The sky was still dark when we left Aranthia.
It was too early to understand that everything in my life was already changing. Maybe that's why I kept looking back through the carriage window, hoping somehow the walls of home would reach out and hold me one last time.
Father didn't step out to see me off. He waved from the stairs, as if I was sending him away instead of the other way around.
Elara stood beside him, hands folded so tight her knuckles went white, but she said nothing. Her eyes followed me worried and helpless.
Kaelvion didn't pretend anything. He just lifted me into the carriage as if the palace wasn't filled with people watching us.
The door closed behind us with a quiet thud. It was just me and him and the sound of hooves starting to move.
I placed my hands on my lap, I didn't trust them not to shake. The air in the carriage was warm but still somehow too cold on my arms. It smelled faintly of cedar and steel.
For a while he said nothing. Just watching the road ahead through the little window, his shoulder relaxed in the way only dangerous seemed to.
"So," he said, breaking the silence. "Why didn't you cry?"
I almost choked. "Why would I? Is there any reason I should?"
Thorian turned his head toward me slowly, his eyes… they're sharper in the morning light. He held his gaze without blinking.
"Most brides cry when leaving home," he said. "Especially when they didn't choose the marriage."
"I don't want to—" I stopped, squeezing my fingers. "I'm not going to cry in front of a man like you."
His lip curved into a smile. "Good. I like that."
The compliment or whatever that was made something warm creep up my neck. I looked away before he could see me blushing.
Outside, the last glimpse of my kingdom disappeared behind the trees.
My stomach tightened. So, this was it. No turning back. No familiar hallways or chambers or gardens where I used to hide and play.
Thorian shifted slightly, and I felt his eyes on me again.
"You're quiet, or are you shy to speak with me?" he said.
"I'm thinking."
"About what? escaping?"
I shot him a glare, and he let out a chuckle that made my heart do something strange.
"Relax, wife. I'm just teasing you."
My face burned. "Don't call me that."
He lifted a brow. "Why? We're married, and you belong to me now."
"It's… embarrassing."
"It will be worse once we get to Noctaris," he said, amused. "Everyone will call you that."
I groaned into my hands. "Please, no."
His voice softened, just a little bit than usual. "Liora."
It was the first time he would say my name. I don't know how he knew.
Well, I'm sure my father told him that before all this arrangement thing, so I'm not surprised.
"You can ask me anything you want to," he said.
The way he said it carefully, made me want to doubt if he's truly the cursed prince everyone feared. Why is he going easy on me?
I lifted my head. "Can I? Won't you get angry?"
"No, you deserve to know one or two things about me," he replied if that explained everything. Maybe in his world, it did.
I hesitated, then continued."Is the rumor about you true?"
He leaned back. "A lot is said about me so which of them.
"That you kill without mercy." I said, avoiding his face. "That you're a very reckless prince."
His expression didn't change for a moment. Then he tilted his head and I don't know if he was choosing between telling me the truth or letting me keep whatever story I preferred.
"People fear what they don't understand," he said at last."And they hate what they can't control."
"So they're not true?" I said.
He held my eyes for one long second. "I don't hurt people who don't deserve it."
"And the thing about… being the devil's heir?" I added, voice smaller than I meant.
He smirked. "You tell me. Do I look like the devil to you?"
The words slipped out before I could stop them. "No. You look…" I bit my tongue too late.
His smirk deepened. "I look.. What?"
"Never mind," I said, rolling my eyes.
"Finish what you want to say." he teased, smiling.
I stared stubbornly at the window. "You know what you look like."
"Do I?"
"Yes."
And what is that?"
I wanted to hide my face in shame. "Handsome," I muttered.
He leaned back again, satisfied, while my entire face felt hot. I hugged my arms and stared out at the passing forest.
The ride continued through thicker woods, the air outside growing colder, sharper.
"Is this still my kingdom?" I asked.
"No," Kaelvion said. "We crossed the border ten minutes ago."
My throat tightened. "Already?"
"Yes. We rode fast."
Could feel the speed under the wheels, the way the horses moved like shadows instead of animals.
