CHAPTER TWENTY FOUR
IRIS
At first there was nothing but darkness.
A heavy, quiet kind that felt endless.
Then came the ache. Sharp behind my eyes, spreading slowly through my skull. The world began to form in pieces, blurred and uneven. Shapes moved. Voices whispered.
When I blinked again, the ceiling above me came into focus. Grey. Familiar. The smell of lavender and candle wax hung in the air.
My bed.
“She’s awake!” someone said. A servant’s voice, high with relief.
Before I could speak, Raven was at my side. Her hair was messy, and there were dark circles under her eyes. “Iris,” she breathed, gripping my hand. “How do you feel? God, you scared us all.”
My throat was dry. My lips cracked as I tried to speak. “I feel… fine,” I managed, though my voice came out weak and uneven. “What happened?”
Raven hesitated, her thumb brushing the back of my hand. “You were attacked,” she said softly. “A group of masked men tried to take you from the castle. William and the guards stopped them.
You’ve been unconscious since.”
William.
The name struck through the haze like a spark. My chest tightened, and before I could stop myself, I whispered, “He—he saved me?”
Raven nodded. “Yes. If he hadn’t been there, I don’t know what would’ve happened.”
Something inside me loosened; a small, trembling breath that felt like relief and guilt all at once.
My heart began to beat faster, the ache in my head fading just enough to let one thought surface. “Where is he?” I asked, my voice quieter this time. “William — is he still here?”
Raven looked away, her expression unreadable. “I don’t know,” she said finally. “After we brought you back, he stayed downstairs with the guards. I haven’t seen him since.”
The air in my chest went still.
“Oh,” I said softly. The single word felt heavier than it should have. I tried to hide the disappointment tightening my throat, but it lingered all the same, sitting there like a stone I couldn’t swallow.
Raven didn’t say anything. She just looked at me, apologetic.
I closed my eyes as the memory of the shouts hit me. The ache in my head pulsed harder, spreading down the back of my new.
“My head hurts,” I murmured.
“I know.” Raven reached for a glass of water from the bedside table and held it to my lips. “Here. Drink slowly.”
The water was cool and clean, easing the dryness in my throat. I drank until the spinning dulled, then leaned back against the pillows. The fabric felt too soft, too warm, like I didn’t deserve the comfort.
Raven set the cup down and gave a small sigh of relief. “Your father told me to send you to him once you’re awake,” she said gently. “He’s been waiting.”
Of course he had.
The words twisted in my chest. Waiting, not out of worry, but because there was always something he wanted to control again.
There always was.
I turned my head toward the window. The sunlight was faint, weak against the curtains, the kind of light that didn’t warm anything. “Of course he has,” I whispered.
Raven brushed a strand of hair from my face. “Don’t keep him waiting too long. He’s in one of his moods.”
With effort, I pushed the blanket aside and sat up. The room tilted immediately, the edges swimming. A sharp pain shot through the back of my skull, and I gripped the sheets until it passed.
Two servants hurried to my side, their hands light but firm on my arms. “Easy, Your Highness,” one of them said softly.
I nodded, though my head still throbbed. With their help, I stood and straightened my gown. My legs felt weak, but I forced them to move. Raven watched from the bedside, her arms folded, worry still lining her face.
“Be careful,” she said quietly.
“I will,” I said, though I wasn’t sure I believed it.
The two servants stayed close as we made our way through the corridor. The castle was quiet, too quiet, the kind of silence that lingered after something terrible. My slippers brushed against the stone, and with each step, the ache in my chest grew.
Still, a small part of me wanted to believe he’d called me for something kind. To see if I was alright. To ask how I felt after nearly being taken from the castle. Maybe, for once, he would sound like a father instead of a king.
When we reached the throne room, the guards straightened at the sight of us. One of them stepped forward and pulled the heavy doors open.
“Her Highness, Princess Iris,” he announced.
The servants at my sides bowed deeply. “Your Majesty,” they said in unison.
My father was sitting on his throne, the light from the tall windows spilling over the gold embroidery of his cloak. His expression was calm but distant, the way it always was when something troubled him.
