Chapter 3

Two weeks later, Aurelia and I were to be married on the same day.

Carriages from half the capital's nobility crowded the street outside the Solarien estate, while crimson magical fireworks burst overhead.

Of course, none of it was for me.

It was all for Aurelia, the future duchess.

As for me—the daughter being married off to a penniless border knight—I was hardly worth anyone's notice.

I waited in the estate's most remote room. No maid came to help me dress. No mother came to wish me well.

Before a tarnished copper mirror, I pinned up my hair.

I wore a faded linen dress, the apprentice gown from my earliest days of studying enchantment. It carried no magical signature, ornament, or value.

Days earlier, Mother had sent a trunk of Aurelia's castoffs as my dowry.

"Your poor knight has never seen anything finer," she'd said. "He'll think you're dressed like royalty."

I hadn't even opened the trunk before having it thrown out.

I would rather leave in clean linen than accept a scrap of the Solarien family's charity.

"Vespera."

Aurelia pushed open the door, her voice syrupy-sweet.

She wore the dark-gold Starbound Ward-Gown I had remade with my own blood.

High-tier warding magic shimmered across the fabric. The finest aquamarines gleamed at her throat, and a custom crown rested in her hair. They had adorned her until she looked less like a bride than a goddess expecting the world to kneel.

Her gaze swept over my linen dress. She made no effort to hide her scorn.

"Vespera, what are you wearing?" She covered her mouth in false surprise. "Did the family forget to prepare a gown for you? I could give this one back, if you like. Though the Duke's carriage is already waiting, and I'd hate to see you leave looking like a beggar."

The words sounded generous enough. Yet she didn't move so much as an inch.

I watched her through the mirror.

"No need." I picked up the small bundle on the table and rose to my feet. "That gown is tainted. I wouldn't touch it."

The triumph on Aurelia's face froze.

"Don't be ungrateful," she hissed. "You think you're still some genius enchantress? Your magic is gone. You're nothing. That poor knight of yours probably can't even afford a carriage—you may as well walk to the border."

I gave her no answer.

Bundle in hand, I brushed past her and walked out of the room that had imprisoned me for twenty years.

The front courtyard was overflowing with Duke Lysander's wedding procession. Eight snow-white unicorns stood harnessed to a gilded carriage at the gates, their silver tack flashing in the sun.

Father and Mother stood beside it, soaking up the flattery of the gathered nobles.

Then I stepped onto the front stairs in my faded linen dress.

The courtyard fell silent.

Aurelia stood near the doorway, skirts lifted clear of the ground, a cold smile on her lips as she waited for the show.

Every eye turned toward me. Shock. Contempt. Open amusement.

"Is that the elder Solarien daughter? She looks like a kitchen maid."

"Being married off to some poor soldier at the border—I suppose the family didn't think she was worth dressing properly."

"Beside her sister, she's hardly fit to stand in the same courtyard."

The whispers spread through the crowd like venom.

Father's face darkened. He strode up the stairs, seized my arm, and pulled me close.

"What are you doing out here dressed like that?" he snarled under his breath. "Get out through the back gate. Don't stand here and embarrass us in front of the Duke."

Looking into his furious face, I felt strangely calm.

"Father." I met his eyes. "I'm leaving through the front gate. After today, I will never return to this house."

"You—"

His face twisted. He raised his hand.

Before it could fall, the ground shuddered.

A low roar tore through the air.

Not hooves. The thunder of something vast rolling over cobblestones.

Every head turned toward the far end of the street.

A column of knights in black plate armor advanced with suffocating force. They rode no horses, but shadowmaw drakes—massive beasts with exposed fangs and claws that cracked stone beneath their weight.

At the center, two enormous frost wyverns drew a black war carriage.

The carriage bore no decoration. Only one emblem marked its side: a dark-gold dragon crest, the symbol of absolute military authority.

"The Dragon Abyss Knights," someone cried, their voice breaking. "The King's own guard!"

Their presence hit the crowd like a tidal wave.

Duke Lysander's procession recoiled in disarray. The eight unicorns buckled to their knees, trembling against their harnesses.

The war carriage stopped before the estate gates.

Its door opened. Kaelar stepped down.

He wore a plain black dress uniform, unmarked by medals or decoration. Yet the danger in him was unmistakable—the kind forged on battlefields and among the dead.

The courtyard went still.

My parents stared blankly. Aurelia's face tightened with envy and confusion.

Kaelar didn't look at any of them.

He cut through the crowd and came straight to me. When his eyes fell on my thin linen dress, his brow drew together.

He removed the heavy black cloak from his shoulders—high-tier warming runes stitched into its lining—and wrapped it around me.

The cloak carried his warmth and a clean, sharp scent of frost and cedar.

"I'm sorry." His voice was gentler than his expression. "Border duty kept me longer than expected."

My throat tightened. I shook my head, fighting the sting in my eyes.

"You're not late. You came at exactly the right time."

He took my worn bundle, then closed his fingers around mine.

Only then did he lift his gaze.

His cold eyes passed over my parents before settling on Aurelia.

The disgust in them was plain.

"Gold woven with another person's blood and magic may shine brightly," Kaelar said, his voice low but carrying across the courtyard. "It is still stolen finery."

Aurelia flinched. The color drained from her face.

Kaelar didn't spare her another glance. He drew me closer beneath his cloak.

"A gown has value because of the woman who wears it." He looked down at me, the harshness softening. His voice remained clear for all to hear.

"Today you walk to me in plain linen. That makes it the most precious wedding gown in the world."

He led me toward the war carriage.

"Vespera!" Father shouted behind me, as though waking from a dream. "Who is he?!"

I didn't turn around.

I stepped into the carriage and sat beside Kaelar. The frost wyverns gave a piercing cry, their enormous wings opening with a thunderous beat.

Wind and shards of ice swept through the courtyard. The blast tore the gilded roof from Duke Lysander's carriage and sent nobles scrambling, clutching at their hair and skirts.

The war carriage rose into the air.

Through the roar of wind, I looked down at the Solarien estate, its courtyard thrown into chaos.

It was over.

From that day forward, I had no ties left to the Solarien family.