I pulled my cloak tighter around myself without me noticing.
Kaelvion saw it. "Are you cold?"
He didn't wait for a reply, just draped his heavy black coat over my legs, the inside warm from his body. I stared at it, then at him.
"You didn't have to—"
"I know, can't bear to see you shivering." He said looking out the window again.
Hours passed. The sun rose high, then softened. The road widened, and more riders appeared around the carriage—dark armor, crimson details, masks shaped like wings.
They're Noctaris soldiers. Kaelvion's men.
Their presence made my skin prickle. They didn't look at me. They didn't look anywhere except straight ahead, as if even glancing the wrong way around Kaelvion could end with… consequences.
"They're very…" I searched for the right word.
"Disciplined," he finished for me.
"I was going to say scary."
He laughed under his breath. "Yes.That too."
The closer we got, the more soldiers appeared. Lines and lines of them, creating a path. Then, through the trees, I saw it.
The great Noctaris.
A massive black stone fortress rising from the mist, towers twisting upward like claws. Silver flames burned in lanterns along the gates. The sound of distant drums echoed through the valley, slow and deep, like a heartbeat you could feel in your bones.
"It's beautiful," I whispered, mesmerized by the views.
Kaelvion glanced at me, and for the first time, the edge in his eyes softened in a way that wasn't dangerous at all. More… surprised.
"You think so?"
"Yes," I said quietly. "It's… different. But beautiful."
As we approached the gates, people lined the path. Some bowed deeply the moment they saw Kaelvion. Others stepped back in fear, pulling their children close. A few older men fell to their knees.
Kaelvion didn't react to any of it. He just stepped out of the carriage and offered his hand to me firmly.
He helped me down, his hand around mine, and the moment my feet touched the ground, whispers broke out everywhere.
"His wife…"
"Does she know what he is?"
Another voice: "He killed a man last week for—"
Kaelvion snapped toward the speaker, and the man's words died mid-sentence. He dropped to the ground instantly, pleading.
"Goodness," someone said, out of nowhere."Our brother returns with a bride."
I followed Kaelvion's glare and saw a tall man standing at the top of the stairs. His hair was silver-white, his smile too fake to be friendly.
It was a prince. One of Kaelvion's brothers. The tension between them felt like a storm gathering right above my head.
"Careful, she's not yours to speak about," Kaelvion said coldly.
The prince laughed. "Relax, little brother. I'm only admiring her. She's… soft."
Soft? I didn't know if that was an insult, observation, or threat.
Kaelvion stepped slightly in front of me, blocking the view of his brother. "Touch her with your eyes again and I'll take them."
Everyone froze. Even his soldiers stiffened.
The prince raised both hands slowly. "Fine. Keep your treasure. I was only greeting her."
I know well that it wasn't a greeting. That was assessing a prey.
Kaelvion led me inside without another glance, his hand resting low on my back, guiding me through the door. The moment they shut behind us, the noise of the outside world disappeared.
"Don't look at him," he said without turning.
We walked through stone hallways lit by silver torches. Everything here felt old and alive, as if the walls remembered every secret ever spoken inside them.
"Your Highness," I said carefully. "Your brother… he doesn't like you, right?"
Kaelvion gave a humorless sound. "None of them do."
"Why?"
"Because they all want my throne."
I stopped walking. "You're going to be the king?"
His eyes flicked to me, dark and unreadable. "Yes."
"Oh." That was all I managed. Just oh. Because suddenly all of this felt even bigger than I understood.
He watched my face for a moment, then said quietly, "Don't worry. You're safe with me."
"I know," I said. With everything I've seen in his kingdom. I'm very sure Kaelvion would protect me.
We reached a carved wooden door. He pushed it open and stepped aside for me.
"This," he said, "would be your chamber."
My new room. New life. New everything.
I stood there in the doorway, not ready to step in because stepping in meant accepting this whole new world that had teeth and shadows and a prince who people feared so much they couldn't breathe around him.
Kaelvion touched my elbow gently, guiding me forward.
"Welcome to Noctaris… wife."