The Marriage Meant for Another
A southern princess, no matter how composed, would be a symbol to defy, a threat to humiliate, a body to prove dominance.
She was in danger from the moment she crossed the frontier.
I pushed my horse harder.
At every outpost I lied, threatened, bribed—sometimes all three—claiming inspection orders, border commands, forged authority I no longer possessed. I shed the last traces of ceremony, exchanging silk and insignia for armor and shadow. If the northern court learned who I was too soon, she would be dead before I reached her.
Each night, as exhaustion crept into my bones, memory turned cruel.