~RUNE
The sun had finally risen.
My family had spent the entire early morning healing me with their light combined, restoring me to perfection so that I would easily pass as Sayla.
Then, they handed me an enchanted necklace.
It was the final piece of the puzzle that would help complete the illusion.
The illusion that I was Sayla Aylin.
I had been staring at the necklace the entire time, unable to put it on.
Not only had my family ordered me to take my sister’s identity but to also steal the man whom she loved.
How could I do this to her?
Yet the echoes of my family’s threats came rushing back into my mind and it was enough to force me to my feet.
In defeat, I went to stand before the mirror, exhaled sharply and shakily put the glamored necklace on.
I almost cried when I saw my hair turn silver and Sayla’s face stared back at me from the mirror.
“No…” I breathed in shock.
It was as if I was staring at the real Sayla once again.
It did not help that I was wearing the ethereal wedding dress which she was supposed to have on today.
It looked perfect.
She would have looked so beautiful.
“I’m so sorry…” I whispered shakily as I wiped away my tears.
That was when Lucien suddenly walked into the room.
“Time to go—”
He froze and I saw him stiffen visibly as he looked at me longer than he usually did.
Then he gritted his teeth hard and finally looked away.
“They have arrived. Let’s go receive them,” He said in a cold voice.
“Yes, your highness,” I muttered quietly and followed him.
We walked down the hall and I noticed how everyone we passed actually stopped to look at me as well as bow in respect.
They usually just ignored me, pretended I didn’t exist or stared harshly yet today, while wearing my sister’s identity— they saw me.
We arrived outside where our parents and other extended family members of the House Aylin waited.
And for the first time, my hair matched theirs.
My parents stared at me with unreadable expressions before also looking away.
Lucien brought me to stand in the center while he stood beside me.
Then we watched the great Orin carriages enter the palace grounds.
The people of Valaris stood flanked on both sides while they waited eagerly to see the very monsters whom they had told bedtime stories about.
No one had ever seen an Orin up close and lived to tell the tale.
Yet today, that narrative was about to change because of this marriage.
Their large black carriages came to a stop.
The strange bird-like horses which they rode on screeched loudly before they all went silent.
Then the doors to every carriage came open and men drenched in black stepped out of them.
I froze.
They were nothing like what I expected.
We’d heard tales of them having horns, looking like the devil’s incarnate but no.
Every man who stepped out of those carriages was unnaturally beautiful, athletic and tall.
Only the darkness that clung to them and the pointy ears they possessed showed they were different.
Suddenly, all of them stopped, parted ways in the center and bowed for the last Orin to descend.
King Uriel Vorn stepped out and my heart stopped.
His hair was as dark as coal and it cascaded proudly down his back.
He stood slightly taller than the other Orin.
His shoulders were broad, slowly revealing a waist too slim that I questioned reality.
His eyes glowed an unnatural crimson red against his perfectly tanned skin.
And his face— oh, he was the most beautiful of them all, shroud in black just like the rest of his people, oozing with so much authority that it made my legs go weak.
His face, although beautiful, was worn into a strong and hard expression.
It was clear that this man was not to be messed with.
Was this the man I was supposed to fool into believing I was Sayla?
Was this the man I was supposed to sleep right next to tonight?
He would surely see me for the fraud I was and he would unalive me within seconds!
My fingers instantly grew cold.
My body began to tremble visibly.
Panic scattered across my core.
I was definitely dying here today!
I must have turned visibly terrified because Lucien suddenly grabbed my wrist painfully hard.
“Get yourself together, Rune,” he said through clenched teeth.
“If you blow our cover, then I’ll make you take the fall for everything including this plan. It will be fun to watch King Uriel tear you to shreds.”
If anything, this only terrified me further.
But I needed to get myself together.
If not for myself, then for Sayla.
I knew she would want me to survive.
I didn’t come this far just to lose now.
I just needed to breathe.
I moved my eyes back to King Uriel Vorn and tried to act as composed as ever.
That was when his eyes fell on me too.
And the strangest thing happened.
All that darkness, all that coldness from his expression suddenly melted away and he smiled kindly at me.
Warmth filled his expression and I almost believed it was just he and I in this world.
I couldn’t take my eyes off him as he began to walk up to me.
Guilt filled my chest because I knew the truth.
He was not looking at me.
He was looking at Sayla Aylin.
How lucky she was to find a man who loved her this much…
Uriel finally reached me while ignoring every other person standing there.
He was even taller up close and I needed to lift my head to look up at him.
He trailed his fingers on my face gently before it stopped on my chin.
“My moon…”
His voice came out in the calmest yet most dangerous sound ever.
I widened my eyes at him.
My brain went blank.
How was I supposed to respond to this?
What would Sayla say?
My love?
Sun?
Heart?
I was panicking.
He was waiting for an answer.
So my brain blurted out the first thing that went past my lips.
“M— my King…”
His expression suddenly hardened.
He frowned and his fingers fell from my chin.
“Why would you call me that?”
My heart dropped.
This was it.
I had been discovered.
There was no way I could fool him.
He could see right through me.
I felt Lucien tap me secretly from behind.
This jolted me out of my terrified thoughts and I remembered that I had to survive.
I couldn’t just go down like this.
Think of something!
Sayla had used his first name intimately when she talked about him yesterday.
“I— I’m sorry… I didn’t want to use your first name before all of these people,” I muttered.
Uriel bent his head slightly to the side, his eyes seemed to glisten again before he brought his fingers back to my chin.
“Don’t be silly, Sayla,” he muttered gently.
“You are my Queen. You can do as you please.”
His smile returned and he faced my family to finally acknowledge them for the first time.
“King Theron, Queen Celeste, Prince Lucien, House Aylin…” He began, never bowing once.
“It’s an honor to finally meet the legendary Moon-Blessed House of Light.”
“The pleasure is ours, Great King Uriel of the Orin Kingdom,” Father answered as the entire family bowed slightly to him.
Then Uriel stepped aside and showed me three men who were now standing behind him, each with fierce and unique features.
“Meet the great Lords of the Orin Kingdom, next in power after the king,” Uriel announced.
“Lord Dain Noir, Lord Morrigan Raze and Lord Sylve Darke.”.
Lord Dain looked calm, intelligent yet difficult to read as he watched me.
Lord Morrigan looked harsh, proud and distrustful of humans.
Or perhaps it could have been irritation.
While Lord Sylve had this charm to him that felt dangerous as he watched me way too closely that it made the hair at the back of my neck stand.
Like their king, they were all beautiful men.
They stepped forward and bowed only to me.
“It’s an honor to finally meet the human who stole our King’s heart and stabilized his soul,” Lord Sylve said.
“A queen like you is exactly what we need in these trying times. I hope we can rely on you to use your light to burn away the plague currently affecting our people,” Dain announced.
I froze.
What was he talking about?
A plague?
My intake of breath grew shorter again.
I had no light.
I had no healing powers.
I couldn’t burn away any plague.
I was definitely going to be discovered the moment I stepped foot into their lands.
They would know I was a fraud!
“The Orin are eager to welcome you home, Princess Sayla Aylin,” Lord Morrigan finally said but it didn’t seem to quite reach his heart.
“Enough talking with my beloved,” Uriel cut in and faced me with complete trust in his eyes.
He offered me his hand.
“Come, my moon…” He whispered.
“Let’s go bind our souls together forever.”
The monster’s greatest power is that of deception…