The first scream came at exactly midnight.

Princess Seraphina woke violently, her chest tightening as cold air flooded her room. Moonlight spilled across the marble floor, pale and ghostlike.

Again.

Her hands trembled beneath silk blankets.

The candles had gone out.

That was always the first sign.

“No…” she whispered weakly.

Her breathing quickened.

From somewhere inside the darkness came the sound she feared most.

Scratch.

Scratch.

Scratch.

Like claws dragging slowly across stone.

Seraphina stumbled from her bed, barefoot against the freezing floor. Her golden nightgown tangled around her legs as panic rose inside her throat.

“Guards?” she called shakily.

No answer.

Never an answer.

The palace became empty during the deaths.

Always empty.

The scratching grew louder.

Closer.

Tears burned her eyes. “Please stop…”

A shadow moved across the far wall.

Too tall. Too thin. Not human.

Her body froze.

The creature slowly emerged from the darkness near her balcony doors. Long black limbs twisted unnaturally as silver eyes opened across its face — dozens of them blinking at once.

Seraphina nearly collapsed.

“No… no… not tonight…”

The creature tilted its head.

Then smiled.

Every candle in the room suddenly reignited in violent blue flames.

Seraphina screamed.

The monster lunged.

She ran toward the doors, but invisible hands grabbed her wrists from the darkness. Cold fingers wrapped around her throat.

She couldn’t breathe.

The creature approached slowly now, enjoying her terror.

“Please…” she cried.

Its voice entered her mind instead of her ears.

“Death number ninety-three.”

The shadows pierced through her chest.

Pain exploded through her body.

Seraphina’s scream shattered across the palace halls as blood stained her white gown crimson.

Then—

Silence.

Morning sunlight touched her face gently.

Seraphina opened her eyes.

Alive again.

Her body jerked upright as she gasped for air.

No blood. No wounds. No monster.

Only soft sunlight pouring through golden curtains.

The same morning.

The same nightmare.

Again.

Tears slid silently down her cheeks as servants entered the room.

“Good morning, Your Highness,” one maid said cheerfully.

Seraphina stared at her with hollow eyes.

“How can you smile?” she whispered.

The maid blinked in confusion. “Princess?”

Of course.

They didn’t remember.

None of them ever remembered.

Seraphina climbed out of bed weakly, her hands shaking uncontrollably. Her reflection in the mirror looked paler each day.

More broken.

More tired.

She touched her chest where the shadows had pierced her.

No scar remained.

But she could still feel the pain.

A soft knock interrupted her thoughts.

The door opened carefully.

A young palace servant stepped inside carrying fresh flowers.

Kael.

The moment his silver eyes met hers, something inside Seraphina cracked.

Because unlike everyone else…

He looked devastated.

As if he remembered everything.

Kael lowered his gaze quietly. “You died painfully last night.”

Seraphina stopped breathing.

The flowers slipped from his hands onto the floor.

For the first time in months…

Someone believed her.

And in his eyes, she saw something even more terrifying than the curse itself.

Guilt.Kael quickly closed the chamber doors behind him, his breathing uneven.

Seraphina stared at him as fear slowly turned into disbelief.

“You remember?” she whispered.

Kael’s jaw tightened.

“Yes.”

The single word shattered the loneliness she had carried for months.

Seraphina’s knees weakened. She grabbed the edge of the vanity table to steady herself.

“How?” she asked desperately. “Why are you the only one?”

Kael looked away, pain flickering across his face like a wound he could not hide.

“I shouldn’t remember,” he murmured softly. “But every time you die… I see it too.”

A cold silence filled the room.

Seraphina’s chest tightened.

“You see it?”

Kael nodded once.

“The pain. The blood. The final moment.” His silver eyes darkened. “Last night the shadow pierced your heart.”

Her hands immediately flew to her chest.

Even now she could still feel the phantom pain.

Tears gathered in her eyes again. “I thought I was losing my mind.”

“You are not,” Kael said firmly.

For the first time, someone spoke to her like the curse was real.

