Damien's POV
The throne room had never felt so small.
The voices of the council rose and fell like a storm, crashing against the marble pillars, rattling through my skull. Every step I took echoed through the chamber, sharp and uneven, as if the stones themselves had begun to tremble beneath my feet.
I could taste panic in the air.
Not fear of war. Not fear of famine.
Fear of me.
And fear of what I had done.
"Your Majesty," Elder Rowan snapped, his thin fingers slamming against the table, "the kingdom is destabilizing because you refuse to act! You must deny the bond or accept punishment from the gods!"
"The gods!" another priest spat. "They already bleed their warning across the sky! Look at the moon!"
Yes. The moon.
Red. Bleeding. Watching.
Just like it had been since Selene vanished.
Just like it would remain until this curse finally consumed everything I loved.
