Lumina’s arm remained looped around her husband’s waist as they walked through the open street, yet her steps felt distant, as though her body moved while her mind lagged. Ashen tried. She knew he did.
He slowed his pace for her, guided her around uneven stones, pointed out stalls filled with color and sound, but none of it reached her heart.
The image of the shattered mirror refused to leave her.
The arrow.
The blood she had felt.
The shadow only she had seen.
Ashen’s laughter earlier, light and coaxing, had faded when he realized she was not responding the way she usually did.
Her silence worried him more than tears ever could. Lumina leaned into him, resting her head against his chest, listening to the steady beat of his heart. It grounded her, yet it did not erase the unease clawing at her thoughts.
She did not know whether to fear her own mind or the world around her.
The thought that she might be losing herself terrified her.
The thought that she was not terrified enough frightened her even more.
Sothing was coming. She felt it in her bones.
"My Queen."
Ashen’s voice drew her out of the haze. She lifted her head slightly, eyes unfocused, following the direction of his gaze.
He stood before a jeweler’s stand, sunlight catching on polished silver and gemstones. His fingers hovered over a necklace, then gently lifted it.
Two pendants rested against his palm, identical in shape, bound by the sa chain. Simple yet elegant. Made to be worn together.
Lumina swallowed. She wanted to feel joy. She wanted to smile, tease him, tell him it was unnecessary.
Instead, she found herself leaning back into him, cheek resting against his shoulder once more.
Her nod was small as Ashen exhaled slowly.
He turned, angling himself so she could feel the rise and fall of his chest. One arm ca around her back, steady and protective.
"It is for both of us," his voice was warm, careful. "We will share it. Why does it not excite you?"
Her fingers curled into the fabric of his coat. She said nothing. Words felt heavy, unreliable. She feared that if she spoke, the worry would spill out uncontrollably.
Ashen studied her face. He had noticed the change since that morning. The way her gaze lingered on nothing. The way she flinched at sudden sounds and held herself as though bracing for impact.
A part of him feared she was breaking under pressure, another part feared she was not.
"I think we should return to the chambers." Her response ca instantly, another nod.
Relief flickered briefly across his face, quickly masked. He paid the jeweler and slipped the necklace away, his movents restrained, thoughtful.
As they walked back, Ashen spoke again, softer this ti.
"My Queen... there may be little ti for us together in the coming days." He hesitated. "Father wants a ceremony for my brother and there are discussions concerning ... You know Oaths Duties." Lumina stopped at once.
Her head lifted as her grip on him tightened.
"You take no oath to anyone but ."
Ashen turned fully toward her. He did not pull away. Instead, he drew her closer, his arm firm around her shoulders.
"We are in public," he murmured.
She bit her finger in frustration, jaw tightening.
"Fine. Let us go," he replied.
The palace gates lood ahead in a secure way so it should have been.
As they approached, guards stepped forward, halberds crossing.
"Your Highness," one of them began, stiff and uneasy, "you cannot enter at this ti."
Ashen moved instinctively, placing himself in front of Lumina, his presence imdiately commanding.
"What nonsense is this?"
Before the guard could answer, a voice drifted from behind them, amused
"Well, well." Ashen turned slowly.
Alexis stood a few steps back, hands clasped behind him, a smirk tugging at his lips.
His eyes swept over the couple, lingering far too long on Lumina, who had gone quiet against Ashen’s chest.
"Breaking rules now?" Alexis continued. "Leaving the palace without sanction. How unbecoming of the arbiter of law."
"You do not control ," Ashen replied flatly. Alexis chuckled.
"Before you are a prince, you are the keeper of order. Should I remind you of that?"
Ashen stepped closer, his presence oppressive. Lumina remained silent, head resting against him, eyes half-lidded. She looked exhausted.
"What is wrong with her?" Alexis asked as he noticed this at once.
"Take your eyes off her." Alexis blinked, surprised.
"Ashen, are you doing all this for her?" Ashen’s lips curved into a slow, dangerous smile.
"Alexis." The way he said his brother’s na was a warning.
"No one aside from can handle her." Alexis stiffened at his words. His gaze snapped up to Ashen’s face.
"Excuse ?"
Ashen leaned closer, voice low, lethal.
"The next ti I catch you looking at her, I will not forgive you. I am not joking. She is my wife. She will always be mine." He did not wait for a response. Ashen turned and carried Lumina past him, not sparing Alexis another glance.
Alexis stood frozen, breath shallow, fists clenched. Only when they disappeared did he move, legs carrying him blindly toward the gardens. He paced beneath towering hedges, dragging a hand through his hair, chest tight. Ashen was right.
He had lost control and the mory rose unbidden. The first ti he had attacked her in pretense and seen Lumina fall.
The way she had trembled, even though he had never touched her, never hard her, yet she had played the role so convincingly that the world believed otherwise.
She had bound her soul to the queen that day in a sneaky way and that was exactly what told him she wasn’t any girl to be ssed with.
When he learned she was Ashen’s wife, he was angry, the one woman who had ever drawn his attention had already claid.
He had watched her from afar even before Ashen knew of her, he purposely didn’t have her killed because he wanted to protect her.
Seeing the only one she knows now is none other than Ashen made him furious.
A hand landed on his shoulder at this mont making him stiffen.
Just then a woman stepped close, her presence cold and familiar as her breath brushed his ear.
"This was not our agreent," she whispered. "I hear you have taken an interest elsewhere. Choose carefully."
Alexis turned, eting eyes glowing red with fury and he sighed.
"I married you because of the rules. Nothing more," he stated as His hand
tightened painfully around her wrist.
"Do not test ." He shoved her away and walked off, leaving her staring after him, trembling with rage.
Her lips curled into a cruel smile.
"Lumina," she whispered to the empty garden. "If I cannot have him, you will pay."
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