Like she was not insane.

Outside, cheerful music echoed faintly from the palace courtyard. Servants laughed somewhere beyond the walls, unaware their princess died screaming every night.

Seraphina suddenly hated the sunlight.

Hated the normalcy.

“What if tonight is worse?” she whispered.

Kael slowly stepped closer.

“Then I’ll stay with you.”

And somehow, those five words frightened her more than the monster itself.

The royal palace had never felt colder.

Even beneath the golden chandeliers of the dining hall, Princess Seraphina could still feel death clinging to her skin like invisible frost.

Nobles laughed around her. Crystal glasses clinked. Musicians played soft melodies near the marble staircase.

Everything looked normal.

That was the cruelest part.

Seraphina sat silently beside her father, King Aldric, barely touching the expensive meal placed before her. The scent of roasted pheasant made her stomach twist.

Because last night she had tasted blood instead.

“Seraphina,” the king suddenly said.

She flinched.

Every conversation startled her now.

“You seem pale again.”

Again.

Always again.

She forced a small smile. “I didn’t sleep well, Father.”

A few nobles exchanged amused looks.

Princesses were expected to look delicate. Graceful. Beautiful.

Not terrified.

King Aldric sighed heavily. “You spend too much time alone in those chambers.”

If only he knew.

Across the table sat Prince Lucien of Vestra, the kingdom’s honored guest. His golden hair shone beneath candlelight, and his charming smile had already captured the admiration of nearly every noblewoman in the palace.

Including, unfortunately, Seraphina’s father.

Lucien lifted his wine glass politely. “Perhaps Her Highness simply needs fresh air.”

His voice was smooth. Too smooth.

Seraphina forced herself to meet his eyes.

Something about him unsettled her.

Not because he was cruel.

Because he seemed too perfect.

“Would Your Highness accompany me to the moon garden tonight?” Lucien asked gently. “The flowers only bloom after dark.”

Seraphina nearly dropped her fork.

After dark.

Her pulse quickened instantly.

She opened her mouth to refuse, but King Aldric interrupted first.

“A wonderful idea.”

The king smiled for the first time all evening.

Seraphina’s chest tightened painfully.

She couldn’t explain why nighttime terrified her. Couldn’t explain why she sometimes woke screaming. Couldn’t explain the bruises that occasionally appeared before sunrise and vanished by morning.

No one would believe her.

Except Kael.

The thought of him sent strange warmth through her fear.

Her eyes unconsciously searched the dining hall until she spotted him standing near the servants’ entrance.

Still. Silent. Watching.

Those silver eyes met hers for only a second before he lowered his gaze respectfully.

But it was enough.

Enough to remind her she was not alone.

Lucien noticed.

Seraphina saw it immediately — the subtle shift in the prince’s expression.

Jealousy.

It disappeared quickly beneath another charming smile.

Interesting.

Very interesting.

Night arrived too quickly.

Seraphina stood alone on her balcony, staring at the darkening sky as anxiety twisted inside her stomach.

Every sunset felt like an execution countdown.

Behind her, maids adjusted the silver pins in her hair while preparing her for the moon garden meeting.

“You look stunning, Your Highness,” one maid said brightly.

Seraphina stared at her reflection blankly.

A beautiful corpse.

That was what she truly was.

The maids eventually left, leaving the room silent once more.

Immediately, Seraphina hurried toward the hidden side hallway near her chambers.

Her heart pounded faster with every step.

Kael was waiting there.

As if he already knew she would come.

He stood beneath dim candlelight dressed in simple black servant clothing, his silver hair falling slightly over his eyes.

“How many deaths now?” he asked quietly.

“Ninety-three.”

The number sounded monstrous aloud.

Kael’s expression darkened.

“That’s too many.”

Seraphina laughed weakly. “I noticed.”

For a moment neither of them spoke.

Then she whispered the question haunting her mind all day.

“Why do you remember?”

Kael went still.

A shadow crossed his face so quickly she almost missed it.

“I don’t know.”

