The Duchess of Thornfield's masquerade ball provided perfect cover for espionage. ALICE had tasked Lia with identifying which noble houses were funding the recent assassination attempt, and whispers suggested the evidence y in Thornfield Manor's private study.

  Lia adjusted her raven-feathered mask, grateful for the anonymity it provided. Her shoulder still ached from the arrow wound, but she'd insisted on taking this mission. After Cassian's confession, she needed distance to sort through her tangled emotions.

  She slipped away from the dancing crowd, following mental maps of the manor's yout. The study door was locked, but weeks of spy training had taught her to pick such simple mechanisms. She was just easing the door open when a voice froze her blood.

  "Leaving the party so soon, Lady Allura?"

  She spun to find Lord Raven emerging from the shadows, his silver eyes gleaming behind a simple bck mask. The spymaster's presence at social events was rare and never accidental.

  "Lord Raven," she managed, heart pounding. "I was merely seeking a moment of quiet."

  "In a locked study?" His lips curved slightly. "Your technique has improved. Though the old Allura would have simply bribed a servant for the key."

  He moved closer, silent as smoke. "In fact, everything about you has... improved. Your posture, your mannerisms, even the way you speak. It's as if someone took Allura's body and filled it with an entirely different person."

  Lia's breath caught. Of all the male leads, she'd feared Raven's perception most. In the novel, nothing escaped his notice.

  "People change," she said, echoing her words to Cassian.

  "Not this much. Not this completely." He circled her slowly. "I've been watching you these past months. The way you flinch at cruelty you once reveled in. How you struggle with court etiquette you should know by heart. The genuine surprise when servants show fear."

  He stopped before her, close enough that she could see the silver threads in his midnight hair. "So I ask you, truly – who are you?"

  Panic cwed at her throat. She could lie, deflect, run. Instead, perhaps foolishly, she chose a version of truth.

  "I'm someone trying to be better than I was."

  Raven studied her for a long moment. "That's not an answer, but it's honest. Interesting." He gnced toward the study. "You're here about the assassination attempt."

  It wasn't a question. She nodded anyway.

  "The evidence you seek isn't there. The Duchess is innocent – merely a pawn to draw out investigators." He pulled a folded paper from his coat. "This is what you need. Names, dates, financial records."

  Lia took it with trembling fingers. "Why are you helping me?"

  "Because whatever – or whoever – you are now, you saved our prince. And because..." He hesitated, uncertainty flickering across his usually impassive features. "Because I find myself curious about this new version of Allura."

  He stepped back into the shadows. "Be careful. Others will notice the changes eventually. And not all will be as... accommodating as I am."

  "Wait," she called softly. "You won't tell anyone? About your suspicions?"

  His smile was barely visible in the darkness. "What would I tell them? That Lady Allura has developed a conscience? That she's become useful to the crown instead of a threat? No, your secret – whatever it is – is safe with me."

  He vanished as silently as he'd appeared, leaving Lia shaken. She'd been discovered, yet somehow gained an ally.

  Over the following weeks, she began noticing subtle signs of Raven's protection. Potential threats disappeared before reaching her. Dangerous invitations were mysteriously lost. Once, she found a note in her chambers: "The third step creaks. Avoid it tonight."

  That evening, assassins entered her home. They were found unconscious in her garden the next morning, with no expnation for their failure.

  During a brief encounter at court, Raven caught her eye across the room. His slight nod confirmed what she suspected – he was guarding her from the shadows, drawn by the mystery she presented.

  "New alliance formed," ALICE noted that night. "Lord Raven's route unlocking. Warning: Multiple romantic paths may cause narrative instability."

  But Lia was too relieved by Raven's protection to worry about romantic complications. For now, she had bigger concerns – like how long she could maintain her facade when the kingdom's spymaster already knew she wasn't who she cimed to be.