The carriage ride lasted for hours.
Elena sat quietly across from Lord Kael Draven.
The most feared man in the empire.
Her husband.
The word still felt unreal.
Outside the window, the night forests rushed past in dark blurs.
Inside the carriage, silence ruled.
Kael sat with perfect posture, his long black coat draped over the seat beside him. His silver eyes occasionally glanced at her before returning to the darkness outside.
Elena clutched the cloak he had given her.
It was warm.
Heavy.
And smelled faintly of smoke and something strangely comforting.
She finally gathered courage to speak.
"My lord…"
His gaze shifted to her instantly.
"You may speak."
His voice was deep but calm.
"Why did you buy me?"
The question had burned inside her since the auction.
No man spent three million gold on a stranger.
Kael studied her face carefully.
For a moment, he seemed to hesitate.
Then he said something that made her heart skip.
"Because you were the only one who looked at me without fear."
Elena blinked.
That was not the answer she expected.
Most people feared him.
She had heard the stories.
The Dark Lord who destroyed armies.
The conqueror who never showed mercy.
Yet when she looked at him earlier…
She had only seen a lonely man.
"You are afraid of me now," Kael said quietly.
It wasn't a question.
Elena hesitated.
"...No."
His eyebrow lifted slightly.
"No?"
She shook her head.
"I think you are… misunderstood."
The carriage fell silent again.
But this time the silence felt different.
Warmer.
After another hour, the carriage finally slowed.
Outside the window, Elena saw it.
A massive castle rising from the cliffs.
Dark towers pierced the cloudy sky.
Torches burned along the walls.
Soldiers stood guard like statues.
This was the home of the most powerful man in the empire.
The Shadow Castle.
The carriage stopped.
Kael stepped out first.
Then he turned and extended his hand toward her.
Elena hesitated only a second before placing her hand in his.
The moment their fingers touched again, that same strange warmth spread through her chest.
Servants lined the entrance hall.
Every one of them bowed deeply.
"My lord."
But their eyes widened when they saw Elena.
Whispers spread quickly.
"A woman?"
"A bride?"
Kael ignored them completely.
He walked forward with Elena beside him.
Then he announced calmly:
"This is Elena Draven."
"My wife."
Shock rippled across the hall.
And far above them, in the dark towers of the castle…
Someone watched with dangerous interest.
Because the Dark Lord had finally brought a woman home.
And that meant the game of power in the Shadow Realm had just begun.