FEW HOURS AGO
The wedding was being held at Thornfield’s courtyard. Lyanna had arrived with her family only a day earlier. The atmosphere at Thornfield was completely different from her ho. Her ho was warm, but this castle was cold and scary.
Adrian, along with the other major court mbers, welcod them wholeheartedly. Azrael himself had wanted to co, but Isabella had told them about their tradition, where the groom and bride weren’t supposed to see each other before the wedding, and Azrael had respected the tradition. It was a lie, obviously.
The morning of the wedding, Lyanna woke up with the imdiate weight of what this day ant.
"My lady? It’s ti to get read." The maid knocked at the door, cheerful, and excited.
The next few hours passed in preparation. Her mother supervised everything; adjusting the dress, the flowers in Lyanna’s hair, and approving makeup that made her look older, and more sophisticated.
"Perfect." Isabelle said, as she looked at her daughter. "You look absolutely perfect, just like a princess from a storybook."
Lyanna looked at herself in the mirror and saw a beautiful stranger in a wedding gown. Her eyes were wide with fear, her skin was pale despite the makeup, and her hands were trembling despite her efforts to control them.
"Mother." She whispered. "I can’t do this. I can’t..."
"You can." Isabelle cut her off, gripping Lyanna’s shoulders. "Listen to . You’ll walk down that aisle, stand at that altar, and when the officiant asks you to make your vow, you’ll reject him. I promise you’ll be safe."
"But what if he..."
"He won’t do anything." Isabelle replied. "He won’t do anything in front of hundreds of guests. He’ll be humiliated, of course, but he’ll let you go rather than prove he’s the monster you’ll be calling him. Trust , Lyanna. This is the only way."
Lyanna nodded weakly, her mother’s words were the only thing keeping her strong amid the fear swarming around her.
"It’s ti, my lady. The ceremony begins in ten minutes." Soone knocked at the door.
Her father ca to escort her to the ceremony. When King Edmund saw his daughter’s terrified expression, his face crumpled with guilt and helplessness.
"Lyanna, I’m so sorry." He said as Isabelle left the room. "If there was any other way..."
"There isn’t. You made that clear." Lyanna replied bitterly.
They walked in silence through the castle corridors towards the courtyard where the ceremony would take place. With each step, Lyanna’s heart pounded harder, her breathing quickened, and her hands grew colder. Edmund stopped when they reached the courtyard’s entrance.
"Whatever happens today, know that I love you."
Then the music began.
AT THE ALTAR
Lyanna reached the altar, and Edmund placed her trembling hand in Azrael’s hand. When she looked up at him, tears were about to spill from her eyes.
"It’s all right." Azrael whispered, so only she could hear. "I won’t hurt you. I promise."
The sincerity in his words, and the warmth in his eyes surprised her. For a minute, she actually believed him. But then she saw her mother sitting among the guests, smiling, and rembered how much of a monster he was, according to her mother’s fiction stories.
The officiant began the ceremony. Azrael put a beautiful diamond band on her shaking finger.
She stared at it like it was a shackle. Finally, the officiant reached at the vows.
"King Azrael Thornfield, do you take Lady Lyanna Graves as your wife, your partner, your bonded mate? Do you pledge to honour her, protect her, and stand beside her always?"
"I do." He replied.
Then the officiant turned to Lyanna.
"Lady Lyanna Graves, do you take King Azrael Thornfield as your husband, your partner, your bonded mate? Do you pledge to honour him, stand beside him..."
"No."
Her answer was barely audible.
"My lady?"
"No." Lyanna said again, louder this ti. "I don’t. I won’t."
Azrael tightened his grip on her hand.
"Lyanna, what...
She yanked her hand away from his and took a step back.
"I cannot marry you. I will not marry a soulless monster who is unworthy of love."
"Lyanna!" Azrael’s voice was controlled, but he was about to explode. "Stop. Whatever you’ve been told, whatever you think..."
"I know what you are! You’re a creature who lives on blood and death. You have no soul, no feelings. You’re a monster who collects beautiful things and destroys them when you get bored. You’re unworthy of love, unworthy of partnership, unworthy of anything but the disgust I feel looking at you!"
