They found Princess Celeste's wedding gown on the floor of her chambers, still warm. But no princess. I stood there, my maid's apron clutched in trembling hands, staring at the empty room that would change my life forever. The ceremony was in one hour. The king—a man I'd never met, from a kingdom across the sea—was waiting at the altar. And Lady Margrave, the Queen's advisor, was looking at me with eyes that could cut glass. "You're the same height," she said. Not a question. A verdict. "I'm a servant," I whispered. "I can't—" "The alliance depends on this marriage. If King Daemon returns to Ashenfell without a bride, we go to war." She stepped closer, her perfume suffocating. "Thousands will die, Sera. Unless you put on that dress." My heart hammered against my ribs. Celeste was my friend. The only royal who'd ever treated me like a person instead of furniture. She'd taught me to read, smuggled me pastries, told me secrets in the dark. And now she'd vanished, leaving me to face a fate worse than death. Marriage to a stranger king. "He'll know," I said. "The moment he sees me—" "He's never met Celeste. The betrothal was arranged by letter." Lady Margrave lifted the gown, its silk whispering promises and threats. "You'll wear the veil. You'll say your vows. And you'll buy us time to find the real princess." I should have run. Instead, I reached for the dress.