"The moon was supposed to bless me tonight… instead, it watched me die."
The royal bells rang thrice — each echo drowning in the sound of chaos.
Silks fluttered. Candles trembled. The scent of burnt jasmine filled the grand Moon Palace as Princess Liora Valen staggered backward, clutching her chest. The golden chalice slipped from her trembling hands, crimson wine spilling across the marble — turning black before her eyes.
Her heartbeat slowed. Her vision blurred.
And through the haze, she saw him.
The man she loved.
The man she married tonight.
The man who had just poisoned her.
Crown Prince Kael Ardent stood before her in his ceremonial armor, his cold silver eyes unreadable. Behind him, the royal ministers bowed, and the court musicians froze mid-note.
"W–Why…" she whispered, her lips trembling, her once soft voice now heavy with disbelief. "You said… you loved me."
Kael's expression didn't change. Only his lips moved — the same lips that had just kissed her moments ago under the moonlight.
"I did love you, Liora. But love can't save empires."
The torches flickered violently as her knees hit the floor. Around her, the moonlight bled crimson — the Blood Moon's curse.
As her final tear fell, the world collapsed into darkness.
💫 Ten Years Earlier…
A violent gasp tore through the silence.
Liora shot upright, drenched in cold sweat. She looked around wildly — no royal hall, no wedding, no poison. Just the faint smell of herbs, cracked walls, and the sound of distant rain tapping on a wooden roof.
Her reflection in the water bowl beside her was not that of the Moon Princess.
It was someone else's face — paler, thinner, and framed by messy auburn hair.
Her trembling fingers reached up.
"This… isn't me."
A rush of memories — not her own — flooded her mind. A low-ranked healer's life. The kingdom of Ardent. A small clinic near the city gates.
And then, realization struck like lightning.
"I've been reborn… ten years before my death."
The rain outside turned to a storm.
Liora stood, her pulse steadying with a strange, calm fury.
If destiny had given her a second life… she would no longer be the bride who begged for mercy.
She would be the storm that rewrote fate.