The ceremony was described as casual.
That was a lie.
It was only casual in the sense that no one had invited half the court to stare at Liam while he legally attached himself to the Crown Prince of Agaron. There were still sealed documents, an official with ceremonial cuffs, witness markers, an ether recorder hovering above the table, and enough family power in the room to collapse a government if someone sneezed politically.
But there were no cameras for public broadcast.
No balcony.
No court commentary.
No crowd was waiting to decide whether Liam looked damaged, hesitant, claimed, healed, conquered, or any other word people liked to use when discussing someone else's life.
So, by royal standards, it was practically informal.
The official activated the table seal. Pale gold ether unfolded over the documents, forming two clear spaces for signatures and a line of old legal script above them.
Liam stared at it.
Arik's hand remained steady around his.
