The word hung in the cold, shadow-infused air: marry.
I felt the blood drain from my face, replaced by a sudden, scalding fury that eclipsed even the fear. This was not a bargain. This was the dark, beautiful Fae King of Nightshade demanding ownership of my life.
"Marry you?" I managed, the two words laced with venom. I straightened my spine, refusing to look down, even though he towered over me. "No. Absolutely not. You dragged me out of my job, told me I have 'Sun-Fire' in my blood which, by the way, I thought was just bad wiring and now you think you can just force me into a wedding?"
King Lorcan didn't flinch. His expression remained a terrifying stillness, like a glacier that had decided to move. The amber of his eyes seemed to ignite with my resistance.
"You misunderstand, little Solar," he said, his voice dropping to that resonant bass that seemed to shake the black stone around us. "This is not a proposal. It is a necessary ritual. And you do not have the standing to refuse."
"I'm Seraphina Lyra. I'm a human woman with a minimum-wage job, and I have standing to refuse anything I want," I retorted, the lie feeling weak even to my own ears.
He raised an eyebrow, and the subtle, deadly movement sent a chill down my back. "If you were merely a human, you would have dissolved into ash upon touching the Veil, or perhaps died of shock when Kael found you. You are Fae. Specifically, the last of the Solar line, the lost essence of light we have sought for two decades."
He gestured with a hand covered in rings of dark, polished metal. "Look around, Seraphina. This Court, my life, and the stability of the entire Fae realm hangs in a precarious balance. We exist in a permanent eclipse, because the balance of light and shadow was shattered twenty years ago. The curse that binds me is fueled by that imbalance."
I looked at the swirling, restless shadows that clung to him, now seeing them not just as darkness, but as a consuming illness.
"And what exactly does marrying me do?" I demanded.
"The Fae bond," he explained, sounding utterly detached, as if discussing geometry. "Marriage amongst the powerful Courts is not simply a legal union. It is a magical fusion. The blending of our essences will bind your Sun-Fire—raw, uncontrolled, and bright—to my Shadow-Curse, stabilizing me long enough for my mages to break the enchantment."
He stepped impossibly closer, and the cold of the Shadow-Curse hit me like a physical wave, yet beneath it, a desperate, undeniable heat radiated from him. I wanted to pull away, but the sheer force of his presence held me rooted.
"If you remain unbound, your power will leak, causing breaches in the Veil until this whole kingdom collapses into the mortal world," Lorcan said, his eyes drilling into mine. "If I remain unbound, the curse will accelerate, and I will become nothing more than a mindless creature of pure shadow within weeks. My kingdom will follow."
He paused, letting the crushing weight of global disaster settle upon my shoulders. "So, you see, you have a choice, little moth: you can refuse, and we both die, taking two worlds with us. Or, you can marry me, become my Queen of Light, and we buy ourselves time."
The arrogance was staggering. The choice was nonexistent.
"And what happens after your curse is broken?" I asked, my voice barely a tremor. "Do I get a divorce and a plane ticket back to Oldwick?"
A genuine, chilling laugh finally broke through his icy facade. It was a dark, rich sound that made the hairs on my arms stand up.
"Divorce is not a concept the Fae recognize, Seraphina Lyra. Once the bond is forged, you are mine. Permanently. You are the Queen of Nightshade." He gave a curt, final nod. "Kael, show her to her chambers. She needs rest. The wedding will take place in three days."
Three days. My entire life, incinerated and replaced with a crown of thorns and a ring I didn't want, all in three days.
As Kael took my arm once more, this time with a strange and almost sympathetic look. I wrenched my gaze back to Lorcan.
"I hate you," I whispered, meaning it with every terrified, furious fiber of my being.
King Lorcan merely watched me, his amber eyes reflecting the light I carried, a dangerous possessiveness darkening their edges.
"Good," he replied. "Hate is predictable. It will be easier to control than fear."
...
Kael's grip was firm, yet surprisingly gentle compared to his previous iron hold. He escorted me out of the great hall, leaving King Lorcan a silent, formidable statue behind us, soaking up the shadows like a sponge.
