Caspian's POV
"Don't touch me."
Selene pulled away the moment we entered our chambers. The door slammed shut behind us. We were finally alone. Husband and wife.
She looked at me like I was a stranger.
"The guest room is through there." She pointed to a door on the left. "You'll sleep separately. Always."
My chest tightened. "Selene—"
"Princess Selene," she corrected coldly. "We're not friends, Caspian. This marriage is a business arrangement. Nothing more."
"Yesterday you held my hand. You thanked me for helping you."
"Yesterday I was desperate." She turned away from me. "Today I'm married to a hybrid who made me look like a fool in front of the entire court."
The words hit like physical blows. "I didn't do anything. They were the ones who—"
"It doesn't matter." Her voice was ice. "What's done is done. Just... stay out of my way. Sleep in your room. Don't embarrass me further."
"This wasn't my idea," I said quietly. "You asked me to marry you, remember?"
"I made a mistake." She finally looked at me. Her silver eyes were hard. Empty. "I thought you'd be grateful. Thought you'd understand your place. Instead, you spoke back to my father. Made demands. Drew more attention to yourself."
"I was defending us!"
"There is no us!" Selene's voice rose. "There's me, the princess who has to live with the consequences of a stupid decision. And there's you, the nobody who somehow tricked his way into the palace."
Each word carved deeper. I'd known this marriage was fake. Known she didn't love me. But hearing her say it—seeing the disgust in her eyes—hurt more than I'd expected.
"Fine." I moved toward the guest room door. "I'll stay out of your way."
"Good." She turned back to her own room. "And Caspian? Lock your door tonight. The palace isn't safe for people like you."
The door to her room closed. I heard the bolt slide into place.
I stood alone in the sitting area between our two rooms. Alone in the palace. Alone in a marriage that already felt like a prison.
My guest room was smaller than I'd expected. Comfortable but clearly meant for servants. A bed. A desk. A single window overlooking the dark gardens.
I sat on the bed and put my head in my hands.
What had I done?
Ten thousand gold coins suddenly didn't seem worth this. Worth the humiliation. The hatred. The loneliness.
I should never have agreed to marry her.
Time passed. I don't know how long. Eventually, I lay down without changing clothes. Sleep seemed impossible, but exhaustion pulled at me.
Voices woke me.
I sat up in the darkness. How long had I been asleep? An hour? Two?
The voices came from outside my door. In the sitting area. Low. Urgent. Trying to be quiet.
"—sure he's alone?" A man's voice.
"The princess locked herself in. It's just him." Another man. Deeper voice.
"Make it quick. No witnesses."
My blood turned to ice.
Assassins. The three men from the cathedral. They'd come.
I rolled off the bed as quietly as possible. My heart hammered against my ribs. The voices moved closer to my door.
I looked around desperately for a weapon. Anything. The room was nearly empty. A lamp. Some books. Nothing useful.
The door handle turned slowly. I'd forgotten to lock it like Selene said.
Idiot. I was an idiot.
The door opened. Three shadows slipped inside. Moonlight glinted off the knives in their hands.
"Hello, hybrid," the first one whispered. "Time to die."
They moved fast. Professional. Trained killers.
I grabbed the lamp and threw it. It smashed against the first man's face. He stumbled back, cursing.
The second assassin lunged. His knife slashed toward my throat.
I dove sideways. Years of living in the Shadow District—of fighting off bullies and thieves—took over. I wasn't trained. Wasn't skilled. But I was desperate and quick.
My foot caught the edge of the desk. I shoved it hard. It crashed into the second assassin. He tripped over it with a grunt.
The third man was already on me. His knife caught my arm. Pain bloomed hot and sharp. Blood soaked my sleeve.
I grabbed his wrist. We struggled. He was stronger. Much stronger. The knife inched toward my chest.
"Nothing personal," he hissed. "Just business."
I drove my knee into his stomach. He grunted. Loosened his grip just slightly. I twisted hard and felt something in his wrist snap.
He screamed and dropped the knife.
I grabbed it.
Now I had a weapon. But I'd never killed anyone. Never even hurt anyone seriously.
The first assassin recovered from the lamp. Blood ran down his face. His eyes were murder.
"You're dead, hybrid."
They came at me together. Two of them. I backed toward the window. Trapped. Bleeding. Terrified.
The door to Selene's room stayed closed. She wasn't coming. Wasn't helping. Maybe she couldn't hear. Maybe she didn't care.
I was going to die alone.
The assassins circled. Playing with me now. Enjoying my fear.
Then the main door burst open.
Palace guards flooded in. Finally. Help. Rescue.
"Thank the gods," I gasped. "They tried to kill me. These men—"
The guards ignored the assassins. They surrounded me instead. Swords drawn. Pointed at me.
"Drop the knife, hybrid," the guard captain ordered.
"What? No, you don't understand—"
"Drop it now or we'll cut you down."
I looked at the assassins. They were smiling. Backing away slowly. The guards let them pass. Let them leave.
This wasn't a rescue. This was part of the plan.
I dropped the knife. It clattered on the floor. Blood still dripped from my wounded arm.
"On your knees," the captain said.
"I was defending myself!"
"You attacked three nobles in your room. That's assault." The captain smiled. Not friendly. Cold. "On your knees or we'll put you there."
I knelt. My mind raced. This was a setup. The assassins. The guards. All of it planned.
Someone wanted me dead. And if the guards were involved, it went high up. Very high up.
The guards parted. Someone walked through them. Someone who moved with absolute authority.
Emperor Valorian.
He looked down at me with those cold silver eyes. Studied the blood on my arm. The destroyed room. The knife on the floor.
"Interesting," he said softly. "Most hybrids would have died quickly. Quietly. But you fought. You survived."
"Your Majesty, I—"
"Silence." He circled me like a predator studying prey. "Those men were my best assassins. Expensive. Skilled. Deadly. Yet here you are. Still breathing."
My mouth went dry. "You sent them."
"I test all threats to my family." Valorian stopped in front of me. "You married my daughter. That makes you either an asset or a liability. I needed to know which."
"You tried to kill me to test me?"
"And you survived. That changes things." He gestured to the guards. "Bring him."
The guards hauled me to my feet. Pain shot through my wounded arm. They dragged me from the room.
I looked back at Selene's door. Still closed. Still locked. She'd heard everything. The fight. The guards. Her father's arrival.
She'd stayed hidden. Stayed safe. Let me face this alone.
The guards pulled me down dark hallways. Deeper into the palace. Away from the royal chambers. Away from anywhere someone might hear me scream.
We stopped in a room I'd never seen. Stone walls. No windows. A single chair in the center.
They shoved me into it.
Emperor Valorian entered behind us. The door closed. Locked. We were alone except for two guards.
"Now," Valorian said, sitting across from me. "Let's talk about why you're still alive, hybrid."