Chapter 1
The forest breathed differently from the rest of Knightly Academy. Beneath towering oaks and tangled vines, the air was cooler, softer—unburdened by rules and expectations. Emily lay on her back in the grass, staring up through a canopy stitched with leaves and moonlight. For the first time in weeks, she felt free.
Students were forbidden to enter the forest. That was precisely why she came.
She inhaled deeply, letting the scent of wild orchids fill her lungs. They clung stubbornly to the trees, beautiful and out of place, thriving where they weren’t meant to. The breeze brushed her skin, light and familiar, easing the weight of exams and the whispered expectations of third-year life at Knightly Academy.
“Yes,” she murmured, laughing quietly as she rolled onto her side, pressing her palm into the cool earth. Exams were finally over. For a few precious moments, the world belonged to her.
A rustle in the undergrowth snapped her upright. Her heart leapt as she scanned the shadows—but only a rabbit emerged, its red eyes wide and wary. Emily laughed under her breath, fishing a biscuit from her bag and placing it carefully on the ground before retreating a few steps. The rabbit hopped forward and nibbled.
Only then did she notice the time.
“Oh no,” she muttered, scrambling to her feet. “Sorry, Bugs. I’m late.”
Cassie’s glare could have pierced steel when Emily slid into the common room, breathless.
“You were in the forest again,” Cassie said flatly.
“I am here now,” Emily replied, offering a tentative smile.
“One day you’re going to get caught.”
“Relax. I’m careful,” Emily countered.
Cassie sighed—the sound of a best friend who had already lost this argument a hundred times—and shook her head. Conversation drifted easily after that, circling the upcoming dance like it always did.
“So,” Kim said, twirling a strand of hair around her finger, “are we finally admitting this weekend is basically a marriage market?”
Kady snorted. “Please. If that were true, half the boys here would be bankrupt by now.”
“We don’t need boys to have fun,” Cassie said firmly, lifting her cup. “Right, Em?”
Emily smiled faintly. “Right.”
“You say that every year,” Kim added, eyeing her. “And every year you hide behind Cassie while everyone else dances.”
“I like observing,” Emily replied. “It’s safer.”
“Boring,” Kim declared.
Before anyone could respond, a waiter stopped beside Emily’s table. He didn’t speak. He simply placed a small cream-colored envelope in front of her and moved on.
The conversation died instantly.
The Knightly crest glimmered beneath the lights. Emily’s stomach tightened.
Cassie leaned closer. “Em… what is that?”
“I don’t know,” Emily said, though she already did.
Her fingers trembled slightly as she broke the seal.
“Well?” Kim demanded. “Don’t just stare at it.”
Emily swallowed. “Leon Knightly has invited us to dine with him and his friends tonight. Eight o’clock. We’re to dress in white.”
Silence.
Then—
“What?” Kim shrieked.
Kady grabbed Emily’s wrist. “Read that again.”
Cassie blinked. “All of us?”
“Yes.”
Kim was already on her feet. “I have nothing appropriate for this level of destiny.”
“Destiny?” Emily echoed.
“Do you know what this means?” Kim said breathlessly. “Power. Wealth. Romance.”
“Or public humiliation,” Emily muttered.
Cassie studied the envelope, brow creased. “Why you, Em?”
“I didn’t invite myself.”
Kim gasped. “He noticed you.”
“I’d rather he hadn’t.”
Kady laughed nervously. “You can’t refuse a Knightly invitation.”
“I wasn’t planning on it,” Emily said quietly. “I just… don’t like surprises.”
Cassie reached for her hand beneath the table. “Whatever this is, we’re doing it together.”
Emily nodded, though unease coiled tighter in her chest.
Because Leon Knightly didn’t do anything without a reason. And somehow, she knew—she was it.
Cassie had been her best friend from the very first day of school. This year, fate—or some cruel administrative decision—had made them roommates. They were alike in ways that mattered and different in ways that confused people. Cassie moved through the world effortlessly, laughing easily, drawing attention without trying. Emily moved quietly, focused on her studies, her head usually buried in books or assignments.
Cassie had always been a boy magnet. She turned them down with grace, until one had worked hard enough to earn her trust. That mistake had cost her weeks of heartbreak.
As for Emily, she had never even heard a whisper that someone liked her. Not once. She attended dances, stood beside Cassie, watched her disappear into arms that weren’t hers—and eventually stopped hoping for more.
“So,” Cassie said later that evening, hands on her hips as she surveyed their room, “what are you going to wear?”
“I have white jeans and a T-shirt,” Emily said. “So I guess—”
“Hell no.”
Cassie crossed the room in three steps and flung open Emily’s wardrobe. “Why don’t you own anything white? And why is the only skirt here your school uniform?”
“You know I hate skirts,” Emily protested.
“I cannot believe I’ve failed you as a friend,” Cassie muttered.
“Trust me, I still wouldn’t wear one. They’re inconvenient.”
“No wonder you haven’t had a boyfriend,” Cassie said, scanning the wardrobe. “Wait—didn’t your mom send you a skirt for your birthday?”
“No. That thing is short. And it’s black.”
Cassie was already digging through her things.
“The color doesn’t matter. It’s formal. And if we explain, Leon would understand.”
“Or he’ll label me difficult and make the rest of my life miserable here.”
“Oh, come on. He’s not that bad.”
“Troubling a guy so badly he leaves the school and ends up in a mental hospital isn’t bad?” Emily countered.
Cassie hesitated. “Okay. That was one incident.”
“Defend him if you want. He’s still a bad guy.”
“Ah!” Cassie straightened, triumphant, holding up a skirt. “Found it.”
“No way,” Emily said.
“It’s feminine.”
In the end, she lost. The cream blouse and black skirt clung to her in ways she wasn’t used to. It felt like a costume she hadn’t chosen. Kim’s white Milan dress made her feel even more out of place as they walked toward the Knightly residence.
She didn’t know it then, but that was the night everything shifted.
