A Wish So Deadly

The energy in the palace gardens has a tension to it that doesn’t match the calm of the evening. Honeysuckle perfumes the air, but beneath the sweetness there’s an undercurrent of something more intense.

Like a storm growing slowly and more powerful with each passing moment.

The lights strung through the manicured hedges give off a soft, twinkling glow, and shadows dance across the glossy silks and satins draped from the branches overhead, forming a canopy for the competitors to gather under.

The scene is beautiful, yet it feels like a facade. The palace gardens, perched at the mouth of the sea, offer a view that I’m sure very few have seen. To stand here, you must be either incredibly lucky – or terribly cursed.