Chapter 46
Lila
Floor–length mirrors lined every wall, distorting the space with reflections of the candidates. It felt like standing in a dream…or a trap
Another day, another selection trial. With each passing round, the number of us shrank–and the pressure curled tighter around my ribs.
After Vanessa’s threat, after arranging the meeting I didn’t want to happen, I hadn’t expected the next fest to come so soon. Or for it to be this intimate,
Today’s task had been kept secret until the last possible moment. Considering how much gossip filled the palace halls, that was a miracle in itself
But now, staring at the reflection of myself and a dozen other candidates, I understood why. This wasn’t combat or political strategy, it was entirely personal.
We were each given a small obsidian bowl, a pestle, and a slip of parchment with our instructions: Craft a scent that speaks to your nature. Your soul Your truth. It must be wild and worthy.
Some of the girls groaned. Others lit up like it was a game; I guess in a way it was. A few had already begun whispering to the staff, asking which ingredients paired best, which herbs held power.
I held my bowl a little tighter and slipped through the arched door that led to the palace gardens.
The air outside was warmer, heavy with the flower’s perfume. Sunlight slanted through the citrus trees and tangled vines, and I took a breath deep enough to push the nerves down. This was one of the few trials that didn’t ask for blood or bruises. But somehow, it felt harder.
They wanted truth and I couldn’t give them Elena’s. If I was being honest with myself, I was tired of lying for Henry. This trial wouldn’t be for him or for Damon, I would make it for me.
I toed off my shoes and walked barefoot across the flagstone path, the cool stone grounding me. I saw some others choose things that screamed strength–spiced herbs, sharp citrus, intoxicating florals. But strength wasn’t what I wanted to offer. Not like that.
I stopped by the honeysuckle first. The blossoms were open, pale gold, their scent sweet and heady. I picked a few carefully, rolling one between my fingers. Sticky nectar coated my skin. It reminded me of warm afternoons on the edge of the forest, lying beside my mother while she read.
Next came apple blossom–delicate, faint, but fresh. The kind of scent you only noticed when the wind shifted. The kind you didn’t expect to linger but it somehow did. I plucked a few of those, adding them to bowl.
my
And lastly, cedar. Bark peeling from a low limb, the wood underneath rough and fragrant. I scraped off a small strip and inhaled–earthy, clean, sharp. Like home. Like safety.
L
Ruby stirred, soft and low. Powerful enough for a Luna, she whispered.
It’s not about power, I replied. It’s about truth.
She didn’t argue.
I returned to the mirrored hall where most of the candidates were already grinding and mixing. The air had turned sickly with sandalwood, musk and pepper and smoke. Some of the blends were overpowering. Others left a ghost of scent in their wake.
I took a seat in the back corner, laid out my ingredients, and began.
le rose and
The pestle moved in slow circles. Honeysuckle crushed first, oozing golden and sweet. Then the blossoms, bruised and faint. And finally, cedar, grounding it all. I added drops of carrier oil from the provided vial and let the mixture settle.
The final scent was….
gentle. Not commanding. Not seductive. But it sinelt like home. Like Lila.
When my false name was called, I stood. My bare feet were cold now against the stone, and every step padded louder than it should have.
1/3
Chapter 46
I walked to the front where Ronan waited, clipboard in hand, expression sharp. Behind him, Damon stood watching.
Always watching,
“Present your blend,” Ronan said.
I offered the small vial. He uncorked it and took a slow, measured inhale. His brows lifted slightly.
“Unusual,” he murmured. “Earthy. Fresh.”
Vanessa smirked from the sidelines, her own vial already praised for its “seductive elegance.”
Ronan passed the vial to Damon. The moment he lifted it to his nose, I felt the heat rise up my neck, the anticipation killing me slowly.
He inhaled, deeply. And then he paused. Just a breath. A single breath too long.
Our eyes met and held.
For a fleeting moment it felt like Damon really saw me for me. Not Elena. I looked away, not sure I should have made such an honest blend.
I stepped back into the line, pulse thudding low in my throat. Damon still held the vial for a breath longer, his fingers curled around the neck of the bottle like it might slip from his grasp if he wasn’t careful.
He didn’t say anything as he passed it along to the final judge.
But his gaze–when it flicked back to me–wasn’t the usual cool evaluation I’d grown used to. It was something hotter. A little more open.
I hated how badly I wanted to believe it meant he saw me.
Vanessa was up next. She moved with perfect poise, her silver heels clicking against the floor as she approached. Her perfume caught the air before she even reached the judges. It was floral with a bite of clove. It matched her smile. Beautiful, calculated, sharp.
“Crafted with passion,” she said with a subtle smile, “and a touch of fire.”
Ronan’s expression remained unreadable, but the moderator beside him nodded with obvious approval. Damon didn’t react.
Of course he didn’t.
Vanessa turned on her heel, shooting a smug glance in my direction as she passed. I kept my face still. Blank.
The final candidates presented quickly. One girl had used crushed violets and saffron–unexpected but not unpleasant. Another had gone for something
bitter and resinous, which made the judges cough.
The trial concluded with a quiet chime. Ronan stepped forward, hands clasped behind his back.
“These blends will be stored and recorded,” he said. “Your scent is a reflection of your Luna essence. You will be judged
instinct.”
He didn’t look at anyone in particular, but his eyes brushed over me for the briefest second.
inality, resonance, and
Dismissed, we filed out slowly into the twilight glow of the conservatory hall. No one spoke, not even Vanessa. Not until we rounded the bend and the judges were well out of earshot.
“Well,” Vanessa said, drawing the word out. “That was… revealing.”
Lignored her.
“She actually used bark,” one of the others whispered, clearly meaning me.
2/3
14:04 Mon, 2 Jun M GJ
Chapter 46
93%
I kept walking, still barefoot, my toes curling into the cool tile. The scent I’d made clung faintly to my skin, wrapped in honeysuckle and cedar, it wasn’t the mark of a Queen, but it smelled pleasant. Like the girl I used to be before I started pretending to be someone else.
It was the only truth I could give Damon.
And when I closed my eyes, I could still see the flicker of Damon’s expression as he inhaled it. That little pause.
That moment.
Hé hadn’t praised it. But he hadn’t dismissed it either.
And that, somehow, was worse. The not knowing.
Back in the gardens, I held out the empty bowl to let the wind carry the last of the scent out into the night. I didn’t need to bottle it. it wasn’t meant to last forever. Just long enough to leave a mark. At least long enough to keep me here another day.
He noticed, Ruby said, quiet in the back of my mind.
Yeah, but noticing isn’t the same as choosing. And he can’t choose me. I leaned against the garden wall, watching the moon rise higher through the trees.
Not yet, Ruby agreed, her voice mournful. But it’s a step.
I didn’t respond. I couldn’t afford to hope.
But I didn’t hide away in my rooms either.
L
