The scent of roses and candle wax hung heavy in the air, clinging to Liora's lungs with every breath. Beyond the open cathedral doors, a thousand eyes watched her glide down the aisle in a gown spun from moonlight, the weight of a kingdom's hope sewn into every silver thread.
Her heart wasn't beating, it was marching, steady and forced, toward the man who waited at the altar. Crown Prince Alistair, her betrothed since childhood, stood regal and golden, a perfect match for the dream her people had been fed.
The High Seer's voice rang out, ancient and commanding. "Do you, Liora of House Veyra"
The cathedral doors slammed open.
A wind colder than winter swept down the aisle, snuffing half the candles and scattering rose petals like frightened birds. Gasps rippled through the crowd as shadows bled across the white marble floor, curling like living smoke toward the altar.
From the darkness stepped a man.
He was tall, his frame draped in black armor chased with silver, a long cloak trailing like a spill of midnight. A mask of onyx covered the upper half of his face, but the eyes that burned beneath it glowing faintly violet were unearthly. Dangerous.
He didn't bow. Didn't kneel. His voice was a blade, cutting through the shocked silence."By the law of the ancients… she is mine."
The High Seer froze mid-ritual. Alistair's hand shot to his sword. "Name yourself, trespasser, before I"
The intruder lifted a gloved hand. The shadows at his feet rose like serpents, coiling around the Prince's arms and throat, halting him mid-stride. The crowd erupted in panic.
Liora's breath hitched as the man's gaze locked on her. The air between them thickened, as if the entire world had drawn in a single, dangerous breath.
"Liora of House Veyra," he said, voice low and commanding, "you are bound to me by pact older than your kingdom. By my right, you will come with me."
The High Seer whispered a name, barely audible, but it struck Liora like lightning."The Shadow Prince…"
And then, the shadows swallowed them both.