"Your Majesties," the priest began, his voice echoing through the hushed chamber. "At last, we arrive at the Second Trial. The Sunlit Hour. The trial of endurance and respect, separating truth from pretense...devotion from delusion."
His pale fingers spread, rings flashing under the dim lantern light like he was blessing us. His eyes, however, stayed fixed on me, lingering a little too long, his smile widening.
"Tradition dictates that no union of the Velkanović family line can be sanctified unless tested by the sun. The one force our kind cannot command, cannot bend. The one truth we cannot hide from." He turned, raising his arms toward the dome. "And so, we open the heavens, just so the light may bear witness."
At his gesture, the ancient gears above us groaned, grinding against one another like old bones. And in that instant, I understood what I had felt before was only a tease. A sliver of light meant just to stir my nerves.
