All Chapters of The Butcher's Bride: Chapter 11

Chapter 11: The Bride Wore Black IceRaven’s POVA week passes like smoke through fingers,untouched, unbothered, unfeeling.I should feel something today. Nerves, joy, dread.But I don’t.Instead, I sit still as Sienna pins the last clasp of my veil. Her hands are gentle, her face drawn tight with concentration. She’s been quiet all morning, the kind of quiet that tastes like guilt and fear. I don’t blame her.I glance at myself in the mirror.The gown is beautiful,of course it is. Custom-made silk, a shade between ivory and moonlight, clinging to every line of my body like it was painted on. The bodice is embroidered with tiny black pearls that catch the light, the back sheer and plunging, the train long enough to silence a room. My hair is swept into an elegant twist, delicate black pins piercing through the bun like a crown of thorns.I look like a woman walking into a fairy tale.But the mirror knows better.I’m walking into a cage.And I’m not even sad about it.“You’re really ca