Cassandra's POV
"Marcus is alive."
Adrian said it the moment he burst into my recovery room at dawn. No greeting. No explanation. Just those three words that made no sense.
"What?" I sat up too fast. Pain shot through my bandaged side. "Your dead brother is alive?"
"Maybe. I don't know." He paced like a caged animal. "There was a fire in the archives. A midwife appeared and told me Marcus was my twin—my twin, Cassandra—and then she said something about him maybe not being dead and walked into the flames."
"That's insane."
"I know!" He ran his hands through his hair. "But she had a birth certificate. Proof. I was supposed to be hidden because of some prophecy about twins destroying the kingdom."
I tried to process this. "So you're not just the third prince. You're a hidden twin who might be the real heir?"
"Apparently."
"And your twin brother might be alive somewhere?"
"Maybe."
"And we're getting married in—" I glanced at the window. Sun barely rising. "—twelve hours?"
"Yes."
We stared at each other.
Then I started laughing. It hurt my wound, but I couldn't stop.
"What's funny?" Adrian demanded.
"Everything! This is the most ridiculous thing I've ever heard!" I wiped tears from my eyes. "We're trying to survive assassination attempts, expose a murderous queen, and now there's a secret twin and a prophecy? This is like a bad storybook!"
Adrian's lips twitched. "When you put it that way..."
"We're going to die, aren't we?" I asked.
"Probably."
"Want to get married anyway?"
"Absolutely."
He sat on my bed, and suddenly we were both laughing like lunatics. The stress and fear and absurdity of everything just poured out.
"I can't believe this is my wedding day," I gasped between giggles.
"I can't believe I have a maybe-alive twin."
"I can't believe I got shot three days before my wedding."
"I can't believe we're actually doing this."
Our laughter faded. We looked at each other, really looked.
"Are you scared?" I asked quietly.
"Terrified," Adrian admitted. "You?"
"Out of my mind." I took his hand. "But I'd rather be terrified with you than safe and alone."
Something shifted in his silver eyes. Something warm and real.
"We should probably get ready," he said softly. "Big day."
"Huge day." I squeezed his hand. "Try not to die before the ceremony."
"You too."
The wedding was nothing like I'd imagined as a little girl.
No grand cathedral. No hundreds of guests. No beautiful dress with a long train.
Just a small chapel in the palace. Maybe twenty people present. Viktor and his men providing security. Dr. Chen and Lyanna standing as witnesses. My brother Thomas, finally safe, holding my hand until the ceremony started.
Elias stood beside Adrian as his only family member. Luca positioned himself near the door, watching for threats.
The King didn't come. Neither did Seraphine or Damian. Their absence spoke volumes.
I wore a simple blue dress—the nicest thing I owned. Someone had cleaned the blood out of it. My hair was pulled back with no decorations. I looked like what I was: a poor noblewoman marrying for survival.
But when I walked down the short aisle and saw Adrian waiting, something in my chest tightened.
He looked different. Stronger somehow, despite his still-weak body. Like he'd stopped pretending to be helpless and started becoming dangerous.
The priest spoke quickly. War, assassins, and royal politics didn't wait for long ceremonies.
"Do you, Prince Adrian Valcrest, take this woman as your wife?"
"I do." His voice was steady.
"Do you, Lady Cassandra Nyx, take this man as your husband?"
I thought about my father. About three years of suffering. About the choice I was making.
"I do."
"The rings?"
Adrian pulled out a simple gold band. Old. Worn. But beautiful.
"This was my mother's," he said quietly, sliding it onto my finger. "It's the only jewelry I have. I know this isn't the wedding you dreamed of—"
"Dreams died when my father was executed," I interrupted gently. "This is survival."
His eyes widened slightly. Then he smiled—sad but real.
"Then let's survive together."
The priest cleared his throat. "You may kiss your bride."
Adrian leaned in. Our lips met.
It was supposed to be quick. Formal. Just for show.
But something happened.
The kiss deepened. My hand found his chest. His arm wrapped around my waist, careful of my injury.
For just a moment, everything else disappeared. No assassins. No plots. No danger.
Just him and me and this unexpected spark between us.
We pulled apart, both slightly breathless.
"Well," Adrian whispered. "That was unexpected."
"Very," I agreed.
"By the power vested in me," the priest said quickly, "I declare you husband and wife."
Light applause. Thomas hugged me. Elias clapped Adrian on the shoulder.
"Congratulations," Viktor said dryly. "Try not to die on your wedding night."
"Romantic," I muttered.
We signed the marriage document. Official. Legal. Binding.
I was Princess Cassandra Valcrest now. Wife of the "useless" prince.
We had a small dinner in Adrian's chambers—safer than the dining hall. Just our small group of allies, eating simple food and drinking carefully tested wine.
"To the happy couple," Luca toasted. "May you live long enough to regret this."
"Inspiring," Adrian said, but he smiled.
As evening fell, people gradually left. Thomas went with Lyanna to a protected room. Viktor and his men took up guard positions. Dr. Chen returned to his clinic.
Finally, it was just Adrian and me in his chambers.
Our chambers now.
We stood there awkwardly.
"So," I said. "This is weird."
"Very weird." He rubbed the back of his neck. "I can sleep on the floor. Give you the bed."
"Don't be ridiculous. You're still recovering from years of poison. You need a proper bed." I gestured to the massive bed. "It's big enough for both of us. We're adults. We can handle this."
"Right. Adults."