“You’re lying.”

His eyes lifted sharply toward hers.

Seraphina stepped closer despite herself.

“You look guilty every time you see me,” she said softly. “Like this curse is somehow your fault.”

Kael immediately looked away.

And that terrified her more than any answer.

“Kael…”

Before she could continue, distant bells echoed through the palace.

Nine o’clock.

Her meeting with Lucien.

Kael’s jaw tightened. “You shouldn’t go.”

“Why?”

“I don’t trust him.”

Seraphina frowned slightly. “You barely know him.”

“I know men like him.”

Something dark flickered in his silver eyes.

Possessiveness.

The realization startled her.

Kael suddenly stepped back. “Forgive me. I spoke out of place.”

But Seraphina’s heart had already begun beating strangely.

Because for the first time in months…

Someone cared whether she lived or died.

The moon garden glowed beneath silver light.

White roses climbed ancient stone arches while glowing blue flowers covered the pathways like stars scattered across the earth.

Prince Lucien waited near the fountain dressed elegantly in dark royal attire.

When he saw Seraphina, his smile softened.

“You came.”

“I didn’t have much choice,” she replied honestly.

Lucien laughed.

The sound was warm. Pleasant.

But somehow it still made her uneasy.

They walked slowly through the garden together as night deepened around them.

“You seem afraid of something,” Lucien said suddenly.

Seraphina froze.

“What makes you say that?”

“You look over your shoulder every few seconds.”

Because monsters hunt me after midnight.

Instead she forced another smile. “Perhaps palace life is simply exhausting.”

Lucien stopped walking.

“Then run away.”

Her breath caught.

“What?”

“Leave the palace,” he said quietly. “Leave the kingdom. Come to Vestra with me.”

The seriousness in his eyes unsettled her.

“We’ve barely spoken.”

“Sometimes,” Lucien murmured, “people recognize each other faster than they should.”

A cold wind swept through the garden.

Seraphina suddenly noticed something strange.

The flowers around them were dying.

Petals blackened slowly as Lucien stepped forward.

One by one.

Like rot spreading through the garden.

Her pulse quickened.

“Your Highness…” she whispered cautiously.

Lucien reached toward her face gently.

Then stopped.

His charming expression flickered for only a second.

Something darker appeared beneath it.

Something hungry.

“You smell like death,” he said softly.

Seraphina’s blood turned cold.

Before she could react—

The palace bells began ringing violently.

Midnight.

Every flower in the garden instantly withered black.

Lucien stepped backward sharply as if startled by the sound.

And then—

Pain exploded through Seraphina’s spine.

She screamed.

Dark shadows burst upward from beneath the ground, wrapping around her ankles like living smoke.

“No!” she cried.

Lucien stared at her in shock.

The shadows dragged her violently across the stone pathway.

Seraphina clawed desperately at the ground as terror consumed her whole body.

Not here.

Please not here—

The shadows pulled harder.

Then suddenly—

A blade of silver light cut through the darkness.

The shadows screamed.

Kael appeared between them like a storm.

His silver eyes glowed unnaturally bright as black smoke curled around his hands.

For the first time…

Seraphina saw magic.

Real magic.

Kael grabbed her wrist and pulled her against him protectively.

“Close your eyes,” he ordered.

“What—”

“Now.”

She obeyed instantly.

A violent force erupted through the garden.

Wind screamed around them. Trees bent. Glass shattered somewhere inside the palace.

Then silence.

When Seraphina slowly opened her eyes again, the shadows were gone.

But Kael looked pale.

Very pale.

Blood dripped slowly from the corner of his mouth.

Fear struck her immediately.

“You’re hurt.”

“I’m fine.”

“You’re bleeding.”

Kael wiped the blood away quickly as though hiding something.

Prince Lucien stared at him from across the ruined garden, his expression unreadable now.

No longer charming.

No longer warm.

Only cold curiosity remained.

“What are you?” Lucien asked quietly.

Kael’s silver eyes darkened.

“The person keeping her alive