last.
A quiet knock disturbed the silence, and a group of palace maids filed in, carrying a heavy silver tray laden with her dinner. Evangeline watched them, her crimson eyes tracking their every movement. Their eyes darted nervously, their hands trembling slightly as they arranged the plates. There was an unsettling, suffocating tension in their posture.
Normally, Silver would have unmasked their intentions in a heartbeat, his sharp senses sniffing out their deceit before they could even cross the threshold. But now, she was alone.
Evangeline looked down at the steaming food, then lifted her gaze to lock eyes with the maids.
"Is there poison in this food?" she asked, her voice dangerously calm.
