KAELIS DRAYDEN POV :
The wedding clothes mock me from across the room.
"Navy-black silk wrapped around me like a crown I never wanted, silver embroidery catching the candlelight like stolen starlight. And behind me, a deep blue cape flowed—so long it dragged over the earth like a funeral shroud, reminding me of every fate I was running from."
I sit on the edge of my bed, staring at them, trying to remember how to breathe.
In three days, I'll walk down an aisle lined with nobles who've watched me grow up.
I'll stand before a priest who blessed me as an infant.
I'll say vows to a man I've met exactly once.
And then I'll belong to him.
My hands shake. I clench them into fists.
"Your Highness." My chamber door opens without a knock—it never does anymore, privacy apparently another thing I'm not allowed—and my mother sweeps in like a winter storm.
"The final fitting is in an hour. Don't be difficult."
Queen Isolde doesn't look at me.
She never really does anymore.
Just through me, past me, at the future she's building with my life as the foundation.
"I don't want to marry him," I say. Again. For the hundredth time.
"What you want is irrelevant." She examines the wedding clothes with a critical eye, adjusting the cape's fall.
"King Ravion arrives tomorrow for the pre-wedding banquet. You will be polite.."
"He's a monster."
"He's a king." Now she looks at me, storm-grey eyes identical to mine but so much colder.
"A powerful one. An alliance with Nocterra secures our borders, our trade routes, our future. You are a prince, Kaelis. This is what princes do."
"Get sold like cattle?"
Her jaw tightens. "Fulfill their duty to their kingdom."
I laugh—bitter.
"Duty. Right. And what about the prophecy, Mother? The one that says I'll either save him or destroy him? What if I choose destroy?"
For the first time, something flickers in her expression.
It's gone before I can be sure.
"Then you'll do it as his husband," she says coldly.
"The Oracle spoke. The prophecy will unfold as it must. Your cooperation is... optional. But it would make things easier. For everyone."
She leaves before I can respond.
The door closes with a soft, final click.
I'm alone with the wedding clothes and the weight of a future I never chose.
The pre-wedding banquet is exactly as horrible as I expected.
The Great Hall gleams with candlelight and gold.
Long tables overflow with food I can't taste and wine I'm drinking too much of.
Nobles laugh too loud, their eyes sliding toward me with pity or curiosity or barely concealed excitement.
The prince who's about to marry the Dark King.
The prophecy child finally fulfilling his destiny.
Entertainment for the masses.
I drain my fourth glass of wine and reach for a fifth.
"I wouldn't," a voice says beside me. Dark. Amused.
"You'll want your wits about you when we're introduced."
I freeze.
Turn slowly.
And there he is.
Ravion Blackcourt. The Dark King. My future husband.
He's... not what I expected.
The stories paint him as a monster—shadows and death and eyes like blood. And there's truth to that. His eyes are red, glowing faintly even in the candlelight.
His black blue clothing seems to absorb light rather than reflect it.
The air around him feels colder, heavier.
But he's also beautiful.
Tall. Sharp features. Midnight hair tied back with effortless precision, cold blue eyes that miss nothing, and a navy suit embroidered in gold filigree that outshines any crown he wears. Even standing still, Pale skin that looks like it's never seen sunlight. A face that could be carved from marble—
He smiles, and it doesn't reach his eyes.
"Prince Kaelis. I've been looking forward to meeting you."
I set down my wine glass carefully, trying to keep my hand steady. "Have you."
"Of course." He steps closer. I resist the urge to step back.
"My future husband. The boy born under bleeding stars. The one who will either save me or kill me." His smile widens.
"Quite the conversation starter at parties."
"I haven't decided which yet."
"No?" He tilts his head, studying me like I'm a puzzle he's trying to solve. "How refreshing. Most people make up their minds about me within seconds. Usually 'kill.'"
"I'm still considering my options."
He laughs—a sound like silk and poison. "I like you already."
"I don't like you at all."
