Tonight was the full moon.
Also the night of the binding wedding between me and Rorden.
And yet, there I was — the bride-to-be who should have been whispering vows beneath the moonlight — racing madly down the palace corridors, as if the world itself were falling apart around me.
Moonlight poured through tall windows, casting a cold glow across my white gown as it fluttered behind me in a chaotic trail. The clinking of jewels on my body echoed with every desperate step, a frantic melody against the stillness of the palace.
Behind me, a group of attendants rushed in pursuit.
"Your Highness, please slow down!"
"The ceremony is about to begin, Your Highness. Please, return!"
I didn't respond. I didn't even register their pleas. My mind was no longer capable of processing anything rational, except the desperate hunger to uncover the truth.
The truth hidden beneath another truth.
