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Adriell sighed, allowing the purple pearl to fall from her fingers and bounce softly against her dress as she returned to her chair.

"I knew what it was," she said quietly. "I knew."

"Don't tell me…" Kel scoffed. "You were thinking of using it?"

"Ah!" Adriell's eyes widened. "No! I didn't meant-"

"At the very least, you could be generous enough to give it to your father," Kel continued bitterly. "Or Dash, since the one you gave him has already been used on someone else."

"Kel!" Adriell commanded in an unfamiliarly assertive tone. "Stop."

For the first time in her life, Kel felt a chill from the girl's blue eyes as they gazed icily and unwaveringly into her own.

She looked like a true royal.

Not like the weaker half of a crown they shared, but a strong-willed, independent princess.

Kel might have been impressed if she had witnessed the scene in a different time and place.

"I keep this to remind me," Adriell's expression softened again, "of the golden sunlight filtering through the windows of the room where we had our lessons."

She clasped her hands together in her lap and closed her eyes as if she were imagining it herself.

"And our squeals of joy as we chased butterflies through the freshly bloomed flowers," she continued, emotion welling in her voice. "And the first anniversary of my mother's death when you stayed in my room all night patting my head while I sobbed endlessly."

It hadn't just been that night.

Kel could recall more nights spent wiping Adriell's damp cheeks than sleeping comfortably in her own bed.

"And…" Adriell's eyelids gently fluttered open. "I also keep it to remind me of the bond between us that I helped shatter with my own two hands."

Ha.

So in the midst of all her whimpering and crying about 'fixing it', the Princess already knew that everything was beyond repair.

But for some reason, her words left Kel's mouth dry.

It hadn't just been the bond between the two of them that was ruined back then.

Dash, the king, everyone Kel had ever known and loved were taken from her in a matter of days. But Adriell could tearfully speak of reminiscing of their old friendship?

The Princess had lost one dear friend that day, but Kel had lost everything.

Even as she had that thought, however, the emptiness in her mind immediately filled with the faces of all her new acquaintances--the Dragon Emperor, Lucy, Thane, Ira, Nesta and Harrow… even Taegus and her new squadmates in the Serin military.

The memories Adriell was holding so desperately to had already been replaced for her.

"I won't apologize anymore or ask for your forgiveness," Adriell spoke again. "Just please let me make one last request."

Kel didn't respond, but Adriell took her silence as assent.

"Those things that are gone now--the gold-bathed classroom, the gardens in springtime, and the beautifully foolish Princess of Mevani," Adriell listed them all carefully, "please keep them safe, close to your heart. It's too hard for me to carry it alone."

Perhaps, though her sufferings paled in comparison to those she'd brought harm to, Adriell did know the weight of the glimmering pearl around her neck. In her own way, maybe she was carrying part of the heavy burden.

But it was a burden Kel had already put down.

"Then don't carry it, Adri," Kel replied, calling her friend by her nickname for the first and last time. "You'll always be the beautiful and foolish Princess of Mevani. But the one who chased butterflies with you and patted your head is gone."

"Besides, I don't even have that stupid necklace anymore."

****

Leif didn't come to see Kel again for nearly a week.

Her wounds had all but closed up and her ankle had grown thin from the constant shackle by the time he returned.

But in that time, Kel had finally been able to organize her thoughts.

All of the conflicting feelings in her mind and doubts about herself and everyone around her had settled, leaving a clear answer.

Perhaps seeing Adriell was the final piece of the puzzle.

How many years of her life had she spent in the Princess's shadow? Learning the same things, maintaining the same physique, suffering through voice lessons and behavior lessons on top of everything else just to create a seamless façade.

As Kel, the orphan palace guard with a secret job and secret powers, everything she knew about the world had been shattered when she was betrayed.

But now, as Kel with the power of dragons and favor of the Serin emperor, she could finally see her path clearly.

Dash had consistently pretended to be her friend, but he had never truly been honest with her. He couldn't be trusted.

As for Adriell and the previous king of Mevani, they were cowardly people, only wanting to patch up a relationship because of their own guilt. They weren't worth her forgiveness.

Leif, on the other hand, was just a broken kid, looking for somebody to share his pain with. He didn't deserve her loyalty (or anybody else's, quite frankly).

And Calix, he seemed to truly value her as she was. Not as a princess or a soldier, but as herself.

'I want you, Keliyah.'

His voice continually echoed in her mind, calling her name affectionately.

For all the time spent wondering where she belonged, she finally realized it was with him. With the Dragon Emperor.

And instead of waiting around for him to inevitably come barging in to save her, this time, she would find her way back to him.

But first, she needed to deal with Leif.

"I've given you enough time, so you finally understand me now, right Kel?"

Leif was dressed in a rich blue waistcoat with eight shining golden buttons and a long cape hanging from one of his shoulders, held by a gold chain.

It was attire befitting of any royal, but for some reason, the young king looked like a child trying on his father's clothes.

Kel looked at the boy with a smirk.

"Are you sure you want the person who killed your uncle by your side, though?"

-UPDATE-

TDK Vol 2 has been finished! The remainder of the chapters can be found on the Webnovel mobile app in privilege tiers. Until I return with Vol 3, this story will be temporarily paused. See you all next year! Much love <3

[At this time, I am unable to release the chapters in the privilege tiers because it would lock the novel as 'completed' and I wouldn't be able to post the 3rd volume. Thanks for your understanding!]