Three days after the Order's retreat, the kingdom of Aerthrial shifted again.
Not with battle.
But with information.
Selene and Lucien's survival spread like wildfire across the continent.
Rumors whispered through the markets and noble courts.
They said the Aurelian heir had drawn a sword that cut through reality.
They said the Valeburne daughter had awakened a forbidden bloodline seal.
Most dangerous of all?
They said the two of them were still bonded, their love stronger than any ritual meant to erase them.
And that terrified the ruling families more than armies ever could.
In the Eastern Capital, Evelyne Greymoor crushed a glass orb in her hand when the reports arrived.
"They're forcing a new mythology into existence," she hissed.
Her spies stood silently in the corners, heads lowered.
Evelyne's emerald eyes narrowed.
"This isn't about rebellion anymore. It's about rewriting what's possible."
The Eastern Council met in secret chambers, panicked.
They knew something the public didn't:
The ancient laws banning soul-bonded rulers were not just tradition.
They were foundation stones.
Keystones holding together treaties, bloodlines, and the balance of political power.
If Selene and Lucien proved the bonds could survive and still lead?
The entire noble system would collapse.
Marriages arranged for politics would mean nothing.
Lineages built on convenience, not love, would lose control.
Power would scatter.
So the Council made a new decision.
If the Order of Veiled Saints failed to erase Selene and Lucien…
Then someone would have to kill them the old-fashioned way.
Back in Aerthrial's rebel capital, Selene knew this was coming.
She stood at the edge of her war balcony, eyes fixed on the horizon.
Lira approached quietly, scrolls in hand.
"They've placed a price on your heads," Lira whispered. "Three kingdoms have signed the bounty. Enough gold to buy half the continent."
Selene's crimson eyes stayed cold.
"They're desperate."
Lucien joined them moments later, cloak still dusted with frost.
"They'll send assassins next," he said simply.
Selene nodded.
"I know."
But this wasn't just about self-defense anymore.
Selene's rebellion had crossed a threshold.
It wasn't a question of if the old system would fall.
It was a question of how violently.
Inside the war chamber, Selene met with Lucien and Lira, rolling out the new maps.
"We don't just need to survive," Selene whispered, her finger tracing the borders of Aerthrial.
"We need to break the lie."
Lira frowned softly. "Which lie?"
Selene's crimson gaze gleamed beneath the candlelight.
"That love makes you weak."
Lucien's golden eyes met hers, steady.
"And that duty can't include desire."
Outside, mercenary factions waited. Beastkin tribes whispered. Foreign clans watched from beyond the mountains, wondering whether to join the rebellion or exploit it.
The old kingdoms trembled.
Because once a story like this took hold in people's hearts?
Swords and gold wouldn't stop it.
Crimson snow still drifted from the sky.
Soft.
Relentless.
Unstoppable.