YEAR 565 — SORN CALENDAR
"Dear dove, please covet my pain. Please throw this devil back to the fire, and if your wings are shot… let me take this flight."
Prayed the scarlet bride, her white gown tainted with blood—the blood of her father, her future, and everything she had ever loved.
Fire engulfed the hall. The bride gasped desperately for air as iron-thick smoke filled her lungs. Her body trembled before finally collapsing to her knees.
A menacing male voice echoed through the burning hall.
"Sienna… my bride."
Evander stood in front of her, his wedding suit covered with ash as he looked down at her calmly.
"We could've had such a wonderful life. You and me… and the baby in your womb."
His expression twisted with disgust.
"If only you hadn't been an Ardyn brat."
He spat on the ground before her.
"Evan… please," Sienna whispered, her voice trembling with heartache.
A soft female laugh echoed behind him.
"Please don't leave me out of the fun, my love."
Sienna's eyes widened. Her heart stopped.
"Stepmother…?"
From the smoke stepped Odette.
Her father's wife.
Sienna's stepmother.
Odette walked beside Evander and placed a kiss on his lips. For a moment, the burning hall felt silent to Sienna. Then rage exploded through her chest.
"YOU ARE THE WIFE OF THE GREATEST MAFIA LORD!" she screamed, her voice breaking into violent coughs. "HOW DARE YOU BETRAY MY FATHER—"
"Careful now," Odette chuckled. "You might run out of breath sooner."
Evan laughed softly beside her and stepped closer to Sienna.
"I'll make this easier for you."
He drew out his gun. The metal glinted in the fiery light as he raised it toward her head.
"With this," he said coldly, "my revenge will finally be complete."
Sienna's mind spun.
Revenge? What revenge?
Evander's lips curled into a smile.
"And the Ardyn Empire… will be mine."
BANG!
The gunshot thundered through the burning hall.
Sienna's body jerked violently as red flooded her vision.
She collapsed onto the marble floor, her eyes wide, mouth parted in shock.
Evander raised the gun again.
BANG!
The second shot echoed like a final verdict.
Her body lay motionless as blood slowly pooled beneath her head.
The wedding hall burned around her.
White wedding doves burst from shattered cages, their wings flapping wildly through smoke and flame. Some escaped through broken windows.
Others were trapped.
Their wings failed.
They fell from the sky one by one, landing around the pale porcelain bride.
Only a single tear slipped from Sienna's dry eyes.
"Dear Dove… why did this happen?
I loved my dear Evan.
Our child was supposed to have his hazel eyes… and my dark hair.
My unborn child…
My loving, kind father…
Her chest trembled weakly.
Mother… please come take me away."
Those were the final thoughts of the once-dangerous mafia lady.
Sienna Ardyn was no more.
The mafia princess who had once ruled beside the man she loved had been betrayed by him.
The hero of her story had been nothing more than a bloodthirsty devil.
He slaughtered her father.
Destroyed her future.
And killed her with his own hands.
As the flames slowly died down, surviving doves returned to the hall, circling her body in eerie silence.
Then, through the darkness—
A gentle voice whispered.
"Wake up, Si."
YEAR 561 — SORN CALENDAR
Sienna jolted upright in bed, gasping for air.
Her chest rose and fell violently as she clutched her head.
"Blood… there was blood."
Moonlight streamed through the tall French windows of her room. The familiar furniture. The quiet curtains. Her room. A confused and frightened Sienna jumped out of bed and rushed into the mansion hallway, still wearing her nightgown. Her footsteps echoed through the dark corridor. Her heart pounded violently against her ribs.
If this was a dream…
If he was already dead…
She burst open a door.
"Father!"
Caesar Ardyn stood there with a rifle pointed directly at her.
"Oh?" he said, lowering it slightly. "It's just Si… my daughter. I thought it was some intruder with how loudly you barged in."
Before he could say more, Sienna ran forward and wrapped her arms around him.
She clung to him tightly, crying and wailing into his chest.
"Si?" the mafia lord said, surprised.
Receiving no answer except sobs, he slowly reciprocated the embrace.
"It's unusual to see my daughter crying," he said gently.
"I… I had a bad dream," Sienna sniffled. "You were gone, father."
Caesar Ardyn stiffened slightly at her words but did not break the hug.
"Si," he said calmly, "we are Ardyn. We do not fear death. And we are not allowed to fear death for those we love."
He placed a firm hand on her head.
"We are here to protect what is ours… and cut off anyone who dares to hurt us."
Sienna listened quietly as her breathing slowly calmed. Those words were what she had been taught since childhood: Protect what is yours. Destroy anyone who harms it.
But this time—
She silently made a vow.
This time, she would destroy them all before they ever touched what was hers.
"Evander Dane, I'm coming for you" she muttered under her breathe.