The Marriage Meant for Another
Still dressed in ceremonial red, he snatched his sword from its stand, crossed the chamber in three strides, and was gone—mounting his horse and driving it forward through the night, ignoring shouted orders, ignoring hands reaching to stop him.
That same night, in the far north, I stood alone beneath a foreign roof.
The air smelled of iron and smoke.
I had prepared myself for a negotiation.
For words.
For measured hostility.
The High Lord of the frontier had built his power on hatred of my homeland.
My intent had been simple—to steady him, delay him, buy time if peace was impossible.
Instead, I was met with steel.
The blade came for my heart without warning.
Instinct saved me.
I tore the vei