ONE EMPTY SEAT (I)

The moment I stepped out of my room, I regretted it.

The hallway was long and empty, with torches on the walls and quiet shadows all around. I walked slowly, though every step I took felt too loud against the polished stone. My fingers curled around the edge of my cloak, and I was sure my knuckles had turned white beneath my silk dress.

I was trying to prepare my mind for this breakfast because I had no idea what would come of it. But I knew I had to keep a strong

I swallowed the lump in my throat and kept walking.

The edge of my gown dragging softly behind me. Midnight blue, the colours of Drayveil. Silver embroidery traced down the sleeves like vines, and my hair had been twisted and pinned into loops, each one threaded with delicate silver thorns. Alina really did magic with this one because I looked like something royal although I didn't feel it.

I turned down the final hall before the great chamber and stopped.

A woman stood at the edge of the corridor, half-turned toward the tall stained-glass window, her pale fingers resting lightly on the frame. She looked as if she belonged to the moon, her gown was bright silver, and it shimmered with her every movement she made. Her hair was dark and shiny, coiled like a serpent crown, and when she turned, I saw the sharpness behind her beauty.

Her lips curved into a slow, deliberate smile. "So... you're the human bride of my Prince Caspian."

I stiffened, the possessive edge in her words struck something raw in me. My prince?

I lifted my chin, trying to keep my voice steady. "I'm sorry, but do I know you?"

"No," she said, stepping away from the window. "But I know you."

She walked closer. Every step was measured, graceful, like she wasn't walking at all but gliding.

"I saw you last night," she said. "The moment the bond was sealed. It was... fascinating."

The way she said it made my skin crawl.

I held my ground. "You were at the ritual?"

"I'm always where it matters." She smiled, showing just the faintest glimpse of fang. "Forgive me. I should introduce myself properly. Selene Vael, a friend of the royal court."

The name hit like ice. Something about the way she talked didn't sit right with me.

I tilted my head slightly. "Lyra."

"Of course," she said, amused. "You're the reason everyone's talking this morning."

I didn't reply.

Selene tilted her head, her gaze raking over me in a way that felt far more like assessment than admiration. "They dressed you well. Though I wonder if they told you what you're stepping into."

My jaw tightened, I wasn't sure I needed another batch of warnings. "I'm not here by accident."

"Mm." Her lips curled. "No. But I wonder if you know how many before you came by design... and burnt for it."

I met her eyes. Cold, perfect, knowing. "Is there a reason you stopped me?"

"I wanted a look," she said honestly. "I wanted to see what he'd married himself to. What he'd touched." Her voice lowered slightly. "You don't look like much. But then... neither do daggers, until you're bleeding."

A chill slid down my back.

She stepped past me, leaving behind a soft floral scent, but just before she reached the end of the hall, she looked over her shoulder.

"Be careful where you sit, Lyra," she said. "The farther you are from the crown, the easier it is to keep your head."

Then she was gone.

---

The great hall buzzed with low voices and the clinking silverware, but the moment I stepped in, the room fell silent like a ghost had just entered.

I walked slowly behind Alina, for some reason it felt right and moreover she was the only person I knew in this vast space.

My skin felt too tight and my thoughts were ringing too loudly in my head. Selene's words echoed in the corners of my mind but I pushed them down and lifted my chin.

I would not falter. At least not here.

The dining table stretched impossibly long, carved from obsidian and veined with pulsing red stone. It looked alive, like something that had fed on blood. The vampires sitting at the table all turned to look at me. They wore dark velvet and shining jewels, and their eyes glowed faintly with hunger.

And at the far end, there was one empty chair.

I didn't need anyone to tell me it belonged to him.

My chest ached. I hadn't realised how badly I'd hoped to see him there. Even after everything. Even after the silence.

But Caspian wasn't coming.

King Malric sat at the head of the table, draped in black and looking carved from shadow, I was seeing for the first time since I arrived.

His face was blank, and his cold eyes moved over me. His sons sat beside him. Marcus, smiling lazily like he'd had too much to drink, and Daron, the one I hadn't met but heard of looked stiff and serious like a sword waiting to strike.

Alina led me to the chair beside Caspian's empty throne and I sat.

Back straight. Hands folded. Mask on.

"Princess Velinor," the king said at last. His voice was rough and cold. "We weren't sure you'd get out of bed after such... an eventful night."

Soft laughter rose from the table.

My throat felt tight, but I met his eyes. "I rise to serve, Your Majesty."

"Indeed," Malric said, lifting his goblet. "You look... well."

It didn't sound like a compliment. It felt more like a test.

I didn't reply. I had nothing to say.

"Such grace," a smooth voice said from across the table.

I turned to see who it was.

Selene.

She sat a few seats down, dressed in glowing silver, her eyes watching me like a cat watching a bird.

"You wear Drayveil colours nicely," she said, tilting her head. "Though I always thought darker shades suited the prince better."

Some of the vampires nearby chuckled.

Daron glanced at her but stayed quiet.

I looked at Selene and opened my mouth to respond, but no words came.

Not because I didn't have any.

But because anything I said might break me.

So I stayed silent, which made her smile grow, like she had won.

Marcus let out a small laugh. "Be nice, Selene. The little girl just got here."

"She's not a girl," Selene said softly. "She's Caspian's bride. Or so they say."

The rest of the meal passed by in a blur, I was half present and I barely ate. I answered when people spoke to me. But my eyes kept going back to Caspian's empty chair and the untouched goblet beside it Ann I kept wondering why he didn't come.

And every now and then, I felt Daron's cold eyes on me like a warning, like a puzzle he needed to solve..

But Caspian never came.

I didn't know what haunted him more. The kiss. Or was it me?