Azalea_Belrose

Angel thought the world would be hers to explore when she turned twenty.  She can finally be free from the gilded cage her overprotective father built for her.

But she was mistaken! Her 20th birthday marked the day she lost everything, including the freedom she so desperately craved. It was the day she fell into the hands of her father's enemy, to atone for his sins.

Leoric has meticulously planned his revenge for many years.  When that day came, he thought he had everything under control.  The man who killed his father was behind bars, and the empire he painstakingly built fell into his hands ... including his only daughter.

He planned to force his new bride to entertain his friends on their wedding night.  That should force her to a status lower than an escort, which should humiliate her and shame her father.  That should usher her into hell.

His perfect plan of revenge was ruined by a mysterious mishap. They found themselves stranded in a desert in an unfamiliar world after their yacht was sucked into a vortex.

Later, they discovered that they were in a parallel universe ruled by dark forces. The only way to return is to offer a tribute to the country's supreme leader—a virgin bride!

Where would they get a virgin?  Wait, isn't Angel a virgin?

As Leoric and his companions traveled across the treacherous landscapes of the enigmatic Astralis, he found himself falling for his wife, who seemed to have transformed after falling into the sea on their wedding night.

On a starry night on top of the peak of Mount Anabu, Leoric gazed tenderly at his wife, who looked ethereal, radiated a mystical aura, and whispered...  

"To hell with the supreme leader and going back.  You can only be mine!  Let us rule Astralis!"

The Tribute Bride

Angel woke with a sharp gasp, her heart hammering against her ribs. Her body was slick with sweat, her breath shallow as she tried to grasp the fading edges of the dream that had ensnared her once more. The air around her was thick, humid, as if the heat of the day had seeped into the walls and wrapped around her like a stifling embrace.

She sat up slowly, pressing her damp palms against the sun-warmed rug beneath her. The fibers clung to her fingers, radiating the day's stored heat. She tilted her head back, resting against the rough, orange-hued rock of the walls, willing herself to steady her breath.

That dream again. The same strange, haunting visions that had plagued her nights for as long as she could remember. It felt less like a dream and more like a forced recollection—like someone was pouring memories into her mind, trying to make her see, to understand.

A Dream That Lingers