“The sanctification begins. Let the chosen enter under witness.”
Sabine crossed to the doorway.
Lysa adjusted her hem one last time, fingers brushing the hidden score without looking at it.
“Walk steady,” Lysa said quietly.
“I intend to.”
Lysa’s hands stilled.
“Do not let them lower your head.”
“They will have to reach it first.”
Lysa stepped back.
Sabine entered the corridor.
The white passage stretched ahead, lit by candles in iron brackets that cast more shadow than light.
Temple attendants flanked her on both sides.
Behind her, Elara moved toward the witness entrance with Corvek and the record clerks.
Queen Mother Ilyra waited somewhere ahead in pale robes that made her look like a ghost dressed for ceremony.
The corridor descended.
Stone steps worn smooth by generations of brides walking toward the chamber beneath the old royal chapel.
Sabine’s gown whispered against the floor.
Each step brought her closer.
The bells kept ringing.
At the bottom of the stairs, a heavy iron door stood open.
Beyond it, lamplight flickered across black stone.
The Vow Chamber.
Sabine could see part of the basin.
The blood channels carved into the floor.
The witness ring elevated along one wall.
And Maelor, standing beside a table where the ritual blade waited on dark cloth.
The attendants fell away as she approached the door.
Only witnesses were permitted beyond this point.
She stepped through.
The chamber was smaller than she expected.
