Chapter 5

The Draven carriage brought me to a pale stone estate surrounded by night-blooming gardens. Seraphina Draven—Cassian's grandmother and the family matriarch—was waiting at the entrance.

"Elara." She took my hands like we'd known each other for years. "Welcome home."

She led me inside. The air was warm. The lighting was soft. Everything felt designed for comfort rather than intimidation.

"We adjusted things after Cassian received the prophecy," Seraphina explained. "Vampires don't mind the cold, but humans do. The kitchen has been stocking human food for months. Your room was decorated based on what Helena told us you liked."

They'd been preparing for me since the proposal. The one I'd refused.

In the Thorne house, my room had been emptied overnight and given to Mira.

Here, a room had been waiting for me for three months.

Seraphina showed me the space they'd prepared. Blue walls—my favorite color. Human books on the shelves. Evening primroses on the desk, like the ones my birth mother used to grow.

"How did you know about the flowers?"

"We asked." She said it simply. "We wanted you to feel at home."

At dinner that night, a servant set a plate in front of me. Roasted vegetables, fresh bread, a cut of meat cooked exactly the way I liked it.

"Is the food alright?" Seraphina watched me take the first bite. "The chef has been practicing human recipes for months. If anything isn't to your taste, please tell us."

"It's perfect." I didn't know what else to say. In eighteen years with the Thornes, no one had ever asked.

"Good." She smiled. "Cassian will be pleased. He was very particular about the menu."

"He planned this?"

"He planned everything." She refilled my glass. "The room, the food, the temperature adjustments. He said if you ever came to us, he wanted you to feel safe from the first moment."

That evening, she gave me a small velvet box. Inside was a ring—a silver band with empty prongs, waiting for a stone.

"The Draven tradition," she explained. "The groom sets the stone on the wedding day. But we give the band now." She closed my fingers around it. "It means you're already family. No matter when the ceremony happens."

I thought of Ronan's bracelet on Mira's wrist. The memory box in the trash.

Those had been complete things, given and then taken away.

This ring was incomplete. Waiting. A promise that hadn't been broken yet because it hadn't been finished yet.

"Thank you," I said. My voice cracked on the words.

The wedding was set for one week later. I spent the days learning the estate, meeting Cassian's parents, exchanging letters with Cassian himself. He was handling business at the borders and wouldn't return until the ceremony.

I've waited three months, he wrote. A few more days is nothing. I want my first sight of you to be when you're walking toward me.

No one had ever wanted to wait for me before.

The morning of the wedding, I stood in the bridal room while attendants adjusted my dress. Ivory silk, delicate beading. I barely recognized myself in the mirror.

I thought about first looks—the tradition that once a bride puts on her wedding dress, the first man to see her must be her husband. It was sacred. Anyone else would be a violation.

Cassian was waiting at the altar right now, saving that moment for both of us.

A knock at the door interrupted my thoughts. A servant entered with a letter. Helena's handwriting.

Elara—

Caelan and Ronan found out you're marrying into the Draven family. They've lost their minds. Caelan had a screaming fight with Mira this morning—I don't know what she told him, but he looked like he'd been slapped. Both of them left an hour ago. They're coming for you.

Be careful.

—Mother

Part of me wondered what Mira had said to finally make Caelan angry at her. A larger part of me didn't care.

I turned back to the mirror. The attendants continued their work.

Twenty minutes later, the door burst open.

Shouts. Scuffling. Two figures shoved past the attendants—bloodied, wild-eyed, clothes torn from fighting through the estate guards.

Caelan and Ronan.

I didn't turn around. I watched their reflections in the mirror.

"Elara." Caelan's voice was ragged. "Turn around. Look at us."