Damien's POV
The morning of my sister's wedding should have felt triumphant, a moment of stability after weeks of chaos, accusations, and rumors thick enough to choke the air in every corridor of the palace. But all I felt when I opened my eyes was an unfamiliar heaviness, like something enormous was about to collapse and I was the only one holding the structure up with trembling hands.
Selene was getting married today.
And not to the man she loved.
I forced myself out of bed before I let that thought swallow me alive.
The palace was already awake. Servants ran past me with linens and flowers, guards marched in formation to secure the grounds, and the choir practiced in the courtyard below, their voices rising in soft harmonies that bounced off the stone walls. Everything was arranged exactly as protocol demanded, everything except the hearts of the people participating in it.
The groom's entourage arrived earlier than expected.
