••{RHIANNON'S POV}••
The garden is silent when I slip through the archway, my steps as quiet as I can make them. Moonlight spills across the stone path and paints the hedges silver, but everything else is drowned in the soft hush of night. I hold my breath for a moment, listening.
No guards.
No footsteps.
Just the stillness I've been waiting for.
I rush across the grass and duck under the pavilion where he always waits. My heart hammers with the thrill of sneaking out, but also because I haven't seen him since sunset. I turn slowly, looking for the familiar shape of him leaning against a pillar or standing in the shadows with that lopsided smile.
But he's not here.
I exhale, disappointed.
Before I can take another step, strong arms wrap around me from behind. I gasp and flinch, but then I hear the soft laugh against my neck—warm, familiar, comforting.
I melt instantly.
"You scared me," I breathe.
"I know," he murmurs, brushing his lips against the back of my ear. "I couldn't resist."
I turn in his arms. His hands settle on my waist as if they belong there, and the sight of him steals something from inside me. His golden-brown hair is a little messy, his eyes bright despite the late hour.
"I thought you wouldn't come," he says with a grin. "I was starting to think you'd fallen asleep and left me standing out here alone."
I wrap my arms around his neck and smile up at him. "You're the one who asked me to sneak out like a thief. If my father catches me—"
"I'll marry you before he finishes the first sentence."
I laugh under my breath. "We're getting married tomorrow, Cyrus."
"Exactly. Why wait?"
He leans in slowly, his forehead brushing mine, and then his lips find my lips. The world softens beneath the warmth of that kiss. His mouth is gentle at first, coaxing, tasting me like he wants to memorize every part of this moment. My fingers slide into his hair and he pulls me closer, deepening the kiss until I feel it all the way to my heartbeat. His lips move with such certainty, such tenderness, that it makes my knees weak.
When we finally pull away, we breathe the same air, our noses brushing.
"I can't wait for tomorrow," he whispers.
"Me too."
Cyrus smiles like he's carrying sunlight inside him. "Do you know what I look forward to the most?"
I tease, "The wedding feast?"
He laughs, shaking his head. I laugh with him.
"You're not wrong," he says. "But that's not all of it."
"Then what?"
He lifts a hand to my face, gently rubbing a finger across my cheek. "Falling asleep beside you every night. Waking up every morning and seeing this beautiful face before anything else. Holding you. Touching you. Because you'll be my wife, and I'll be allowed to."
My cheeks feel warm. "You're such a sweet talker."
"I'm serious," he insists softly.
"I know." I grin. "But between the two of us, we both know you just can't wait for that wedding feast."
He shakes his head, chuckling, and I laugh again.
"Do you want to know what I'm looking forward to the most?" I ask.
He nods eagerly.
"I'm looking forward to us ruling side by side as King and Queen," I say. "And making beautiful babies with you. And braiding my daughter's hair the way my mother used to braid mine when I was little."
His smile softens. "Beautiful babies, huh? How many do you want?"
"Three… maybe four."
"Three sounds perfect," he says. "Two boys and a girl."
I wrinkle my nose. "No. Only girls."
He laughs. "Why?"
"Because after growing up with Rayn? I'm not sure I want to raise a boy."
Cyrus throws his head back a little. "I don't blame you. Rayn is a menace."
"Right?" I say, laughing.
"Oh! Remember the time he smashed that piece of cake in your face? On your sixteenth birthday? In front of all the nobles?"
I groan and cover my face. "Please, I try so hard to forget that."
He grins. "What about the time he braided your hair to Jesenya's while you two slept? The maids couldn't undo it and they had to cut it."
"I wanted to kill him." I laugh. "But honestly… the braid was really good. I still wonder who taught him how to do that."
Cyrus laughs for a while before settling beside me. We face the open sky, scattered with stars like someone sprinkled diamonds across it. I lean my back against him and he wraps his strong arms around my waist. The night breeze slips around us, gentle and cool.
"Even if I have only one girl," I whisper, "I'll name her Rose. After my mother."
"That's beautiful," Cyrus says.
"It is." My voice lowers. "I just wish she could be here tomorrow."
He rests his chin on my shoulder. "I'm sure she's watching you from the heavens. And she's happy. I know she is."
My throat tightens with emotion. "I hope so."
He shifts, stepping in front of me again. He takes both my hands, his thumb brushing slow circles over my knuckles. His eyes hold something uncertain, something tender.
"Rhiannon," he murmurs. "Tomorrow night is our wedding night."
I breathe in slowly. "I know."
"I keep thinking about how you might feel," he admits. "I don't want you to be scared. I want you to feel safe with me."
"I do feel safe with you."
His smile is soft and full of love. "Good. Because I want our first night to be something you remember for the right reasons."
My chest warms painfully. I stare at him, memorizing every line of his face.
"I love you," I say quietly.
"I love you even more," he says, pulling me into a kiss.
I close my eyes.
And the warmth disappears.
The peace disappears.
The love disappears.
When I open my eyes, I'm not in the gardens.
I'm not in Astragarde.
I'm sitting on the cold floor of Darkholme. My back is against the door of my cage. My hands tremble in my lap. Tears slip down my cheeks before I even realize I'm crying.
The life I could have had plays behind my eyelids like a cruel dream.
Every time I close my eyes, I see it.
Azrael ripping Cyrus's heart out. I see the shock in Cyrus's eyes. The life draining from his face. The blood. The impossible stillness after.
My stomach twists and something inside me burns.
Hatred I didn't know I was capable of.
Hatred so fierce it steals my breath.
But what can I do?
I am weak. Powerless. Trapped.
I think of my father. The safeness I felt with him. The way he cares for me.
I can hear Rayn's mischievous laugh. I would be lying if I said I didn't miss the way he troubled me with his stupid pranks.
I miss Jes. I miss listening to her go on and on for hours about the stories she read.
I miss little Darren running into my arms.
The tears come harder. I wipe them away, but they keep falling.
My whole body feels heavy with grief as I push myself up, step by step, until I'm standing again.
I can't marry the man who killed Cyrus. Not for any promise of survival. Not for any hope that I might one day see my family again.
And I can't live in a kingdom full of monsters who would tear me limb from limb just to taste the blood in my veins.
I walk to the window. The cold air sweeps over my skin as I climb onto the ledge. The drop is so far I can't see the ground. The night swallows everything below me.
My tears blur the world, but I close my eyes.
"I'd rather die than surrender my body and soul to Azrael Bloodbourne."
I take a deep breath.
And step off the ledge.