Seraphina's POV
"I have an announcement!"
Marcus's voice booms across the ballroom, and my heart jumps with excitement. This is it. This is the moment I've been waiting for. After two years together, he's finally going to announce our wedding date in front of everyone.
I smooth down my dress with shaking hands. Mother's silver necklace feels heavy around my neck—the last piece of her I have left. I wore it for luck tonight.
"Everyone, please give me your attention!" Marcus stands on the stage under the sparkling lights. His blond hair is perfectly styled. He looks so handsome in his black suit.
I start walking toward the stage, my heart beating fast. He'll call me up any second now. He'll take my hand and tell everyone we're getting married. My stepmother Viviane will finally stop treating me like I'm worthless. My stepsister Helena will stop her mean comments. Everything will change tonight.
But then Helena walks onto the stage.
My steps slow. Why is she up there?
Helena wears a red dress that glitters like rubies. She's smiling that sweet smile she uses when adults are watching. The same smile that disappears the moment we're alone.
Marcus takes Helena's hand.
No. No, there must be a mistake.
"I'm so happy to share wonderful news with all of you," Marcus says. His voice sounds warm and loving. "Tonight, I want to announce my engagement—"
My feet move forward again. He's going to point at me. He has to.
"—to the beautiful Helena Ashford!"
The ballroom spins. Those words don't make sense. They can't be real.
Helena throws her arms around Marcus. He kisses her. Right there. In front of everyone.
In front of me.
"No," I whisper. But nobody hears me. The crowd erupts in cheers and clapping.
I stand frozen in the middle of the dance floor. People turn to look at me. Their faces show pity. Some look away quickly, embarrassed for me. Others whisper behind their hands, their eyes mean and judging.
"Isn't that Seraphina?" someone says, not even trying to be quiet. "The girl he was courting?"
"How embarrassing. She really thought he'd marry her."
"Poor thing. She looks like she might faint."
My chest feels tight. I can't breathe. This isn't happening. This is a nightmare. I'll wake up any second.
But Marcus looks right at me. Our eyes meet across the crowd. For just a moment, I see something cold in his face. Something calculating. Then he smiles and kisses Helena again, longer this time.
That's when I know the truth: This isn't a mistake. This was planned.
My legs finally remember how to move. I push through the crowd, not caring who I bump into. I need to get out. I need air. I need to disappear before everyone sees me cry.
"Seraphina!"
It's Viviane, my stepmother. She catches my arm in the hallway outside the ballroom. Her grip is tight enough to bruise.
"Let go," I say, trying to pull away. Tears stream down my face.
"Stop making a scene," she hisses. Her eyes are hard as stone. "You're embarrassing the family."
"Embarrassing?" The word comes out as a sob. "Did you know? Did you know he was going to do this?"
Viviane's face stays cold. "Of course I knew. Who do you think arranged it?"
The floor drops from under me. "What?"
"Oh, don't look so shocked." She checks to make sure no one's in the hallway, then leans closer. Her voice turns cruel. "Did you really think Marcus loved you? You were just a tool, Seraphina. We needed his business connections. You were pretty enough to get his attention and stupid enough to fall in love with him."
"But... but he said..." My words won't come out right. My brain can't understand what she's saying.
"He said what you needed to hear. We all did." Viviane's mouth curves into a mean smile. "Once his business deal with our family was secure, we didn't need you anymore. Helena is prettier, smarter, and actually useful. She'll make a much better match for him."
"You... you used me?" The pain in my chest spreads through my whole body. "All this time?"
"Finally, she understands." Viviane pats my cheek, the gesture mocking. "Your father left you some money when he died. I've spent it all—every coin—on Helena's trousseau and this engagement party. Your mother's jewelry? Sold it last month. You have nothing, Seraphina. No money. No prospects. No family who wants you."
I can't stop shaking. "Father would never—"
"Your father was a weak fool who died leaving us in debt. I saved this family by marrying him, and I saved it again by getting rid of you." She releases my arm with a push that makes me stumble back. "You have until sunrise to pack your things and leave our house. If you're still there when I get home, I'll have the guards throw you out."
"But... where will I go?"
"That's not my problem." Viviane turns to walk back toward the ballroom. Then she pauses and looks back at me. "Oh, and one more thing. Marcus has been spreading word around the nobility that you were... how did he put it? 'Cold and unsuitable for any real man.' No respectable family will take you in. No decent man will want you. You're ruined, darling. Completely and utterly ruined."
She walks away, her heels clicking on the marble floor.
I slide down the wall until I'm sitting on the cold ground. My beautiful dress spreads around me like a silver puddle. Everything is gone. My family. My future. My dignity.
The ballroom doors open. Music and laughter spill out. Through the doorway, I see Marcus and Helena dancing, looking perfect together. Happy. Like I never existed.
Movement in the shadows catches my eye. A man in a dark cloak stands in the corridor, watching me. His face is hidden by his hood, but I can feel his eyes on me. Something about the way he stands makes my skin prickle with fear.
"Who—" I start to say.
He steps forward, and torchlight catches the edge of his face. Sharp features. A cruel smile.
"Seraphina Ashford," he says, his voice smooth as poison. "I've been waiting for this moment. You have no idea what's coming for you."
Before I can scream, before I can run, he pulls something from his cloak—a strange symbol that glows with dark purple light.
"Your mother tried to hide you. Tried to keep you safe." His smile grows wider. "But now you're alone. Unprotected. And what was buried in your blood is about to wake up."
He throws the glowing symbol at my feet. It explodes in purple smoke that smells like rot and death.
When the smoke clears, he's gone.
But burned into the marble floor where the symbol landed is a mark—a circle with a crescent moon inside it, surrounded by strange letters I don't recognize.
My mother's necklace suddenly burns hot against my skin. I gasp and rip it off. The silver pendant splits open, revealing a hidden piece of paper inside. With shaking hands, I unfold it.
In my mother's handwriting, it says:
"Seraphina—if you're reading this, the binding has broken. Run. Trust no one. Find the Oracle's Temple before they find you. You are not what you think you are. You never were."
Heavy footsteps echo down the hallway. Multiple people, coming fast.
I shove the note into my dress pocket and run.
But I can hear them behind me, getting closer.
And I know, somehow I know, this is only the beginning of the nightmare my life has become.