Chapter 3 Private Walls, Public Lies

Elira woke up the morning following the ceremony with a scream stuck in her throat.Her skin was slicked with sweat. The satin sheets of a bed that was too big and too cold were scratched by her fingers. Her lungs filled with the strange smell of steel and cedar. The air felt heavy, as if it hadn't forgiven her for the magic from last night. He is not the one who is cursed. Yes, you are. Her skull echoed the priestess's final words.With ragged breath, she sat up and threw off the velvet blanket. Heat shot up her arm. The ring.Like a dying ember, it glowed dimly. Elira's fist clenched.

attempting to ignore it. There was no longer a ritual chamber. The deceased priestess had vanished. She still had the fire, though. She sensed it. Even worse, she had enjoyed it. Like a black crown, Kieran's penthouse loomed over the city. A glass kingdom with shimmering wards that pulsed with hidden energy and columns of obsidian lined the top floor of the Vale Industries skyscraper. Elira padded barefoot through the grand hallway of the suite. Underfoot, the marble felt colder than ice.Kieran was on the terrace when she found him. Ignorant of the ancient forces stirring in its skies, the city sprawled below in a haze of lights and noise. Wearing a charcoal vest with his sleeves rolled up and his hands clasped behind him as if he were waiting for battle, he stood facing away from her. She folded her arms. "So, will we discuss what transpired?" He didn't look around. Which section? The fire of the dragon? The priestess who is blind? or the moment you passed out?

She folded her arms. "So, will we discuss what transpired?" He didn't look around. Which section? The fire of the dragon? The priestess who is blind? or the moment you passed out? She frowned. "You're not possible." "And you pose a threat." His voice became sharper. Elira, that flame knew who you were. You also didn't wince. You embraced it. "I didn't-" "You didn't think twice. You seized power as though it were your own. They were silent for a while.The sounds of the city, such as engines, horns, and laughter, were carried by the wind and were no longer relevant to this story.

Elira moved to stand next to him. "You claimed that I could lift your curse. Do you now believe I'm to blame? Kieran said slowly, "I believe you've been avoiding something for a while. It has also caught up. Her eyes narrowed as she gazed at him. "You speak as though you know me." At last he turned. "Yes, I do." That look was there once more. Not familiarity, but familiarity. As if he recognized something in her that she herself did not. She detested it. She declared, "I want the truth." "Why me?"

"You were desperate, which is why I chose you," he stated bluntly. "Desperate enough that they don't read the fine print before signing a contract." A falsehood. There was more. Much more. However, he said, "Get dressed," as he passed her. Today, we will go public. She gazed. "Public?" "Elira, you are now my wife. It must be seen by everyone. The council keeps an eye on everything. And they'll use the clause if they think this marriage isn't genuine. Her stomach churned. "Which clause?" "The one that permits them to murder us both for violating the law of magic." Like lightning, the cameras flashed. With one hand around her waist and the other up in a courteous greeting to the group of reporters gathered outside the Vale Gala Hall, Kieran stood next to her, spotless and unreadable.

Despite the uneasy laughter from the audience, the message was clear: don't dig. The lights went down inside the gala. Magical runes danced across the marble floor in their honor, and floating chandeliers glistened in the ceiling. Like wolves dressed in formal attire, wealthy nobles and elite mages lined the edges.The new Lady Vale had drawn the attention of the whole magical world. Kieran muttered to himself, "You're doing fine.""I wasn't requesting permission." He bent toward her ear. "All right. You are not in need of it. A shiver ran down her spine in spite of herself. Not out of fear of something else. The floor then changed, though. Emotionally, as if something invisible had entered the room, but not literally.A shudder went through the audience. There were whispers. Kieran tightened his arm around her waist. She pivoted.

A tall figure in a silver cloak entered the doorway, moving across the moonlight like a shadow. Elira gasped.His eyes met hers. He was the one. The killer.The man who once came to her rescue-and then vanished.Without hesitation, he made his way through the crowd, keeping his gaze on her, until he was three feet away.The man held up a gloved hand as Kieran moved forward. "Violence is unnecessary," he declared. He had a smooth voice. Known. He gave Elira a look. "Are you aware of what he has done to you?" She didn't respond. The man grinned. "You don't, of course."

Then he hurled something.Kieran's reaction was instantaneous-magic jumped out of his grasp, causing the object to fall away. It struck the wall and burst into a green fire flare.People let out a scream. Runes broke. Fear spread.The man vanished into the confusion. Kieran took hold of Elira and dragged her away. "Are you in pain?" "No," she muttered in a daze.Her wrist, however, was burned.She cast her gaze downward.She had been burned with the same sigil from her dream.It was luminous.And underneath it, inscribed in flame on her palm, was a message. "The purpose of the ring is not to shield you. It's to keep you in check. There is chaos at the end of the public debut. Elira is branded with a sigil by an adversary from her enigmatic past, exposing a terrifying reality: the enchanted ring might not be for her protection but rather to confine a force within her that even Kieran fears.