The palace was a sea of gold that night.
Music echoed from the ballroom, candles shimmered against marble, and nobles toasted to the engagement of Lady Seraphina Ardentia and Crown Prince Adrian Valenhardt.
Seraphina stood beside him, heart full and trembling. She had dreamed of this night since childhood. She had loved Adrian long before the crown had chosen her.
He had once been kind, patient, gentle, fond of quiet moments away from the court. But lately his warmth had turned into politeness, his eyes drifting toward her sister.
Toward Elysia.
Elysia shone beneath the chandeliers in a gown of silver silk, the faint holy mark on her wrist glowing softly. The court adored her. Even Adrian smiled more easily when she spoke.
Seraphina tried to ignore the ache that settled in her chest. He chose you, she told herself. He loves you.
The orchestra played while servants filled their glasses with red wine. Adrian raised his.
"To Valoria," he said, "and to the woman who will stand beside me."
Applause followed. Then Elysia lifted her own glass, smiling sweetly. "To my dearest sister, the future queen. May her reign bring peace to us all."
She reached across the table. "Here, let me pour yours, sister. For luck."
Seraphina hesitated, then nodded. "All right."
Elysia poured both glasses, handed one over, and the sisters drank together.
For a few perfect moments, everything felt right.
Then Elysia swayed.
Her eyes widened; her hand trembled. The crystal slipped from her grasp and shattered against the floor. She coughed once, twice, and collapsed.
The music stopped.
"Elysia!" Adrian rushed to her, panic breaking through his composure. "Someone get a healer!"
A noblewoman screamed. "She's been poisoned!"
Guards poured into the hall. Adrian's command cut through the noise. "Search everything!"
They did. Servants froze, nobles whispered prayers. Every cup, plate, and napkin was inspected. The air filled with the clatter of glass and the murmur of frightened guests.
One of the guards examined the spilled wine and grimaced. "Your Highness, the scent. It's tainted."
Another shouted from across the room, "We've found something!"
He held up a small velvet purse found beneath Seraphina's chair. Inside was a pouch of crushed herbs, dark green and bitter smelling.
"The same compound as the poison," he said grimly. "Hidden under the lady's seat."
Seraphina stared in disbelief. "That's not mine!"
Her father's voice thundered. "Seraphina! Explain yourself!"
"I don't know how that got there!"
Elysia coughed weakly from Adrian's arms, her lashes fluttering. "Sister… why? Was I in your way?"
The court fell into horrified silence.
Adrian looked at Seraphina, and whatever warmth had once been there was gone.
"She poured the drinks," murmured a noble."She always envied Elysia," whispered another.
"Take her," Adrian said quietly.
"Adrian, please!" she cried as the guards grabbed her. "She did this to herself!"
But no one listened.
Her father turned away. Her mother wept into her hands.
As Seraphina was dragged from the hall, she saw Elysia's faint smile hidden behind trembling fingers and a perfect performance of pain.
Three Days Later
The dungeon smelled of damp stone and rust. Chains bit into Seraphina's wrists; her skin was raw and cold.
Above her cell, the city celebrated again—this time for the prince's new engagement to Elysia Ardentia.
When Adrian came to see her, he stood behind the bars in his ceremonial uniform.
"I didn't poison her," she said quietly. "You know I didn't."
"The Church confirmed the evidence," he replied evenly. "The herbs matched what was found in your purse."
"You really believe that?"
He sighed, as though tired of hearing her voice. "You were jealous. Everyone saw it. You've always wanted the throne more than love."
Her throat tightened. "Did you ever love me at all?"
"I loved who I thought you were."
The words hollowed her out.
He turned to leave. "Your execution is in three days. Pray for peace, Seraphina."
He walked away without looking back.
The day prior to execution
The ground trembled.
At first it was faint, a distant vibration that made the walls hum. Then came the roar, low and deep and inhuman.
The air changed. She could taste ash and iron.
From above came screams, the clang of steel, a bell tolling again and again until it cracked mid-ring.
Seraphina pressed her back to the wall, her chains rattling. "What's happening?"
A guard stumbled past her cell, bleeding from the shoulder. His eyes were wild. "The gates are gone! The monsters... they're inside the city!"
"Then help me!" she cried. "Please!"
But he was already gone, footsteps fading up the stairs.
Then there was silence.
No one came. Not her father. Not Adrian. Not even a priest to bless her before execution.
Only the crackle of distant fire and the slow drip of water from the ceiling kept her company.
Smoke reached her first. It curled down the stairwell, stinging her eyes, filling her lungs with bitter heat. She coughed until her throat burned. The air grew thick, unbreathable.
She pressed her hands to the iron bars. "Please," she whispered, "someone…"
Her voice broke.
She dragged herself toward the wall, weak from hunger and exhaustion. The chains tore at her wrists, opening old wounds. Warm blood ran down her arms.
"This isn't fair," she whispered. "I didn't do anything wrong."
No answer came.
The ceiling groaned. Dust fell in thin streams. From far above came a crash, a scream that ended too quickly, the distant echo of monsters shrieking.
Seraphina buried her face in her knees. Her whole body shook. She had been born noble, taught grace and faith, and it had meant nothing.
Her family had turned away. The man she loved had chosen her sister.
She had lost everything.
And still, she didn't hate them. Not yet.
She just wanted someone to remember she existed.
But as the smoke thickened and the dungeon walls glowed red from the fires outside, that quiet wish turned to something darker.
They left you.
Her mind whispered it again and again.
They left you to die like an animal.
She raised her head. The iron bars glowed faintly from the heat. Her lungs screamed for air.
"Why?" she rasped. "What did I ever do wrong?"
Something cracked in the corner.
A small stone statue, long forgotten and blackened with soot, fell from its shelf and split in half. Inside, something silver pulsed faintly, like a heartbeat.
Seraphina blinked through her tears. "What…?"
She crawled toward it, dragging her chains along the floor. Every movement sent pain shooting through her body. Her knees scraped raw against the stone. Her fingers trembled as she reached out.
The shard was warm.
Then a voice, low, calm, and strange, filled the air. It didn't echo; it simply existed inside her head and all around her.
"They caged you for their sins. Will you forgive them?"
She froze. "Who's there?"
"Answer."
Her throat ached as she forced the words out. "No."
"Then rise."
The shard blazed white.
The light filled the cell, cutting through the smoke. The metal of her chains turned red-hot before snapping apart. Pain burst through her chest as if something inside her had broken open. She screamed, not from fear but from the burning and the freezing all at once.
Her vision blurred. Every heartbeat was agony. Silver light crawled beneath her skin, racing through her veins. It felt as if the world itself were being poured into her body.
"You will be weighed," the voice whispered.
The dungeon trembled. Her body arched, hair lifting in the rising wind.
Then, all at once, the pain vanished.
Seraphina fell to her knees, gasping for air. The chains around her wrists had melted into dust. Her hair, once brown and tangled, now shimmered silver in the dim light.
A mark shaped like two scales glowed on her palm.
She stared at it, dazed. "What am I?"
Outside, the screams had gone quiet. Only the fire remained, a dull roar above, consuming everything.
She stood slowly. Every step hurt, but she didn't stop. She looked up toward the stone ceiling and whispered, "If this is mercy, then I don't want it."
The silver light pulsed once more, brighter than before, wrapping around her like a shroud.
"They left me to die," she said softly. "Now they'll live to regret it."
Her eyes closed.
And as the dungeon collapsed in flames, the light swallowed her whole.