“It is done,” Seraphine said, stepping back.
“What happens now?” Elara asked, her voice trembling with hope. princess fatale gallery
Elara rose from the velvet stool and approached the canvas. Her breath caught. The woman in the painting was more than her—more beautiful, more tragic, more lethal. Her gaze seemed to move, to follow Elara around the candlelit room. In the background, barely discernible, was the ghost of a crumbling castle and a man’s shadow falling from a high tower. “It is done,” Seraphine said, stepping back
A week later, the gallery received another visitor. It was the duchess. Her hands were raw from clawing at the prince’s empty sleeves. “He doesn’t know me,” she sobbed. “He stares at the wall and whispers another woman’s name. I want you to paint me as the one he should have chosen.” Her breath caught