Nine Days Until The Wedding
The rain did not stop.
It continued throughout the night.
Soft.
Steady.
Relentless.
Like a heartbeat against the palace windows.
Like fingers tapping against glass.
Like something patiently waiting.
Most people found the sound comforting.
Aliena usually did.
Tonight—
not so much.
Because every time she closed her eyes—
she saw the words.
The black book.
The strange messages.
The unsettling feeling she couldn't explain.
And worst of all—
the silver-haired figure she'd thought she'd seen reflected in the library window.
She knew what she'd seen.
Or at least—
she thought she did.
The Devil.
Sebastian's grandfather.
The ruler of the abyss.
The man who had looked at her with ancient eyes and calmly informed her that Sebastian would burn entire realms to reach her.
Not exactly the kind of person one forgot.
And yet—
the more she thought about it—
the less certain she became.
Had she really seen him?