"Even better." He reaches out, and I flinch before I can stop myself. He notices. His expression shifts into something I can't read. "Relax, little prince. I'm not going to hurt you. Not here. Not with so many witnesses."
"How comforting."
"Isn't it?" His hand continues its path, adjusting my collar with an intimacy that makes my skin crawl. "There. You were crooked."
I jerk away from his touch. "Don't—"
"Don't what?" His red eyes bore into mine. "Don't touch you? Don't speak to you? Don't marry you in three days?" He leans closer, voice dropping to a whisper only I can hear. "I'm afraid you don't have much choice in any of that, Kaelis. The contracts are signed. The prophecy is in motion. In three days, you'll be mine."
"I'll run."
"Where?" He gestures around the hall. "Your mother has guards at every exit. The borders are closed. And even if you somehow escaped..." His smile turns predatory. "I'm very good at hunting, you know..."
My pulse hammers in my throat. "You can't just—"
"I can." He straightens, that cold smile still in place. "I'm a king, Kaelis. Kings take what they want. And I want you." He pauses. "Well. I want what you represent. The prophecy. The power to break my curse. Whether I want you specifically..." He looks me up and down like he's evaluating livestock. "I suppose we'll find out on our wedding night."
Rage and fear war in my chest. "You're a monster."
"Yes," Ravion agrees pleasantly. "I am. And in three days, I'll be your monster. Try to get used to the idea." He starts to walk away, then pauses. "Oh, and Kaelis? Don't run. I'd hate to have to drag you to the altar in chains. So undignified."
He disappears into the crowd, leaving me shaking with fury and terror.
I'm going to run far, and if he thinks he can drag me back—
"You're thinking about running."
I nearly jump out of my skin.
A man stands behind me—or at least, I think he's a man.
"He's too beautiful to be entirely human. Black, storm-tossed hair that somehow looks wet even indoors. Glowing blue eyes. Tall, broad-shouldered, built with the effortless strength of the tides. Even in simple traveling clothes, he looks more regal than half the nobles in their finest silks."
And he's looking at me like he knows every thought in my head.
"Who—"
"My name isn't important." He glances toward where Ravion disappeared. "But I've been waiting a long time to meet you, Kaelis Drayden."
"Everyone keeps saying that. Why?"
"Because you're important." He steps closer, and I should be afraid—two strange, powerful men cornering me in one night—but something about him feels... different.
"The prophecy—"
"I'm sick of hearing about the prophecy!"
"I know." His expression softens. "I know you didn't ask for this. Any of this. But it's happening anyway, and you have a choice to make."
"What choice? My mother sold me. The Dark King is collecting his purchase. Where's the choice?"
The man—god, creature, whatever he is—looks at me with something like pity. "You can walk down that aisle in three days. Let the prophecy unfold as your mother wishes. Become the Dark King's consort and hope you survive whatever comes next."
"Or?"
His blue eyes hold mine.
"Or you can run. Tonight. Now. And I'll make sure you disappear somewhere even the Dark King can't follow."
My heart stops. "Why would you help me?"
"Because the sea chose you long before any prophecy did." He holds out his hand. "My name is Nyx. I'm the God of the Tidelands. And I've been waiting twenty-two years to offer you this choice."
I stare at his outstretched hand.
One king wants to own me.
One god wants to save me.
Both are probably lying.
But I'm drowning either way.
"I..." I swallow hard. "I need to think."
Nyx lowers his hand, but he's smiling. "You have three days. If you decide to run... head for the Night Forest. I'll find you."
"How?"
"Water is everywhere, Kaelis. Even in tears." He reaches out, impossibly fast, and wipes a drop from my cheek that I didn't realize had fallen. "Especially in tears."
And then he's gone, melting into the crowd like he was never there.
I'm left alone, shaking, with wine I can't taste and a choice I never wanted.
Three days to decide if I marry a monster or trust a god.
I look toward the windows, where the Night Forest looms dark and ancient against the moonlit sky.
The forest will protect you, Nyx said. Trust it.
I just need to survive three more days.
And then I run....
To be continued....