Caspian's POV
"Get your filthy hybrid hands off the princess!"
The guard captain's fist connected with my jaw. Pain exploded through my face. I hit the chapel floor hard.
"Stop!" Selene threw herself between us. "He's my husband now! You can't touch him!"
"Husband?" The captain spat the word like poison. "The Emperor will have this marriage annulled before sunset."
"He can't." Selene's voice shook but held firm. "Palace law is clear. A marriage witnessed by a priest and consummated is binding. Even the Emperor must obey the law."
The captain's face turned purple. "Consummated? You haven't—"
"That's none of your concern." Selene pulled me to my feet. Blood dripped from my split lip. "Now escort us to the palace. My father will want to speak with us."
The captain looked like he wanted to argue. Instead, he grabbed my arm roughly. "Move, hybrid. And pray the Emperor is feeling merciful."
They marched us through the streets. Dawn was breaking. Early merchants stared as we passed. A princess. A beaten hybrid. A dozen armed guards.
Everyone would know by noon. The scandal would spread like fire.
"I'm sorry," Selene whispered beside me. "I didn't think they'd hit you."
"It's fine," I lied. My jaw throbbed with every step.
"It's not fine. None of this is fine." Her hand found mine. Squeezed once. "But thank you. For not running when you had the chance."
I wanted to ask what she'd meant by "you have no idea what you agreed to." Wanted to demand answers about what was really happening.
But the palace gates loomed ahead. And my questions died in my throat.
The palace was even more beautiful up close. And more terrifying.
Emperor Valorian waited in the throne room. He sat on a chair carved from a single massive diamond. Power radiated from him like heat from a forge. His eyes—silver like Selene's but cold as winter—locked onto me.
I'd never felt so small in my life.
"Selene." His voice was quiet. Calm. Somehow that made it worse. "Explain."
"I got married, Father." Selene's hand trembled in mine. "To Caspian Drax. It's legal and binding."
"To a hybrid." Not a question. An accusation. "To a street rat from the Shadow District."
"To a good man who treats me with respect," Selene said. "More than I can say for Lord Cassius."
A man laughed from the side of the throne. He was older, with cruel eyes and a smile that made my skin crawl. Lord Cassius, I realized. The man Selene had run from.
"A good man?" Cassius stepped forward. "Your Majesty, this creature probably seduced your daughter for money. Arrest him for fraud. Execute him for daring to touch royal blood."
"He didn't seduce me," Selene snapped. "I asked him to marry me."
The throne room went silent.
"You asked him?" Valorian's voice dropped to a whisper. "You chose this... thing... over Lord Cassius? Over the good of the empire?"
"I chose freedom over slavery," Selene said. "You were going to sell me to your brother like property."
Valorian stood. The temperature in the room seemed to drop ten degrees. "I was securing the dynasty's future. Now you've thrown that away for a hybrid who probably can't even read."
"I can read," I said quietly.
Every eye turned to me.
I shouldn't have spoken. Should have stayed silent and invisible. But anger burned through my fear.
"I can read," I repeated louder. "I've studied magic for years. I'm not rich, but I'm not stupid. And I didn't ask for any of this."
"Then why did you agree to marry my daughter?" Valorian demanded.
The honest answer was complicated. The money. The adventure. The way Selene looked at me like I mattered.
"Because she asked me to," I said simply. "Because nobody should be forced to marry someone they don't want."
Cassius laughed again. "How noble. The hybrid has a conscience." He turned to Valorian. "Your Majesty, the law may say we can't annul the marriage. But accidents happen. Especially to hybrids who wander into dangerous parts of the palace."
A threat. Clear and simple.
Valorian studied me for a long moment. "The wedding was done in secret. A mockery of tradition." He smiled, and it was the most terrifying expression I'd ever seen. "We'll have a proper ceremony tomorrow. In the Grand Cathedral. With all the noble families present."
"Father, we're already married—" Selene started.
"A princess of the Fairy Empire deserves a public wedding," Valorian interrupted. "Or are you ashamed of your new husband?"
Trap. This was a trap. I could feel it.
"Tomorrow then," Selene said tightly.
"Excellent." Valorian sat back down. "Cassius, make the arrangements. I want every noble family in attendance. Let them all see what my daughter has chosen."
The way he said it made my stomach turn. This wasn't about tradition. This was about humiliation.
The next day arrived too fast.
They stuffed me into formal clothes that cost more than my entire life in the Shadow District. Servants who wouldn't meet my eyes fixed my hair. Applied makeup to hide the bruise on my jaw.
"You look like a prince," one servant said. She didn't sound like she meant it as a compliment.
The Grand Cathedral was packed. Hundreds of nobles in their finest clothes. All of them staring at me like I was a bug they'd found in their soup.
The whispers started immediately.
"That's him? The hybrid?"
"So small. So ordinary."
"What was Princess Selene thinking?"
"She wasn't thinking. She was being foolish."
"Poor thing. Marrying trash."
Each word cut deeper than the last.
Selene appeared at the far end of the cathedral. She walked toward me, and the whispers grew louder. Her face was a mask. Beautiful. Cold. Revealing nothing.
When she reached me, her hand was ice-cold in mine.
The priest began the ceremony. The same words from last night. But everything felt different. Wrong.
"Do you take this woman to be your wife?" the priest asked me.
"I do," I said.
"Do you take this man to be your husband?" he asked Selene.
She hesitated. Just for a second. But in that second, I saw the truth.
She regretted this. Regretted me.
"I do," she finally said. Her voice was flat. Empty.
The priest pronounced us married again. "You may kiss your bride."
I leaned forward. Selene's lips met mine. The kiss was brief. Mechanical. Nothing like the desperate moment we'd shared running from guards.
This kiss was a business transaction. A contract being sealed.
When we pulled apart, Selene's eyes wouldn't meet mine.
The crowd applauded. It sounded like thunder. Or maybe that was just blood roaring in my ears.
I looked out at the sea of noble faces. All of them judging. Hating. Mocking.
Then I saw them.
Three men in the back row. They weren't applauding. Their hands rested inside their jackets. The way people do when they're touching weapons.
Their eyes locked on me.
Cold. Professional. Patient.
Assassins.
My blood turned to ice. I tried to speak. To warn Selene. But my throat closed up.
The three men's hands moved slightly. Adjusting their grips. Getting ready.
Emperor Valorian stood from his seat. "Lords and ladies," he announced. "Join us for the wedding feast in the Great Hall!"
The crowd began moving. Talking. Laughing. Flowing toward the exits.
The three assassins didn't move. They stood perfectly still. Watching me. Waiting.
Selene tugged my hand. "Come on. We have to greet the guests."
I couldn't move. Couldn't breathe. The assassins' eyes followed me like wolves watching prey.
"Caspian?" Selene's voice seemed far away. "What's wrong?"
"Those men," I whispered. "In the back. They have weapons."
Selene looked where I pointed. Her face went pale. "Oh no."
"You knew," I realized. "You knew this would happen."
"I thought Father would wait," she said quietly. "I thought we'd have more time."
"Time for what?"
She finally met my eyes. The silver was filled with guilt. With fear. With something that might have been regret.
"Time to prepare you," she said. "Time to teach you how to survive in this world."
"Survive what?"
"Everything." Her hand squeezed mine. "My father. Cassius. The nobles who want you dead. The assassins who are probably already planning their attack."
The cathedral was emptying. Soon it would just be us. And the three men with weapons.
"When?" I asked. "When will they try to kill me?"
Selene's answer was barely a whisper. "Tonight