Ren was ready for the banquet, dressed in a fiery red gown with a flowing skirt and beadwork that shimmered along her long sleeves.
The past three days had been far from peaceful, kings and queens had poured into the courtyard, each trailed by lines of vassals.
Armies camped at the gates, their tents rising like silent warnings, prepared to march north within days.
Kai stepped into the room and reached for his wife's hand. His heart pounded the moment he saw her standing there, poised and radiant. The gown, and the crown, they matched so perfectly that she seemed carved from royalty itself, a vision of true queenship.
Ren smiled nervously. "How do I look?"
Kai answered not with words, but with a kiss, then whispered against her lips, "Absolutely exquisite."
"We should go," Ren said.
Night had already fallen an hour ago, and the guests were waiting. Many of them were angry. Others were merely curious about the sudden marriage. Some still refused to believe it was real.
