I didn't see Lucian for the rest of the day.
After training, he disappeared into the castle without another word, leaving me alone in the yard with my bruises and my racing thoughts.
His dead wife. His human wife, burned alive while pregnant.
I couldn't stop thinking about it.
Mira found me an hour later, still sitting in the dirt, staring at nothing.
"My lady?" She touched my shoulder gently. "The seamstress is waiting. For your wedding dress."
Right. The wedding. Two days away.
I let Mira lead me back inside, through corridors that felt like they were closing in on me. We went up different stairs this time, toward the west wing.
"I thought we weren't supposed to go to the west wing," I said.
Mira's face went pale. "The seamstress has her workshop here. It's... it's allowed during the day."
"But not at night?"
She didn't answer. Just walked faster.
The workshop was at the end of a long hallway. The door was already open, warm light spilling out. Inside, a woman stood at a table covered in fabric. She wasn't a vampire, I could tell by the way she moved, the warmth of her skin, the nervous energy that vampires never had.
She was also the most beautiful woman I'd ever seen.
Tall. Dark skin. Hair in long braids wrapped around her head like a crown. She wore a simple dress, but she made it look like royalty.
"So you're the Lightbringer." Her voice was silk. "I expected someone... taller."
"Sorry to disappoint."
"Oh, you're not disappointing." She circled me slowly, examining me like I was a piece of fabric she was considering. "Interesting bone structure. Good collarbone. Terrible posture, but we can fix that with the right cut."
"Who are you?"
"Nadine." She gestured to the table. "I've been making clothes for this castle for fifteen years. I've dressed three kings, forty-seven lords, and more vampires than I can count. But I've never dressed a bride." Her smile was sharp. "Lucky me."
"Fifteen years?" I stared at her. "You've been here fifteen years and you're still human?"
"Surprising, isn't it?" She pulled out measuring tape. "Arms up."
I raised my arms and she started measuring. Waist. Hips. Chest. Inseam. She worked quickly, efficiently, writing numbers in a small notebook.
"How do you survive here?" I asked quietly.
"By being useful. By being too valuable to kill." She measured my shoulders. "And by knowing exactly which rules to break and which ones to follow."
"What rules do you break?"
Her smile widened. "The interesting ones."
She finished measuring and stepped back, studying me. "The king wants you in white. Traditional. Virginal. Boring."
"I'm not a virgin."
"Even more reason not to wear white." She moved to the fabric table, running her hands over different materials. "What do you want to wear, Cassia?"
I blinked. Nobody had asked me what I wanted since I'd arrived at this castle. "I don't know."
"Yes, you do." She held up a bolt of white silk. "Do you want to look like a sacrifice? Like a lamb being led to slaughter?" She tossed it aside and held up deep red velvet. "Or do you want to look like a queen?"
The red fabric seemed to glow in the lamplight. The color of blood. The color of power.
"Red," I whispered.
"Good choice." Nadine set the fabric down. "The king won't like it."
"I don't care what he likes."
"Liar." She smiled. "You care very much what he likes. But you're smart enough to know that caring doesn't mean obeying."
She was right. I did care. That was the problem.
I'd spent all morning training with him, learning to fight, feeling his hands correct my stance. I'd listened to him talk about his dead wife and felt my heart break for him. I'd sat beside him in comfortable silence and realized I was starting to understand him.
Starting to want to understand him.
That was dangerous.
"The dress will be ready tomorrow," Nadine said. "Come back at sunset for the final fitting."
"That's when the vampires wake up."
"Yes." She met my eyes. "That's when you need to remind them that you're not afraid."
"I am afraid."
"Then lie better." She turned back to her work. "Fear is a currency in this castle, Cassia. Spend it wisely."
Mira led me back to my room in silence. When we reached my door, she finally spoke.
"Miss Nadine is right, you know. About the fear." She glanced down the hallway nervously. "The vampires can smell it. Literally. It makes them... hungry."