The palace was a study in paradox: deadly dark stone illuminated by cold, silvery globes of light suspended in the air. Every tapestry, carving, and tile spoke of wealth and ancient power. It was a golden cage built out of obsidian.
"He is not wrong," Kael said, sensing my furious silence as we navigated a winding staircase. "The curse is accelerating. Three days is generous."
"Generous?" I choked out a laugh. "He's forcing me into a marriage in seventy-two hours! That's kidnapping, even in the Fae world, isn't it?"
Kael stopped at a set of towering, silver-inlaid doors. They opened silently at his approach. "In the Fae world, the necessity of the kingdom supersedes the will of any individual, even a royal heir, Seraphina. You are the key to stability. Your life is no longer your own."
"But I don't even know how to be a Fae! I'm still running from my toaster-destroying habits!"
He offered me a small, pained smile. "Your ability to control your power will come, but first, you must survive the bonding. It will be a… difficult process. The light and the shadow do not mingle easily."
He pushed the doors wider, revealing the chamber that would be my prison.
It was immense. The ceiling was domed, paneled in dark wood, and the center of the room held a gigantic, canopied bed draped in silk the color of deep twilight. A roaring fire was already lit in a hearth carved from polished basalt, the only source of comfortable, genuine warmth in this entire frigid court.
Against one wall stood a freestanding, silver-rimmed bathtub that looked big enough to swim in, and next to it, a dressing screen hid what I assumed was a massive wardrobe. It was opulent, suffocating, and terrifyingly lonely.
"These are your chambers," Kael said. "You will find everything you require. Servants will attend to you shortly. You are Queen-Consort elect, and will be treated as such."
I crossed my arms, looking past the velvet curtains and silk pillows. "And what about the exit? Are there guards posted?"
"The guards are posted, yes," Kael confirmed, not even bothering to lie. "But more importantly, the palace is enchanted. No Fae can leave the grounds without the King's express permission. A Solar Fae like you, fresh from the human world, wouldn't make it fifty feet before the magic turned your blood to ice."
My shoulders slumped. Trapped. Completely.
"Why the Shadow-Curse, Kael?" I asked, turning to him, deciding that if I was going to be their pawn, I needed information. "Why is your King cursed?"
Kael hesitated, his glacial eyes softening with something akin to sorrow. "It is known as the Sundering Curse. Twenty years ago, the Solar Court was attacked and eliminated. King Lorcan's father, the former King of Nightshade, attempted to save a relic from the carnage. The curse was meant for the Solar King, but it struck Lorcan instead, binding him to the remnants of that darkness. It turns everything he touches, his land, his people, even his soul, toward shadow."
He looked away, toward the fire. "It has been slow, but relentless. Now, the final stage is upon him. He requires the Solar essence—you—to reset the equilibrium before the shadow consumes him entirely."
"He needs me to save his life, and the reward for saving him is being his permanent prisoner?" I asked bitterly.
Kael met my gaze, his face grim. "The reward for saving his life, Seraphina Lyra, is not being responsible for the destruction of two worlds. And perhaps… the reward is survival. King Lorcan is a fearsome man, but he is just. He will protect his Queen, even a reluctant one."
He turned to leave. "Do not try to escape. Rest. Eat. I will return later with a tailor and details regarding the ceremony."
The doors closed with a soft but decisive thud, the sound echoing the finality of my fate. I was left alone in the beautiful, dark room.
I walked toward the enormous canopy bed, my eyes catching on a small, glittering object resting on the bedside table. It was a key. It looked delicate, silver, and utterly useless. It didn't look like it could unlock anything but a small jewelry box.
I picked it up. It was cold in my hand.
Three days.
I knew I couldn't escape the castle, and I couldn't run from my own power. King Lorcan had trapped me in a horrific choice. But I wouldn't be his submissive, terrified lamb. If I was going to be Queen of Nightshade, I would find a way to control the Sun-Fire inside me, break his curse, and then burn this gilded prison to the ground, taking my freedom back with me.
I dropped the key back onto the silk runner. The only way out was through.