The last thing I remembered was the freezing rain pelting my shoulders as I stumbled across the crosswalk, headphones blasting, eyes on my phone.
Then—horns. Screeching tires. White light.
And then… silence.
When I opened my eyes again, I wasn't sprawled on the asphalt. I was staring up at a vaulted ceiling painted with angels and demons. My body felt light, but wrong. My clothes weren't mine — no hoodie, no jeans. A rough wool tunic clung to me instead.
"What the hell…?" I muttered.
"Prince Kael!"
A girl's voice rang out.
I turned, and my heart nearly stopped. She was standing at the foot of the bed, hands folded delicately before her chest, smile so warm it almost hurt to look at.
Long black hair spilled down her shoulders like ink, her pale skin glowing under the candlelight. Her eyes — crimson, too bright, too sharp — fixed on me with an intensity that made my stomach twist.
She looked beautiful. Perfect. Terrifying.
"You woke up," she whispered, stepping closer. "I prayed you would. I couldn't bear it if you left me alone."
My throat went dry. Prince Kael? Who the hell was that?
And this girl…
"Do I know you?" I asked carefully.
Her smile widened. Too wide.
"Of course you do," she said softly. "I'm Liora. Your fiancée. Your chosen one. You promised we'd be together forever."
Every instinct screamed at me that something was wrong. The way she said chosen one. The way her fingers twitched, like she wanted to reach out and hold me, the way I reflexibly flinched when she drew nearer.
"I… don't remember," I admitted.
For a second, her expression shifted. The smile seemed to grow a tad bit more, and a strange glint lit up in her crimson eyes. But then it went back to normal, as if that slight change never happened.
"That's all right," she said. "You don't have to remember. I'll make you fall in love with me again. And if anyone tries to get between us…"
Her hand slipped behind her back. Steel glinted as she pulled a dagger from her gown's folds.
"…I'll cut them apart."
She said it with the same tone someone else might use to promise a kiss.
My body stiffened at that. Yet despite that chilling line, I somehow felt an odd sense of warmth from those words. Was I just crazy? I thought to myself as I stared at her.
One thing was unnervingly clear, however: she loved me. I told myself to trust her — because what else could I do in a palace I didn't belong to?