“You were brought. By royal decree. No harm will come to you, Princess.”
I froze.
“What did you just call me?”
The brush stilled in her hand.
“I… forgive me. I meant no offense. That is how we were instructed to address you. Princess Seori.”
My lungs locked. My heart lurched violently against my ribs.
“Why would anyone call me that?” I whispered.
She bowed again, eyes downcast.
"Because you are of royal blood. Born of fire. Bound by fate. You are the chosen consort of the Shadow Throne."
The words barely reached me.
Princess. Consort.
Chosen.
My knees gave out, and I sat back on the bed, the weight of the silk now feeling like iron.
Somewhere far away, I could feel Rheon. The bond a thin, glowing thread that tethered me to him like an anchor—and a chain.
And I couldn’t shake the thought screaming in the back of my skull:
What if I belonged here all along?
--------???--------
The gown clung to my skin like prophecy — woven in blood-red silk and threads of gold that shimmered like flame. I didn’t know where I was going, only that the palace pulled me forward with every step. Its obsidian halls pulsed with some ancient rhythm, one my bones somehow remembered.
Each breath I took tasted like ash and roses.
My fingers trembled as they brushed the black stone walls, etched with runes I couldn’t read. Or wouldn’t admit I could.
And still, I felt nothing. No dread. No fear.
Only something that felt like… inevitability.
I reached the throne hall before I was ready.
Two thrones sat atop a jagged dais of black stone. The King reclined in one — broad-shouldered and wreathed in shadow, horns gleaming like polished onyx. But it was the Queen who stole the breath from my chest.
She was beauty made cruel: long silver hair that shimmered like a frozen waterfall, pale skin as flawless as marble, lips painted with crimson so rich it could’ve been blood.
Her eyes met mine — and I froze.
They were my eyes.
No — I had her eyes.
“Come forward, child,” the King commanded. His voice was dark thunder.
But it was the Queen who spoke softly, gently, like a breeze over a blade.
