WEDDING NIGHT

The Drayveil banquet hall for our after-wedding celebration was a vision of otherworldly beauties. With velvet-draped walls, black roses arranged in twisted elegance, and candlelight shimmered from golden chandeliers like trapped stars. Gold-trimmed goblets overflowed with crimson wine; blood wine, they called it. I didn't dare taste it. Alina's warning echoed in my mind like a steady drumbeat.

Vampires watched me with curious amusement. Their eyes glowed like polished obsidian, unblinking and knowing. I sat stiffly beside Caspian at the high table, my spine painfully straight from the tight corset and the tension clenching my chest. I felt like a doll on display. A bride wrapped in silk and silence.

Caspian hadn't looked at me once since the binding ritual. Not once.

Even now, seated only inches away, he felt galaxies apart. His jaw clenched. His eyes remained fixed ahead. He sat like an icy sculpture carved from shadow.

Yet I couldn't stop remembering. The moment our blood met, something had shifted. Not just in me... but in him too. His body had tensed. His gaze had flickered. Then, he withdrew. Completely.

Now, he sat in silence as laughter echoed around us and goblets clinked in celebration. Nobles toasted and whispered. Servants passed with platters of roasted meats and rich spiced bread, but everything felt hollow. The ache in my chest deepened with every passing minute.

This union was supposed to protect my kingdom. But who was going to protect me?

Caspian's brothers sat nearby like silent spectators watching the show. Marcus smirked at me from across the table, his eyes gleaming with something cruel.

I forced a polite smile as a noble approached to offer his congratulations, but the words barely registered.

Hours passed like fog. The feast blurred before me.

Caspian didn't touch a single dish. I stole a glance at the way his fingers curled slightly on the table, the faint vibration in his jaw. He was fighting something. I could feel it.

"You're not eating," Caspian said suddenly, his voice low, just for me.

I stiffened, surprised. I hadn't expected him to speak. I kept my tone even. "Neither are you."

His storm-grey eyes turned toward me, unreadable. "Human food lost its meaning for me long ago."

I nodded slowly, lowering my gaze to my untouched plate. Roasted meat, buttered roots, sweet grapes, and the intoxicating scent of blood wine I still dared not drink.

I managed to force a grape past the tightness in my throat.

Suddenly, Caspian stood. His chair scraped loudly across the stone floor like a blade unsheathing. The entire hall fell silent. He raised his goblet, his voice slicing through the stillness.

"To our union," he said coldly. "Let it be the last of its kind."

"Aye, aye," the court echoed, some chuckling, others murmuring behind their goblets.

And that was it. The end of the celebration.

We were officially announced: Prince Caspian Drayveil and Princess Lyra Velinor. Bound in blood. Bound in name.

But were we truly bound?

---

I was escorted to my new chambers by pale-eyed guards. This wasn't the same room Alina had prepared me in. It was different. Colder and grand in size, with velvet-draped walls and fur-lined bedding that offered no warmth. Only candlelight and moonlight streamed through the tall arched window.

I approached the mirror, placing my palm against the cool surface. My fingers drifted over the mark left by the ritual. A strange tingling sensation spread through me.

The door creaked open.

I turned... and my breath caught in my throat.

Caspian.

He stepped inside, his dark robes now loosened. In the flickering candlelight, he looked almost ghostly. Beautiful. Haunting.

"You should rest," he said. But he didn't move past the doorway.

"Is that all you'll say to your wife?"

His eyes flashed, sharp and guarded. "You don't know what you're asking. You shouldn't even be here."

"But I am," I said quietly. "And I am your wife."

He turned away, pacing towards the window. The moonlight bathed him in silver shadow.

"I told them not to bring me a wife," he said bitterly. "It wasn't something I needed."

His words stung. "Then why did they?"

He didn't turn. "Because my father wanted access to your bloodline. The ancient magic it knows. He offered protection to your people in exchange for you."

I swallowed the pain swelling in my chest. "What about you?" I asked softly. "What do you want?"

He finally turned to me.

And this time, he looked at me, really looked at me. Hunger, sorrow, and something deeper burned in his gaze. That vulnerability I once saw.

"I hope," he said slowly, "never to want you."

The words hit harder than I expected. Still, I whispered, "Caspian..."

And then he moved.

He crossed the room in a single stride and pulled me to him.

His mouth crashed against mine without warning.

It wasn't gentle.

It wasn't careful.

It was desperate. Possessive. A claim sealed in fire and fury.

His lips devoured mine, fierce and unrelenting. I melted into him as my fingers clung to the collar of his robe, my knees weakened under the force of him, my thoughts scattering like ash in the wind.

His arms caged me like I was both salvation and a curse he couldn't let go of.

For one fleeting moment, the world disappeared. There was no curse. No kingdom. No duty.

Only him.

Only us.

Then everything shattered.

Caspian gasped.

He pulled back from me like he'd been burned, staggering back as if Something unseen had struck his chest. His breathing hitched.

A strange expression twisted across his perfect face, a mixture of disbelief, pain, and panic.

He clutched his chest. "No... no. This isn't possible."

"Caspian?" I whispered, stepping forward. My hand brushed his cheek.

He flinched. His eyes were glowing faintly red now, bloodshot with fury and fear.

"Don't touch me," he growled.

I froze, my hand trembling as I lowered it slowly.

"This was a mistake," he whispered, voice broken.

Then he turned.

Without a word and not even a backward glance, he stormed out of the room and slammed the door behind him.

Leaving me in silence.

With only the sting of his rejection...

And a kiss that had changed everything.