“Iris,” he said, his tone even. “Come closer. I have an important matter to discuss.”
My heart sank. Of course. How foolish of me to think otherwise.
He hadn’t summoned me to ask if I was well. Not after what happened. Not even after I’d been unconscious for a whole day.
He didn’t want to know if I was alright. He wanted something else. He always did.
“We can’t ignore what happened yesterday,” my father began. “The castle was attacked, and who’s to say worse won’t follow? I thought the threats would stay harmless, but this is beyond that.”
I stood still, my hands tightening around the fabric of my gown. I already knew where this was going, but my chest still tightened
when he continued.
“Therefore,” he said, “we must do what’s best for the kingdom. You will be married off. Tomorrow.”
The word struck like a blade.
“Tomorrow?” My voice broke. “No, Father, days ago you said within a month!”
He looked at me as though I were a child who hadn’t been listening. “I’ve changed my mind,” he said simply. “Tomorrow, we leave for Valebran.”
For a moment, I couldn’t move. I couldn’t even breathe.
Tomorrow. It wasn’t just soon. It was final.
I could only stare at him. The sound of my heartbeat drowned
out everything else. The room felt smaller. Everything felt like it was pressing on me.
I shook my head, taking a step forward. “That’s not fair. You can’t marry me off like this.”
“Oh, it is fair,” he replied, his tone rising. “And I will. I care for my people, Iris. Valebran’s alliance will secure our future. They will fight beside us if more attacks come.”
My stomach twisted. “You speak as if I’m a bargain,” I whispered.
His gaze hardened. “You are my daughter. Your life belongs to this crown, to this kingdom. And if that means sacrifice, then it will be done.”
The word sacrifice lodged deep, colder than the rest.
I wanted to speak, to tell him what it felt like to have no say, to live as a promise wrapped in silk. But my throat closed around the words.
“You are unbelievable,” I said finally, my voice low but shaking. “You’re marrying me to someone I don’t even know.”
His hand slammed down on the armrest of his chair, the sound sharp as thunder. “Quiet!” he roared. “It is final, and it is done.”
The silence that followed was heavy enough to crush.
He turned sharply to the servants standing beside me. His hand cut through the air in command. “You two. Go start packing her belongings—and mine. Tell the others to help you.”
The servants bowed quickly and hurried out of the hall, their footsteps fading into the corridor.
I stood there frozen in place. My throat burned as I tried to speak. “Please,” I whispered. “Don’t do this.”
His blue eyes stayed fixed on me, cold. The same eyes that belonged to my own father. They looked through me now, like I was nothing more than a piece of his design.
“It is done,” he said. “We leave tomorrow.”
Something inside me cracked.
The sound of my heartbeat filled the space where his words had been. Tears blurred the world until the throne, the banners, even the light itself dissolved into one unrecognizable haze. All I could
could see was him. Distant. Unbending.
“Do you even hear yourself?” I whispered. “Do you even care what this does to me?”
He didn’t answer. Didn’t even blink. The silence between us was the cruelest reply of all.
The tears burned hot now, spilling before I could stop them. “I hate you!” I said, the words breaking, trembling, but loud enough to echo through the hall.
For a moment, he just stared. Shock flickered behind the anger. But then his voice thundered across the room. “Iris! Come back here this instant!”
But I was already moving.
The skirts of my gown tangled around my legs as I turned and ran, my slippers slipping on the polished floor. The air tore at my throat, my breath uneven as I pushed through the heavy doors. The guards outside startled, glancing at one another, but none dared to stop me.
The courtyard opened wide before me under a dull, gray sky. The wind hit hard, cold against my face, and I didn’t slow. My feet struck the stone, then the dirt, then the grass. The sound of my heartbeat roared in my ears until it drowned out everything else.
I didn’t know where I was going. Only that I had to keep moving. Away from the throne. Away from the walls that had held me my entire life.
Away from him.
And still, I ran. Faster. Harder. Until the air burned in my lungs and the tears blurred the path ahead.