The room felt smaller after the decision was spoken.
No one rushed to speak. No one dared to look at me. I sat back down slowly, resting my hands on my lap, my fingers trembling despite my effort to stay calm.
"A marriage," I said quietly. "To a stranger. To an enemy."
Lord Kael cleared his throat. "There are terms to be discussed, Princess Amara."
I looked at him. "Of course there are. There are always terms when someone else is paying the price."
A few nobles shifted in their seats.
"The marriage will seal a full alliance," Lord Kael continued. "Stonehaven will provide soldiers and protection. In return, Aurelia will share resources and recognize Dane as an equal ruler."
"Equal?" I repeated. "You want me to bow to Dane as my equal?"
"No one said bow," General Rovan said carefully. "But this union requires respect from both sides."
Respect. A word spoken easily by men who never had to give it.
"And when does this happen?" I asked.
"Within the month," Lord Kael replied.
The breath left my lungs.
"A month?" I rose to my feet. "You expect me to marry a man I have never met in less than four weeks?"
"The northern forces will not wait," my mother said calmly.
I turned to her. "And neither will Stonehaven."
"They see this as an opportunity," she replied. "As we must."
I laughed. It was short and bitter. "An opportunity for them. A sacrifice for us."
"For you," someone murmured.
I heard it. I chose not to respond.
"Dane will arrive in Aurelia in seven days," Lord Kael said. "He has agreed to meet with you and finalize the terms."
"He agreed again," I said. "Does he ever hesitate?"
"From what we know," Lord Kael replied, "he does not."
That told me everything I needed to know about the kind of man he was.
Cold. Certain. Unmoved.
The meeting dragged on after that. Trade routes. Military numbers. Borders drawn and redrawn, as if lives were lines that could be erased.
When the council was dismissed, I left without another word.
The palace corridors felt endless. The home I had grown up in suddenly felt unfamiliar, as though it no longer belonged to me.
Liora hurried after me. "My princess"
"Not now," I said.
She fell silent.
Inside my chambers, I shut the door. The quiet pressed in harder than the noise outside. My heart raced. Everything was moving too fast.
A knock sounded.
"Leave me," I said.
The door opened anyway.
My mother stepped inside.
She closed the door gently and looked at me the same way she had when I was a child, afraid of storms.
"I did not want this for you," she said.
"But you allowed it," I replied.
"Yes," she admitted. "Because I am a queen before I am a mother."
The words hurt more than anger ever could.
"And I am a daughter before I am a princess," I said softly.
She reached for my hands. I pulled away.
"You taught me to love Aurelia," I said. "You taught me that the crown exists to serve the people. Now you ask me to give up my freedom in its name."
"I ask you to save them," she said.
I looked away.
After a long silence, she spoke again. "Dane is not a monster. His people respect him."
"Because they fear him," I replied.
"Or because he protects them," she said.
"You don't know him."
"Neither do you," she answered gently.
That truth settled heavily in my chest.
I went to the window and looked out at the city. Life continued below. Laughter. Trade. Peace that had no idea how fragile it was.
In seven days, I would meet the man who would change my life. Not because I chose him, but because my kingdom demanded it.
"I will marry him," I whispered, my voice barely sound. "But I will not forgive him."
Behind me, my mother spoke softly.
"There is one more thing you should know."
I turned.
"Stonehaven insisted on a clause," she said. "Once you are married, you will reside in their land."
The room went still.
"They are not just taking a wife," I said slowly. "They are taking a queen."
My mother did not deny it.
Far beyond Aurelia's walls, in a land of stone and iron, Dane of Stonehaven was already on his way.
And for the first time since the bells rang, I felt something sharper than fear.
I felt challenged.