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CHAPTER EIGHTEEN

ADOM

T he weight of the moment pressed against my chest. Not in a suffocating way. I was acutely aware of every breath in my lungs, every beat of my heart. It was finally here. My wedding day.

The day I’d dreaded all my life, a fate I’d once resented, now had my heart racing in anticipation.

All eyes were on me as I entered the throne room. They weren’t fixed on my claws or the unnatural strength in my steps. Instead, they followed the lines of the wedding suit Charlotte had tailored for me, to me. The fabric fit my frame so precisely that it felt like a second skin. The deep hues and intricate embroidery caught the light with every movement.

Perhaps Charlotte had been right—maybe it wasn’t my beastly features that had appalled the kingdom all these years. Maybe it had been the clothes I’d worn without care, more armor than attire.

Not that the court's opinions mattered much to me. All that mattered to me was the woman waiting at the end of this path. The woman I was going to spend the rest of my life with, starting now.

The Lioness Queen sat poised on her throne. This was the last day she would sit there, the final hours before the weight of the crown shifted entirely to me. Once I took a bride, my mother would become the dowager queen, stepping back from her reign to make way for my and Charlotte's rule.

Queen Amara had given much to the crown. She had lost the other part of her soul, the man she had loved more than life itself. If I lost Charlotte… I swallowed hard. If I lost her, I would fall into the same darkness my mother had. I would never come out.

The Lioness' gaze landed on me. I braced myself for the flinch. It didn't come.

Those amber eyes, so like my own, held no emotion, no warmth. They were calm pools of nothingness. I was used to this expression, or lack thereof, and yet it still unsettled me in some small way, a reminder of the chasm that had always existed between us even when my father was alive.

The great doors creaked open, the sound echoing in the cavernous room. The herald announced the bride’s arrival. My mother’s expression didn’t falter at first—but when Charlotte stepped into the room, a ripple broke through her mask. She flinched.

It was slight, barely noticeable. To me, it might as well have been an earthquake. My mother's hand tightened on the lion’s head carved into the arm of the throne. It wasn’t like her to let anything show, to give anyone the satisfaction of knowing she felt anything at all.

I turned away from my mother. The best man’s spot stood vacant, a silent reminder of Jorge’s betrayal. I clenched my jaw and pushed the thought aside. This wasn’t the time for anger, for hurt. Not when I had the one person who would never betray me walking toward me.

Charlotte was a vision, a dream, draped in sunshine yellow that clung to her figure and shimmered in the candlelight. The gown was perfection, every detail meticulously crafted. The veil covered her face again. I kept in the laugh but couldn't hide my smirk at its return. I couldn’t wait to lift it, to see her eyes and kiss her mouth, to claim her as mine forever.

As she drew closer, a strange unease settled in the pit of my stomach. It was subtle, like a whisper just out of hearing distance, a sense that something was… off. Her walk, her posture—there was a stiffness, a restraint that I couldn’t quite place.

The veil was different. Likely because the one she'd worn back at the Summer Castle had been damaged or dirty or perhaps left behind as we'd fled the troll attack. The veil didn't matter. I'd seen all of her and accepted every part.

When she reached me, I stepped forward, taking her gloved hand in mine. Her hand was cool to the touch. Likely because of the chill of the room. Outside, an eclipse was happening. In the full light of day, the planet was moving between the suns and the moon, casting Avarix into darkness.

"Under the gaze of Lyra, our steadfast Daughter Sun, and in the shadow of Avarix, the First Moon in his eternal pursuit, we gather to witness the binding of two souls. Let the vows spoken here today ripple across the stars, uniting not just two lives but two destinies."

The officiant turned to Charlotte, inviting her to begin.

"Adom…" Her voice trembled as though she'd never spoken my name before. "Like the moons that chase the sun through endless skies, you have pursued me. In finding each other, we have ended the chase. You, my moon, are my constant, the one who draws my light and protects me in the darkness. Together, we will illuminate what lies ahead, guiding each other through every phase and every cycle. With our paths aligned, may our combined light please the gods."

"Your Highness," prompted the officiant.

I could hardly breathe, let alone speak, as my love's words settled over me. I swore I felt the curse lifting from my chest with her promises. When my words came, they spilled from the depths of my soul.

"Charlotte, like the moons that chase the sun through endless skies, I have pursued you. In finding each other, we have ended the chase. You, my sun, are my guiding light, the one who gives purpose to my orbit and fills my shadows with warmth. Without you, I am a mere reflection; with you, I shine. I vow to follow you through every sky, to protect you when darkness falls, and to embrace your light until the stars fade and the heavens are no more. With our paths aligned, may our combined light please the gods."

Her lips parted slightly. Through the veil, I could see the emotion pooling in her eyes. They sparkled like pools of blue.

The officiant spoke again, inviting us to join hands. I took hers fully, wrapping them in mine. Her fingertips were ragged, the skin was torn. Had she been up all night reworking her dress? No, she had been riding me. Her fingers had been soft at my cock.

“May your union burn bright, may your light shine on each other, and may you find balance in each other’s orbit for the rest of your days. You may now kiss your bride.”

I lifted her veil. Slowly, since I was unveiling the most precious treasure. Her beauty struck me like a meteor shower, sudden and brilliant, leaving an imprint I would never forget. But it felt like I was seeing her for the first time.

Her lips did not form the smile she always gifted me. They formed a single word.

"Sorry."

She looked at me with sad blue eyes. She held my hand with the callused fingers of a warrior. I didn't feel the pull to her that I had from the first moment she walked into the room at the Summer Castle.

This was not her. This was not my little sphinx.

"Kiss her, Adom." My mother's roar was quiet. She hadn't raised her voice since losing my father.

This woman who wasn't mine held still. I got the sense that that was unnatural for her. She appeared a ball of fury contained. Had she done something to my Charlotte?

"Do your duty, Adom."

I don't know how, but I knew that this was the princess I was destined to marry. She had the same wariness in her eyes that confronted me anytime I dared glance in a mirror. It was a look my little sphinx had never once bestowed upon me. She'd always looked at me in surprised delight, like she couldn't believe she was standing next to me.

"Where is she?" I didn't ask the imposter.

My mother pressed her lips together. She didn't flinch. She closed her eyes.

I opened my mouth to ask—no, to demand to know where the other half of my heart was. But human language escaped me. The roar that tore out of me was dark and twisted and filled with pain. Pain and magic. Magic and darkness. Darkness and light.

The light suffocated me. It filled every pore of my body until it was ripping me apart. The tearing happened with a ferocity that left me gasping. A vise unclamped from my ribs and broke open something caged deep within. The departure crushed me from the inside out. The absence was a void, a weightless, crushing hollowness that pressed down harder than the curse ever had.

My body trembled. My hands shook. My vision blurred. My head pounded. My pulse was a wild drumbeat in my ears, louder than my fading cries.

And then everything went black.