The words struck like lightning. For a heartbeat, the Hall of Balance froze, hushed and reverent as though the air itself held its breath.
Then, like thunder rolling down a mountain, applause erupted. Cheers filled the vaulted chamber, a storm of disbelief, outrage, and awe crashing against its marble walls.
Some nobles rose to their feet in protest, their jeweled sleeves swishing in anger. Others shouted blessings to the heavens, their eyes alight with wonder.
The clash of voices grew deafening, a tempest of divided hearts.
But Vaelric was the first to rise above them all, his young voice breaking with uncontained joy.
"They are wed!" he cried, his eyes shining brighter than the storm-crystals overhead. "Lady Aurelia Stormborne....our banner shines brighter tonight!"
Aurelia startled at the name. Stormborne.
Her name now. It settled upon her shoulders like a cloak, heavy and unfamiliar, yet strangely warm against the chill she had carried for so long.
It was both burden and comfort, both chain and key.
She dared not look at Valerian, though his presence beside her was a steadying force, unyielding as the storms that obeyed his call.
Across the chamber, Calista's expression twisted.
She had envisioned herself a victor in this hall, ready to wield her new betrothal to the northern lord as a crown to flaunt in Emberhold.
She had imagined walking ahead of Aurelia, not trailing her shadow.
But now? Her jaw clenched until her teeth nearly cracked.
Aurelia was not only wed, but wed to him. Valerian Stormborne....the enigmatic Storm Lord, sovereign of Virelia.
The very man Calista had hoped to measure herself against from a safe, envious distance was now her sister's husband.
"She was meant to suffer," Calista hissed under her breath, nails digging crescents into her palms. "Not… rise."
Her gaze flicked toward the north lord she had been promised, but even the thought of him gave little comfort.
She had wanted to be above Aurelia. Twenty steps higher.
Now she was still a betrothed while Aurelia was already a queen.
Lady Mowenna Winterbourne fanned herself with sharp, deliberate motions, though her hand trembled with suppressed fury.
The events of the evening had unraveled beyond her comprehension.
When that snake Sylas had suggested an exchange, she had finally thought him useful.
When the demon-girl was bartered away, she rejoiced. To be rid of the cursed bride, to free her son Neris from the burden of that shameful union....it had been triumph.
But then… this.
When Vaelric had spoken of Aurelia marrying his father, Mowenna had dismissed it as childish nonsense.
And yet, Valerian had not laughed. He had agreed. He had asked for the girl's hand before witnesses, before Elyria Venn herself.
"A curse," she muttered to the lady beside her, though her fan shielded her lips.
"She must have bewitched him. There is no other answer."
But even her venom faltered beneath the gaze of the High Oracle, seated in her place of honor at the dais.
Elyria Venn's eyes gleamed like molten silver, clear and piercing as she observed the hall. No trickery could stand within her sight....not here, not in the Hall of Balance.
And so, though Mowenna's mind rebelled, her heart could not deny what her eyes beheld.
Valerian Stormborne had wed the cursed demon, and Aurelia Stormborne was now queen.
Valerian, unshaken by the waves of whispers, extended his hand to Aurelia.
His gesture was simple, elegant...yet heavy with meaning. She placed her hand in his, and he guided her down the marble steps with the poise of one born to command storms.
All eyes followed.
Together they crossed to the section of the hall where the Virelian delegates waited, their robes of storm-gray embroidered with silver sigils of lightning.
When their monarch approached, they rose as one, the thunder of their boots echoing against the marble.
They bowed deeply before Valerian, voices unified.
"All hail Valerian Stormborne, Lord of Virelia, Warden of Valkoron."
Then their eyes turned to Aurelia. Hesitation flickered across a few faces, but tradition and oath held stronger. They bent once more, reverent though uncertain.
"All hail Aurelia Stormborne, our queen."
Aurelia's breath hitched. The words fell upon her ears like a wave, overwhelming and surreal. She felt their weight press against her chest, a crown invisible yet undeniable.
Valerian's voice was quiet, but it carried a strength that steadied her trembling heart.
"Sit," he told her gently, guiding her toward the chair set among the delegates.
When she settled, he lingered a moment longer, his storm-gray eyes holding hers. "You are not alone anymore."
And then he turned, returning to the place where the other lords convened.
As he sat, his gaze swept the hall. Not for Aurelia this time...he knew where she was, safe among his people.... but for another. His son.
"Where is Vaelric?" he murmured to himself, though no one answered.
Then he saw him.
The boy was slipping away from the Stormborne retinue with all the subtlety of a cat, weaving between nobles and courtiers until he reached Aurelia's side.
Valerian's lips curved faintly, the smallest smile tugging at his stern features. His son had chosen his place without hesitation.
Vaelric's face glowed with pride as he plopped onto the seat beside Aurelia. He leaned close, eyes wide and searching her face as though afraid she might vanish.
"You know who I am, right?" His voice was hopeful, fragile, carrying more weight than any child's question should.
Aurelia blinked, startled by the intensity in his gaze. For a boy so young, he carried himself with a gravity that reminded her of his father.
It was because of this boy...his wild courage, his faith....that she had been offered a chance at freedom.
She owed him more than words could repay.
"Yes," she said softly, her lips curving with warmth. "Yes, I do."
But Vaelric was not satisfied. He straightened, as if demanding the truth of her heart.
"Then tell me," he urged, eyes glimmering. "Who am I?"
Aurelia's throat tightened. She reached out, brushing a strand of hair from his brow with a tenderness that startled even herself.
"You," she whispered, the words catching like flame in the hush that fell around them,
"you're my son."
Vaelric's face lit with a smile so radiant it rivaled the storm-crystals overhead. And with that, the world seemed to hold its breath once more, waiting for what would come next.