They say a wedding is the end of loneliness.
For me, it was only the beginning—
Of fate’s second trial.
The night before my wedding, the moon was cold and the air carried silence like a blade.
I sat beneath a silver-draped canopy, clad in ceremonial moonborn robes, fingers tracing the mark over my heart.
Caelum stirred faintly in the bond between us, still sleeping, still safe. His presence like starlight in the darkness.
“You nervous?” Riven’s voice curled in my ear, low and teasing.
I turned, smiling. “Afraid I’ll run?”
“I’m not afraid you’ll run,” he murmured, taking my hand. “I’m afraid you’ll sacrifice yourself again—for someone who doesn’t deserve it.”
I kissed his palm.
“This time… I won’t.”
Elsewhere, in the empty halls of Greaves Keep—Noah knelt, broken.
The floor was