The courtyard erupted in gasps and murmurs.
Azrael stood frozen there, his face was completely blank.
"I think you don’t realize what you’re saying..."
"I know exactly what I’m saying!" Lyanna’s voice rose. She ripped the ring off her finger and threw it at his feet. "I would rather die than marry a vampire. I would rather spend my life alone than spend one night as your wife.
I refuse you! I refuse this marriage! I refuse everything about you!"
She turned to run, but her father grabbed her arm.
"Lyanna, what have you done? What are you doing?"
"Let go!" She sobbed, trying to pull away. "Please, Father, let go! I can’t do this!"
Edmund looked at Azrael, his face stricken with horror and guilt.
"Your Majesty, I...she didn’t...I don’t know what..."
But Lyanna broke free from her father’s grip and ran away from the altar, her wedding dress trailing behind her as she dashed through the whispering crowd.
Hundreds of guests watched her go, watched how the Graves Princess publicly humiliated the Thornfield King, refusing him at the altar in the most devastating way possible. Azrael just stood there, his hand still extended.
Edmund went to him.
"Your Majesty, I..." His voice cracked. "I am so sorry. I don’t know what possessed her to...she must have been overwheld with fear, with...Please, I beg your forgiveness. The alliance, the contracts...we can salvage this, we can..."
"No. We cannot." Azrael replied with no emotion.
He bent down, picked up the ring she had thrown, and stared at it with his shattered hope.
"Say the word. We’ll bring her back. We’ll force her to marry you. The contracts are signed, you have every legal right..." Adrian said.
"No." Azrael replied. "I won’t force soone who hates this much. I won’t drag a screaming bride to my bed. I’m not the monster she called ."
"But she humiliated you in front of hundreds of guests. Every vampire court and human dignitary saw this. Your authority, your reputation..."
"I know." Azrael interrupted him coldly and turned to address the guests.
"There will be no wedding. The alliance between Thornfield and The House of Graves is void. All contracts are dissolved. There will be no retaliation against The House of Graves or Lady Lyanna. I free her from all obligations." He then looked at Edmund.
"Tell your daughter she is free from this soulless monster."
Edmund fell to his knees.
"Your Majesty, please...you’ve been dishonored...the insult...allow to make ands sohow, let ..."
"Go ho, King Edmund, and take your daughter with you." Azrael said. "We are done here."
He turned and walked away, with Adrian following him. Back in Thornfield’s private chambers hours later, Adrian watched his friend sitting frozen.
"Talk to ." Adrian said.
"She called a soulless monster unworthy of love. She looked at with disgust."
"She was terrified. Soone had filled her head with lies."
"I know. Soone had poisoned her against . Soone wanted humiliated, and the alliance destroyed.
"Then let find out who." Adrian said. "Let investigate."
"No." Azrael stood up abruptly. "I won’t give them the satisfaction of seeing scramble for explanations or revenge. I won’t prove I’m the monster she called by attacking her family."
"Then what will you do?"
"I’ll wait. I’ll rule. I’ll build Thornfield stronger than ever. And maybe soday, fate will allow to settle the score. To show Lady Lyanna Graves exactly what she threw away today, to make her understand what it feels like to be humiliated, powerless and called a monster."
"And until then?"
"Until then, I beco colder and more powerful, so that if that day ever cos, I’ll be strong enough to take my revenge without rcy or hesitation." Azrael said, looking down at the ring still clutched in his hand.
anwhile, in Graves Castle, Lyanna sat in her chambers still in her wedding dress, shaking with terror and shock. Her mother sat beside her, stroking her hair.
"You were so brave, darling. You saved yourself."
But Lyanna couldn’t stop seeing Azrael’s face. She rembered how he had tried to reach her, to stop her, and how his expression had gone completely blank when she called him a soulless monster.
"What if he cos for ?" She whispered. "What if he retaliates? Father said breaking the contract could an war."
"He won’t. His pride won’t let him admit you were important enough to take revenge. He’ll move on, find another bride, and forget you ever existed."
But Lyanna couldn’t shake the feeling that she did sothing she shouldn’t have, and that soday it would co back to haunt her.
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