The moment the rings were placed, the cathedral didn't just erupt — it lost its mind.
People were standing on pews. Nobles were shouting across the aisles. Foreign envoys were furiously whispering into jeweled sleeves as if trying to cancel reality itself.
The Harem Alarm pulsed overhead like a divine drumbeat.
Valessara turned to Aerin, her smile stretched too tight.
"You've made me look foolish," she whispered.
Aerin met her gaze.
"You made me feel small," he replied quietly. "This just makes us even."
Her eyes flashed — not with sadness, but calculation. That was far more dangerous.
Mira stood on Aerin's other side, serene in the storm. Not triumphant. Not smug. Just… there. A quiet truth standing beside a crown.
The officiant attempted to raise his voice above the chaos.
"—AND SO BY THE AUTHORITY OF—"
A wine goblet flew through the air and shattered against a pillar.
"WE JUST SAW A KING GET A HAREM," someone yelled from the balcony.
Elira, having somehow escaped Cassian again, pumped a fist. "YES HE DID."
Cassian lunged and caught her by the collar.
"Why are you like this?"
"I am celebratory."
"This is not how people celebrate!"
The guards finally re-secured her, though she continued to cheer loudly while being dragged backward.
Valessara's advisor leaned toward her, whispering urgently.
"The council is panicking. The public loves this. We must regain narrative control."
Valessara inhaled slowly, then smiled — that terrible, polished smile.
"Of course," she murmured. "Let them enjoy the illusion."
Aerin felt it — the shift.
The way she stopped being angry and started being dangerous.
The reception that followed was meant to be elegant.
It became legendary instead.
Aerin sat between Mira and Valessara at a long table piled with food.
Valessara issued commands to servants.
Mira thanked them.
Guess which one the servants liked more.
At one point Valessara snapped at a young attendant for spilling wine.
Mira gently handed the girl a cloth.
"Accidents happen," she said calmly.
The crowd noticed.
They always did.
Valessara noticed that they noticed.
Her jaw tightened.
Across the hall, Elira was stuffing cake into her mouth while glaring at Valessara like she was memorizing a target.
"This frosting is good," she muttered. "It will fuel vengeance."
Cassian face-palmed.
On the balcony later, Aerin and Mira stood together in the cool night air.
"You didn't waver," Aerin said softly.
Mira looked at the city lights.
"Neither did you."
He smiled.
"I was terrified."
"You always are," she replied gently. "That doesn't stop you."
They stood in quiet, the noise of celebration drifting behind them.
Inside, Valessara watched from the shadows — already planning.
And Elira sharpened something that was definitely not meant to be sharpened.
The war for Aerin's heart — and his throne — had only just begun.
If you'd like, we can now move into:
the political fallout
Valessara's revenge
the "two-queen" chaos
or Aerin & Mira's first night as something dangerously close to husband and wife 😄
The wedding reception was supposed to be elegant.
It wasn't.
It was loud, glittering, over-crowded, and emotionally radioactive.
Aerin sat at the center of the grand table between his two new wives:
Valessara on one side, cold and composed, and Mira on the other, calm and quietly radiant.
Valessara was already bored.
"This is tedious," she muttered, sipping her wine. "All these smiles. All this pretending."
Aerin blinked. "Pretending?"
Valessara waved a hand. "You and I both know this marriage is political. I'm not here for affection."
Aerin looked at her. "Then why—"
She smirked. "Status. Power. The crown looks good on me."
Mira overheard this and raised an eyebrow, but said nothing.
Valessara leaned closer to Aerin and whispered, "Besides, I have someone else."
Aerin nearly choked on his drink. "You—what?"
Valessara smiled sweetly. "Relax. It's not love. Just… recreation."
Aerin stared, stunned.
Across the hall, Cassian laughed at something a noble said.
Valessara's eyes flicked in his direction.
Aerin did not notice.
Yet.
Meanwhile, Elira was in the kitchens.
Which was never a good sign.
She stood over a vast table of banquet dishes, each one more delicious than the last.
"Perfect," she muttered, pulling out a vial. "I will poison them all."
A cook gasped. "WHAT?"
"It is not lethal," Elira said. "Just… dramatic."
She tipped a few drops into a soup tureen.
"Why?" the cook whispered.
Elira's eyes burned with passion. "Because Valessara still breathes."
Back in the grand hall, Aerin was trying to survive small talk.
"So, Your Majesty," a duke said, "how does it feel to have two wives?"
Aerin blinked. "Loud."
Mira smiled faintly.
Elira burst in.
Aerin looked up. "Elira! You made it!"
"I was going to poison the feast," she said proudly.
Mira spat out her drink.
Aerin went pale. "You were WHAT?"
Elira nodded. "For justice."
Aerin grabbed her shoulders. "No poisoning!"
"But—"
"Elira," he said gently, "I can marry up to five women. The law allows it."
Elira froze.
"You… could… marry me?"
"Yes," Aerin said. "If that stops you poisoning people."
Elira's brain exploded.
She launched at him.
Kiss. Kiss. Kiss. Kiss.
"WAIT—" Aerin tried.
Kiss. Kiss. Kiss.
Cassian stared in horror.
Mira watched in calm disbelief.
Elira kissed Aerin roughly fifty times in ten seconds, bouncing on her toes between each one.
"I AM SO HAPPY," she declared. "I WILL BE A WIFE. I WILL BE VERY GOOD AT IT."
Then she froze.
"…The poison."
She sprinted back toward the kitchens.
"I'LL BE RIGHT BACK!"
Aerin collapsed into his chair.
"I am too tired for my own life."
In the kitchens, Elira threw lids off dishes, dumping food into bins.
"NO ONE EAT," she shouted. "THIS IS A CRIME SCENE."
The cooks screamed.
The soup was launched out a window.
The desserts were sacrificed.
The roast turkey died a heroic second death.
Elira emerged ten minutes later, covered in gravy.
"It is safe," she announced proudly.
The guests stared.
The Harem Alarm chimed happily.
Aerin stared at Elira.
"You're… my fiancée now?"
Elira nodded, glowing. "Yes."
Mira sighed. "Of course she is."
Valessara smiled slowly.
"Oh," she murmured. "This is going to be entertaining."
And somewhere across the hall, Cassian felt a chill he could not yet explain.
End of Chapter Twenty-Four
If you want next, we can do:
the fallout of a poisoned banquet
Valessara's secret boyfriend beginning to surface
or the public realizing the King now has three wives 😄