Caspian's POV
She wasn't there.
I waited by the old fountain at midnight. The streets were empty. Dark. Every shadow looked like a threat. Every sound made me jump.
I'd been an idiot to come.
Princess Selene had probably forgotten all about the poor hybrid from the marketplace. Or worse—she'd sent guards to arrest me for daring to touch her hand. For speaking to her like an equal.
I turned to leave.
A hand clamped over my mouth from behind.
I tried to scream. Tried to fight. But whoever held me was strong. They dragged me backward into an alley. My feet scraped against the cobblestones. Panic flooded my chest.
This was it. I was going to die in a dark alley and nobody would ever know what happened to me.
"Stop fighting, you idiot. It's me."
That voice. I knew that voice.
The hand released me. I spun around.
Princess Selene stood there in a dark cloak, hood pulled low. But I'd know those silver eyes anywhere.
"You grabbed me!" My heart hammered. "I thought you were—"
"Keeping you quiet," she interrupted. "We can't talk in the open. Follow me."
She didn't wait for an answer. Just turned and walked deeper into the alley.
I followed because what else could I do?
We climbed a rusty fire escape to a rooftop overlooking the city. From here, I could see the palace glowing in the distance. All crystal towers and magical lights. Beautiful and unreachable.
"Why did you bring me here?" I asked.
Selene pulled back her hood. In the moonlight, she looked different. Tired. Scared. Nothing like the confident princess from the marketplace.
"Because I need your help." Her voice shook. "And I'm desperate enough to ask."
"Help with what?"
She took a deep breath. "My father is forcing me to marry Lord Cassius in three days."
I blinked. "Who's Lord Cassius?"
"My uncle. My father's brother." She spat the words like poison. "He's forty years older than me. Cruel. Vicious. He wants to marry me so he can control the throne when my father dies."
My stomach turned. "That's horrible."
"It's politics." Selene's hands clenched into fists. "My father says it's for the good of the dynasty. Keeping power in the family. He doesn't care that Cassius has buried three wives already. He doesn't care that I'd rather die."
"Can't you refuse?"
She laughed. The sound held no humor. "You don't refuse the Emperor. Not if you want to keep breathing."
I wanted to help. But what could I possibly do? "I still don't understand what this has to do with me."
Selene turned to face me fully. "There's one law even my father can't break. If I'm already married, he can't force me to marry Cassius."
The words hung in the air between us.
"Wait," I said slowly. "You want to—"
"Marry you. Yes." She said it quickly, like ripping off a bandage. "It would be fake. Political only. A contract marriage to save me from Cassius."
My brain stopped working. "You're insane."
"I'm desperate." She stepped closer. "Think about it, Caspian. You're perfect. You're a hybrid nobody from the Shadow District. No family connections. No political power. No threat to anyone."
Each word hurt more than the last. "So you want to marry me because I'm worthless?"
"No!" She grabbed my arms. "I want to marry you because you're safe. Because you won't try to control me or use me. Because in one hour of talking, you treated me more like a human being than anyone in that palace has in years."
"This is crazy."
"I know."
"Your father would never allow it."
"He can't stop it once we're married. Palace law is clear." Selene's grip tightened. "I've already forged his signature on the marriage documents. Everything is ready. We just need to show up at the cathedral tomorrow morning."
"Tomorrow?" My voice cracked. "You want to get married tomorrow?"
"Before my father finds out what I'm planning." Her silver eyes burned with intensity. "Please, Caspian. I'll pay you. Ten thousand gold coins. Enough money to leave the Shadow District forever. Buy a real house. Study magic at any academy you want."
Ten thousand gold coins. More money than I'd see in ten lifetimes.
"And what do I have to do for this money?" I asked carefully.
"Marry me. Live in the palace. Pretend to be my husband in public." She paused. "But in private, we don't have to be anything. Separate rooms. Separate lives. Just... a legal contract that saves me from Cassius."
It sounded too easy. Too perfect.
"What's the catch?" I asked.
Selene looked away. "My father will hate you. The nobles will mock you. Cassius will probably try to kill you. You'll go from being nobody to being the most hated man in the empire overnight."
"That's a pretty big catch."
"I know." Her voice dropped to a whisper. "I'm asking you to trade your quiet life for a dangerous one. It's not fair. But I don't have anyone else to ask."
I should say no. Should run back to my tiny room and forget this conversation ever happened.
But I thought about Selene's smile in the marketplace. The way she'd listened to me talk about magic like my dreams mattered. The first real conversation I'd had with someone in years.
And I thought about Lord Cassius. Some cruel old man who thought he could force a young woman to marry him.
"If I do this," I said slowly, "and your father tries to kill me, will you protect me?"
Selene's expression softened. "With everything I have."
"And after? When we don't need the fake marriage anymore? You'll let me go?"
"Whenever you want to leave, I'll sign the divorce papers myself." She held out her hand. "You have my word as Princess of the Fairy Empire."
I stared at her hand. At the choice that would change my entire life.
Ten thousand gold coins. A chance to study real magic. A way to finally be someone instead of nobody.
But also danger. Hatred. Possibly death.
The smart choice was obvious.
I took her hand.
"Okay," I said. "I'll marry you."
Selene's whole body sagged with relief. "Thank you. Thank you so much. You have no idea what this means to—"
Footsteps echoed from the alley below.
We both froze.
"Search every rooftop," a deep voice commanded. "The princess was seen in this area. Find her."
Guards. Dozens of them from the sound of it.
Selene's face went pale. "My father found out I left the palace."
"What do we do?" I whispered.
"We run." She grabbed my hand. "And we get married tonight instead of tomorrow."
"Tonight? But the cathedral—"
"There's an old chapel two blocks from here. The priest owes me a favor." She pulled me toward the fire escape. "If we don't marry right now, my father will lock me in the palace and I'll never escape."
We climbed down as quietly as possible. Guards' voices echoed through the streets. Getting closer.
My heart pounded so hard I thought it might burst.
This was insane. I was running from royal guards. About to marry a princess I'd met yesterday. Throwing my entire life into chaos for ten thousand gold coins and a girl with silver eyes.
We reached the street. Started running.
"The chapel is just ahead," Selene gasped. "Two more minutes."
Behind us, someone shouted. "There! The princess is there!"
We ran faster.
The chapel appeared. Small. Old. Candlelight flickering in the windows.
Selene yanked open the door. We stumbled inside. She slammed it behind us and threw the bolt.
An ancient priest looked up from his prayers. His eyes widened when he saw Selene.
"Your Highness, what—"
"We need to be married. Right now." Selene dragged me to the altar. "Please, Father Benedict. Before the guards break down that door."
The old priest looked between us. At our desperate faces. At the door shaking from fists pounding on the other side.
"Very well," he said quietly. "Kneel before the altar."
We knelt.
The priest began speaking the marriage words. Fast. Faster than any ceremony should go.
The door shook harder. Wood splintered.
"Do you take this woman—"
"Yes," I said.
"Do you take this man—"
"Yes," Selene breathed.
"Then by the power—"
The door exploded inward.
Guards flooded the chapel. Swords drawn. Faces furious.
But the priest raised his hand. "Too late. They are married in the eyes of the gods and the empire. What is done cannot be undone."
I looked at Selene. My wife. Princess Selene Velmora.
She looked back at me with those silver eyes.
And whispered words that turned my blood to ice.
"You have no idea what you just agreed to."