The throne room of Anex was nothing like the cold, dark halls of Nok.
It was vast. Golden. Dripping with wealth and power that made my father's entire kingdom look like a peasant's hovel.
And I was standing in the center of it, wrapped in white silk from head to toe, while hundreds of eyes burned into me.
I couldn't see them through the layers of fabric covering my face, but I felt them. Watching. Judging. Waiting to see what the Demon King had bought himself this time.
My heart hammered against my ribs, but I kept my breathing steady. Twenty-three years locked in a tower teaches you how to hide fear.
"Present her."
The voice cut through the whispers like a blade.
Deep. Commanding. Absolute.
King Asher of Anex. The Demon. My new husband.
I heard footsteps. Felt hands on my shoulders as someone guided me forward across cold marble.
"Closer," he said.
Three more steps. The silk of my coverings rustled with each movement.
"Your Majesty." A woman's voice. Smooth. Cold. "Surely the fifth queen should be properly introduced to the court before..."
"Silence, Mireya."
Two words, and the woman stopped talking immediately.
I stood there, blind and wrapped like a corpse, and wondered how the hell I'd ended up here.
Three days ago, I'd been in my tower in Nok. The cursed princess. The abomination with white hair and golden eyes who'd killed her mother at birth. The daughter my father kept hidden like a shameful secret.
Then the war drums came.
King Asher's army descended on Nok like death itself, and my father did what he always did best...he threw me to the wolves.
When the Demon King demanded a bride as payment for sparing our kingdom, my father didn't hesitate. He wrapped me in silk so the king wouldn't see my face before the marriage was sealed. Couldn't risk him rejecting the cursed princess once he saw what he'd agreed to.
But King Asher had signed the papers anyway. Married me in a ceremony I could barely see through the veils. Made me his fifth wife without ever looking at my face.
And now, after three days of traveling in a covered carriage, here I was.
About to be unveiled in front of his entire court.
"She's quite tall," another female voice observed. Musical. Amused. "I wonder what she looks like under all that fabric."
"Does it matter?" A third voice, colder. "She's from Nok. Probably plain as dirt."
Quiet laughter rippled through the room.
My hands clenched beneath the silk.
"Enough."
One word from the king, and the throne room fell silent.
I heard movement. Footsteps approaching.
Then I felt him.
The heat of his body. The scent of leather and steel and something dark I couldn't name.
King Asher was standing right in front of me.
"Do you know where you are?" he asked quietly.
I nodded.
"Speak."
I swallowed. "The palace of Anex, Your Majesty."
"Good." His voice was closer now. "And do you know who I am?"
"King Asher." I paused. "My husband."
Silence stretched between us.
"Look at me."
"I can't. I'm..."
"I know you're covered." There was something dark in his voice. Almost amused. "I meant raise your head."
I lifted my chin, facing where I thought he stood.
"Better." I felt his fingers at the back of my head, finding the knots that held the silk in place. "Now let's see what your father was so desperate to hide."
"Your Majesty, perhaps this should be done in private..." The first woman again. Mireya. Panic edged her voice. "If she's unsuitable, it would save embarrassment if the court didn't..."
"I decide what happens in my throne room." His hands never stopped working the knots. "Or would you like to leave, Mireya?"
"No, Your Majesty. Forgive me."
No one else spoke.
I stood perfectly still as King Asher slowly, methodically unwrapped me. As layer after layer of white silk fell away.
This was it. The moment he'd see what he'd actually married.
The cursed princess. The abomination. The monster.
I heard gasps as my hair started to show.
"Gods above," someone breathed.
More whispers. Louder now.
The silk around my face began to loosen.
My heart was going to pound right out of my chest.
Twenty-three years hidden. Twenty-three years of only my maids seeing me. Only Tala ever calling me beautiful instead of cursed.
Now I would be exposed in front of everyone.
"Your Majesty, wait..." Mireya's voice was sharp now. Afraid.
King Asher ignored her.
His fingers found the final layer covering my face. He paused for just a moment.
"Are you afraid?" he murmured. So quiet only I could hear.
The honest answer? Yes. Terrified.
But I'd been afraid every day of my life.
"No," I whispered.
I felt rather than heard his dark laugh. "Liar."
Then he pulled the veil away.
Light flooded my vision. I blinked, my eyes adjusting.
The throne room came into focus. Massive windows. Golden pillars. Courtiers in silk and jewels, all frozen mid-breath. Guards in black armor. And four women on smaller thrones, beautiful and shocked.
The other queens.
My white hair tumbled free, cascading down my back like moonlight made solid.
The room went dead silent.
Then someone made a sound like a prayer.
I felt King Asher move. His hands slid into my hair, lifting the white strands to catch the light.
I froze.
He circled me slowly. Studying me like I was something he'd discovered and couldn't quite believe.
When he came back around to face me, I finally saw him properly.
Tall. Broad-shouldered. Devastatingly handsome in black and silver. Dark hair. Sharp jaw. A scar cutting through one dark brow. And eyes ice-blue eyes that were currently staring at me with an intensity that stole my breath.
He reached out. Caught my chin in his hand. Tilted my face up to the light.
Our eyes met.
Golden to ice-blue.
The throne room had stopped breathing.
I could see his four queens on their thrones, beautiful, stunned, furious. Could see nobles frozen mid-whisper. Could see guards who'd forgotten their posts.
Everyone was staring at me.
At my white hair. My golden eyes. My face.
King Asher's thumb brushed my jaw. Once. Slowly.
"They said you were cursed," he said quietly.
I couldn't speak. Couldn't move.
His eyes traced every feature. Lingered on my lips.
Then his gaze locked with mine again, and something shifted in those cold blue depths.
Something dark. Hungry. Possessive.
He released my chin. Stepped back.
But his eyes never left me.
"Welcome to Anex," he said, his voice carrying through the vast room. "You are now the fifth queen. You will be given chambers in the east wing. Servants. Guards. Everything befitting your position."
He paused.
The entire court waited.
"And tonight," he continued, his voice dropping lower, more dangerous, "you will dine with me. In my private chambers. Alone."
Gasps echoed through the throne room.
I felt the shock ripple through the court like lightning.
One of the queens made a choking sound.
But King Asher's eyes stayed locked on mine.
"Do you understand?" he asked quietly.
I should have said yes, Your Majesty. Should have bowed my head like a proper wife.
Instead, I heard myself whisper: "Why?"
The temperature in the room dropped ten degrees.
No one moved. No one breathed.
You didn't question the Demon King.
King Asher stared at me. His expression unreadable.
Then, slowly, dangerously, he smiled.
"Because," he said softly, stepping close enough that only I could hear, "in twenty years of conquest and five years of marriage, you're the first woman who's ever asked."
His hand rose to my face. Traced my jaw. My throat.
"That makes you either very brave or very stupid."
He leaned in until his lips nearly touched my ear.
"I haven't decided which yet."
Then he straightened. Addressed the room without looking away from me.
"Everyone out."
The throne room emptied in seconds.
When the doors closed, it was just us.
King Asher and his cursed new queen.
"Now," he said quietly, his ice-blue eyes burning into mine, "let's discuss what happens to queens who bore me."
My blood went cold.
"I want a divorce."