The smell of roses filled the air, but Elira knew even as a child that death was near.
She stood by the curtains, peeking into the grand bedchamber where her mother lay pale. The Queen's hand was outstretched toward the King, her voice a faint whisper carried by the breeze.
I love you, her mother said, the words trembling on her cracked lips.
The King froze. His eyes, once fierce and full of life, turned hollow. A breath later, the Queen's hand fell limp onto the silk sheets. Her chest stilled. The light in her eyes faded to nothing.
Her mother was Dead.
Elira didn't cry. She didn't scream. She simply watched.
Because she already knew in their lineage, love was death.
The memory ended as sharply as it had begun, leaving Elira standing stiff and emotionless in her father's study.
She had long learned not to show signs of weakness.
Her Father, King Aldred, once a towering man, now looked worn and weathered. He sat behind his vast oak desk, parchment scrolls and maps littered across its surface. His hands were clasped tightly, knuckles white, as if holding himself together by sheer will.
You must marry, he said without preamble.
Elira didn't flinch. She didn't lower her eyes. To whom?
The Crown Prince of the Empire, Aldred said. It's an alliance that will ensure our survival.
An alliance. A transaction. A necessary move in the deadly game of kingdoms.
She stared at her father, looking to find the man who had once lifted her onto his shoulders, but all she saw was a king desperate to preserve his crumbling legacy.
And if I refuse ? she asked.
You won't, he said coldly.You are my heir. You have a duty to this kingdom, to your bloodline.
Elira thought of her mother's hand going limp. She thought of the whispered I love you, and the curse that had stolen her away.
Duty. Bloodline. Survival.
There was no room for love.
She bowed, the strands of her dark hair slipping forward to shield her face.
As you command, Your Majesty.
In that moment, Elira sealed her fate—not with a sword, but with silence.
She would marry the Empire's prince. She would wear the crown.
And she would never, ever fall in love.