The world was on fire not literally—well, except for the western gardens, where Seraphina had "accidentally" dropped a meteor during rehearsal—but metaphorically, the world was ablaze with tension.
The night before the wedding, a fragile ceasefire held across the Academy courtyard. A campfire flickered at the center, its smoke curling up into the star-dappled sky. Around it, the brides sat in a ring like predators circling prey.
That prey was Rei Velvet, who sat hunched on a log, chewing the inside of his cheek like a condemned man chewing his last meal.
