Mag-log in70LENORAThe morning light felt different that day, though nothing in the estate had changed.The same corridors stretched ahead of me, polished stone reflecting the soft glow of early sun filtering through tall stained-glass windows. The same servants bowed their heads as I passed, careful not to meet my eyes for too long, as if acknowledging me more than necessary might draw attention from fate itself.And yet everything felt… final.I stopped briefly outside the eastern balcony where the wind usually moved freely through the open arches. For a moment, I simply stood there, letting it brush against my face, letting it fill my lungs like I was memorizing how air was supposed to feel when it wasn’t being taken away.“Are you unwell?”The voice behind me was gentle, careful, as if afraid a louder tone might break whatever fragile balance I had left. I turned slowly and found Imogen watching me with slight concern, her arms folded loosely across her chest.“I’m fine,” I said automatica
ORIONThe council chamber had never felt this suffocating before.Voices blended together around me in endless discussion, nobles debating ceremonial routes, military positioning, alliance negotiations, and seating arrangements for a wedding I could barely force myself to think about without irritation clawing beneath my skin. Scrolls covered the long obsidian table, each marked with royal insignias and wax seals, yet every word spoken faded into meaningless noise the longer the meeting dragged on.“Your Highness?”I blinked once and lifted my gaze toward the elder seated across from me.He cleared his throat awkwardly. “The southern delegates are requesting confirmation regarding the unity vows.”“Approve it,” I answered flatly.A pause followed.“The vows have not been reviewed yet,” another council member added carefully.“Then review them,” I said, colder this time.Silence settled briefly across the chamber before the discussion resumed, quieter now.I leaned back in my chair and
LENORAOrion stood there unmoving, his expression carved into something I no longer recognized. Not anger. Not softness. Not even confusion. Just control, layered over whatever he refused to show me anymore.And something inside me finally broke at the sight of it.“You don’t get to act like that,” I said quietly at first, my voice shaking despite my effort to steady it.His gaze shifted slightly. “Act like what?”“Like you care,” I snapped, louder this time. The words cut through the courtyard air sharply enough that even distant guards paused in their movements. “Like you have any right to stand there and get jealous over who I speak to.”Orion didn’t react the way I expected. He didn’t deny it.He didn’t even look offended.Instead, his voice came out flat, cold in a way that made my stomach tighten. “I don’t care.”I blinked, and I almost thought I misheard him. Then he repeated it, slower this time, like he wanted me to fully understand. “You can do whatever you want.”Something
LENORAOrion stood there unmoving, his expression carved into something I no longer recognized. Not anger. Not softness. Not even confusion. Just control, layered over whatever he refused to show me anymore.And something inside me finally broke at the sight of it.“You don’t get to act like that,” I said quietly at first, my voice shaking despite my effort to steady it.His gaze shifted slightly. “Act like what?”“Like you care,” I snapped, louder this time. The words cut through the courtyard air sharply enough that even distant guards paused in their movements. “Like you have any right to stand there and get jealous over who I speak to.”Orion didn’t react the way I expected. He didn’t deny it.He didn’t even look offended.Instead, his voice came out flat, cold in a way that made my stomach tighten. “I don’t care.”I blinked, and I almost thought I misheard him. Then he repeated it, slower this time, like he wanted me to fully understand. “You can do whatever you want.”Something
LENORAI did not remember walking away from the garden.One moment I had been standing there, watching Xarian smile like she had carved my heart out with her bare hands, and the next I was in my room with the door shut so tightly behind me that the sound echoed through my skull like a punishment.My hands would not stop shaking.I pressed them flat against the edge of the table, forcing myself to breathe evenly, but every inhale felt wrong, like my body had forgotten how to survive something like this. The bond between Orion and me still pulsed faintly beneath my ribs, stubborn and cruel, as if it refused to accept what my eyes had already seen.I closed my eyes tightly, but it did not help.Because I still saw it; Orion did not push her away and that single thought repeated itself until it became noise I could not escape.A knock came at the door sometime later, soft but deliberate.I did not answer immediately. “Lenora,” a voice called carefully from the other side. “It’s Eagen”I e
LENORAThe wedding preparations began before the echo of my rejection had even fully faded from my bones.I stood in the grand tailoring hall of the western wing, surrounded by bolts of silks in ivory, gold, and silver, while seamstresses moved around me with forced cheerfulness that did not reach their eyes. The air smelled faintly of lavender dye and heated iron from the pressing tables, but all I could focus on was the tightness in my chest that refused to ease no matter how still I stood.Xarian sat elegantly on a raised chaise near the center of the room, one leg crossed over the other as she flipped through design sketches like she was selecting art pieces rather than planning a life I had once foolishly allowed myself to believe could be mine. Her voice carried smoothly across the hall, calm and confident, every instruction delivered like it had already been approved by fate itself.“Extend the neckline slightly,” she said without looking up, tapping one of the sketches with a







