The ballroom shimmered under chandeliers, each crystal catching the light like captured stars. Music floated gently through the air, a waltz that set the tone for elegance and grandeur. Tonight was no ordinary gathering — it was the night Nernia would be seen not as a shadow in the palace, not as the girl hidden for her safety, but as Kaelen's chosen queen.
Whispers chased her even before she entered. Rumors of the mysterious woman Kaelen had been protecting had spread like wildfire, making tonight the most anticipated event in years.
Nernia stood just beyond the archway, her heart pounding against her ribs. Kaelen's hand rested firmly on the small of her back, his warmth grounding her. She was dressed in a gown of deep midnight blue, silver threads tracing constellations along the fabric as if the stars themselves had descended to wrap around her. A silver crown rested upon her head — Kaelen's gift, a quiet promise that no matter what came, she belonged at his side.
The moment they stepped inside, silence rippled through the hall. All eyes turned.
Kaelen's jaw was set, his gaze daring anyone to speak a word against her. He kept her close as they descended the marble stairs, his touch steady.
But it wasn't long before she noticed it — a flicker in the crowd. A man in the far corner, eyes dark and sharp, watching her with unsettling intensity. His attire was plain compared to the nobles, but his presence was heavy, suffocating.
And then it happened.
A voice rang out from the back of the hall.
"Your Majesty, surely you'll explain why the Queen's bloodline bears the crest of the House of Aestera?"
Gasps swept the crowd. The name was like an arrow — sharp, dangerous, and impossible to ignore. The House of Aestera had been thought extinct after the Great War, its heirs hunted down for their ties to forbidden magic.
Nernia's breath caught. She hadn't spoken her true family name in years. Only Kaelen knew.
The man stepped forward, holding up an old signet ring for all to see — the same sigil hidden in the lining of Nernia's childhood pendant.
"She is the last of them," he said coldly. "And with her, the curse that will bring this kingdom to its knees."
The ballroom erupted into chaos — nobles whispering, guards on alert, Kaelen instantly pulling her behind him. His voice was a command that cut through the noise.
"Enough!"
But the danger was no longer a shadow. It had a face. A voice. And it had just declared war.