"Great. So I need to stop being terrified while living in a castle full of monsters. Easy."
"You're doing better than you think." She smiled weakly. "Clara was here two months and she never stopped crying. You've been here one day and you already hit the king with magic."
"He told you about that?"
"Everyone knows. The whole castle is talking about it." She lowered her voice. "Some of them are scared of you now. That's good. That's really good."
She left before I could ask what she meant.
I went inside and locked the door. My body ached from training. My head ached from thinking. I wanted to sleep for a week.
Instead, I went to the desk and pulled out the stolen parchment again.
Five hundred gold per magic user. One thousand for a Lightbringer.
I was worth a thousand gold pieces to the Order. Dead or alive.
How long before they found out where I was? How long before they came for me?
A knock at the door made me jump. I shoved the parchment back in the drawer.
"Come in."
Dorian entered. He was alone, which felt wrong. Dangerous.
"Lucian sent me," he said, noticing my tension. "He wants me to teach you about the court. Politics. Who to trust. Who wants you dead."
"I thought everyone wanted me dead."
"Not everyone." He moved to the window, looking out at the darkening sky. "Seraphina wants you alive. She thinks you're entertaining. Nadine wants you alive because you're good for business. And Lucian..." He paused. "Lucian would burn this entire castle down if anything happened to you."
"Why?"
"Because you remind him of her. His wife." Dorian turned to face me. "Elise. That was her name. She was human too. Brave. Stupid. Fell in love with a vampire even though she knew it would kill her."
My chest tightened. "Did he love her?"
"More than anything." Dorian's expression was unreadable. "When the Order took her, he went insane. Killed hundreds. Thousands, maybe. He didn't stop until there was nothing left to kill. And then he locked himself in this castle for fifty years and didn't speak to anyone."
"How did he... how did he recover?"
"He didn't. He just learned to function around the grief." Dorian moved closer. "That's why you need to be careful, Cassia. He's not marrying you because he loves you. He's marrying you because you're a weapon he can use against the people who destroyed his life. Don't confuse his protection with affection."
The words hit like a slap. "I'm not confused."
"Aren't you?" His eyes were too knowing. "I saw how you looked at him this morning. During training. You're already falling for him."
"I'm not.."
"You are. And it's going to get you killed." He headed for the door. "The Order will come for you. They always do. And when they come, Lucian will use you as bait. He'll sacrifice you if it means getting revenge. That's who he is. That's who he's always been."
"Then why are you telling me this?"
Dorian paused in the doorway. "Because I liked Elise. She was kind. She didn't deserve what happened to her." He looked back at me. "And you remind me of her too. It would be a shame to watch another good person get destroyed by Lucian's need for vengeance."
He left.
I stood there, shaking.
Lucian would sacrifice me. What was I thinking
Of course he would. He'd said it himself. He needed my power. Needed me to fight the Order. I was a weapon to him. A tool. Nothing more.
So why did it hurt so much to hear it out loud? I'm not supposed to be shocked he's a heartless monster .
I moved to the window. The sun was setting, painting the sky in shades of blood and fire. In the courtyard below, I could see movement. Vampires emerging from the castle, coming alive with the darkness. That was the only way I could describe it .
Tomorrow I'd try on my wedding dress.
The day after, I'd marry a vampire king who saw me as a weapon.
And somewhere out there, the Order was coming to kill me.
I should run. Should find a way out of this castle and disappear before everything fell apart.
But I thought about that parchment in my drawer. About the names of the dead. About my sister Mara, who had magic in her blood too, even if she didn't know it yet.
About all the people who would die if I ran.
I couldn't save everyone.
But maybe I could save some.
Even if it meant letting Lucian use me.
Even if it meant marrying a man who would sacrifice me the moment it served his revenge.
Even if it meant dying.
My hands started to glow. Just faintly. Golden light flickering across my palms.
I wasn't just a weapon.
I was a Lightbringer.
And maybe, just maybe, I could be the one who decided when and how I'd burn.