We changed in separate corners. I wore a simple nightgown. Adrian wore loose sleeping clothes.
We got into bed, keeping a careful distance between us.
"This is fine," I said to the ceiling.
"Completely fine," Adrian agreed.
"We're married. People share beds all the time."
"All the time."
Silence.
"Cassandra?"
"Yes?"
"Thank you. For today. For everything."
I turned my head to look at him. In the moonlight, his face looked younger. Vulnerable.
"Thank you for not letting me stab Damian at that first ball," I said. "I'd be dead now."
"We'd both be dead by now if we hadn't found each other."
"Good thing we're both too stubborn to die."
He laughed softly. Then his expression grew serious. "Whatever happens in the Trials, whatever Seraphine throws at us—we face it together. Deal?"
"Deal."
We fell asleep like that, not touching but connected somehow.
I woke to Adrian screaming.
He thrashed in the bed, caught in a nightmare, shouting words I couldn't understand.
"Adrian!" I shook him. "Adrian, wake up!"
His eyes snapped open—but they weren't his eyes. They were cold. Deadly. The eyes of someone else entirely.
In one swift motion, he grabbed my throat.
"Who are you?" he demanded in a voice that didn't sound like his. "Where's Tommy? Where's the warehouse?"
I couldn't breathe. His grip was iron-strong—impossible for someone as weak as Adrian.
"Adrian," I choked out. "It's me. Cassandra. Your wife."
Confusion flickered across his face. His grip loosened slightly.
"Cassandra?" He blinked. Then horror flooded his expression. He released me immediately, scrambling backward. "God. Did I—are you—"
I gasped for air, rubbing my throat. "I'm okay. You were having a nightmare."
"I could have killed you." His hands shook. "I thought you were—I thought I was back in—" He stopped, looking terrified.
"Back where?" I asked carefully.
Before he could answer, someone pounded on the door.
"Prince Adrian!" A guard's panicked voice. "Emergency! You need to come now!"
Adrian rushed to the door. "What's wrong?"
"It's Prince Elias, Your Highness." The guard's face was white. "He's been poisoned. He's dying."
We ran through the corridors still in our nightclothes. Reached Elias's chambers.
He lay on his bed, convulsing. Foam at his mouth. His skin turning blue.
Dr. Chen was already there, working frantically.
"What happened?" Adrian demanded.
"Someone put poison in his wine. Same poison he used on you for two years." Dr. Chen's expression was grim. "Poetic justice, except he's going to die from it."
"No." Adrian grabbed Elias's hand. "You don't get to die. Not now. Not after finally trying to make things right."
Elias's eyes flickered open. He looked at Adrian with tears streaming down his face.
"Sorry," he whispered. "So sorry. For everything."
"Save your apologies. You're going to live."
"No. This is... punishment. Deserve it." Elias coughed blood. "But Adrian... message... in my desk... about Marcus..."
"What about Marcus?"
"He's alive. In the North. Hiding. Waiting." Elias's breath rattled. "Seraphine... knows. She's sending... assassins..."
"Where exactly? Give me a location!"
But Elias's eyes rolled back. His body went still.
Dr. Chen checked for a pulse. Shook his head. "He's gone."
Adrian stood there, staring at his brother's body. The brother who'd poisoned him for two years. The brother who'd finally tried to make amends.
"Check his desk," Adrian said, his voice hollow. "Find that message."
Viktor appeared, already searching. He found a letter hidden in a secret compartment.
"Here." He handed it to Adrian.
Adrian read it. His face went white.
"What does it say?" I asked.
"Marcus is alive. He's been hiding in a monastery in the Northern Mountains for five years, recovering from the 'accident' that was supposed to kill him." Adrian's voice shook. "And Seraphine just sent the Shadowhand Guild to finish the job. They left this morning."
"How long until they reach him?" Viktor asked.
"Three days. Maybe less if they ride hard."
"Then we ride harder," I said. "We leave tonight."
"It's a trap," Luca warned. "Seraphine wants us to leave the palace. Out there, we're vulnerable."
"If we don't go, Marcus dies." Adrian looked at me. "But this is your choice too now. You're my wife. If we do this, we both risk everything."
I thought about our wedding vows. About survival. About the spark between us that was becoming something more.
"We're in this together," I said. "Let's go save your twin."
Adrian nodded. "Then we leave in one hour. Pack light. Ride fast."
As everyone rushed to prepare, I pulled Adrian aside.
"What happened in that nightmare?" I asked quietly. "Who's Tommy? Where's the warehouse?"
He looked at me with haunted eyes. "That's the secret I've been keeping. The one I'm not sure you'll believe." He took a deep breath. "But if we're going to survive what's coming, you deserve to know the truth. All of it."
"Tell me."
"I'm not who you think I am. I'm not really Adrian Valcrest. Or rather, I am, but I'm also someone else. Someone from another world. Another life." He met my eyes. "My name was Marco Santini. I was a mafia boss. And I died in a warehouse in New York before waking up in this body."
I stared at him.
"Say something," he whispered.
Before I could respond, Lyanna burst through the door.
"We have a problem," she gasped. "The palace gates just sealed. Queen's orders. No one in or out."
"She knows we're trying to leave," Viktor growled.
"And she's trapped us inside," Adrian finished.
We all looked at each other.
Trapped in the palace. Elias dead. Marcus in danger. Assassins closing in.
And my new husband just told me he was a reincarnated mafia boss from another world.
This was going to be one hell of a marriage.