Chapter Two - The Devil's Son

I barely slept that night.

Every time I closed my eyes, I heard my father's voice.

"You are getting married."

Two weeks.

That was all the time I had before I would leave everything I knew behind.

Not that there was much here worth missing.

Still, the thought of entering another kingdom frightened me.

Especially when my future husband was Prince Cassian Ravelle.

The Devil's Son.

I sat before my mirror the following morning as a maid brushed my hair.

"Do people really call him that?" I asked.

The maid's hands suddenly slowed.

"Call who, Princess?"

"Cassian."

She looked at me through the mirror.

Then she lowered her voice.

"Everyone does."

"Why?"

She hesitated.

"They say he isn't like other men."

I turned around.

"What does that mean?"

"I don't know, Princess."

She quickly returned to brushing my hair.

But I could see fear in her eyes.

Before I could ask anything else, the door opened.

My mother entered.

The maid immediately stepped aside.

My mother looked at me from head to toe.

"You leave for Ravaryn tomorrow."

"Tomorrow?"

"Yes."

I stared at her.

"Mother, the wedding isn't for two weeks."

"You'll need time to prepare."

I wanted to ask why she was sending me away so quickly.

Instead, I simply nodded.

She walked toward the door.

"Mother?"

She stopped.

"Do you know what Cassian is really like?"

For several seconds, she said nothing.

Then she looked back at me.

"Don't try to understand him."

My brows furrowed.

"What?"

"Just do what you're told, Amara."

And she left.

Her words followed me long after the door closed.

That afternoon, preparations began.

My belongings were packed into trunks, my dresses carefully folded, and my jewelry placed into small velvet boxes.

It felt strange watching everyone prepare for my departure.

Nobody looked sad.

Nobody cried.

Nobody asked me if I was afraid.

It was almost as though they were relieved.

That evening, I stood alone on the balcony.

The palace looked beautiful beneath the setting sun.

For the first time, I wondered whether I would ever see it again.

A carriage would arrive at sunrise.

And tomorrow, I would begin my journey to Ravaryn.

To a kingdom I'd never seen.

To a family that didn't know me.

And to a prince I had never met.

A prince everyone feared.

A prince they called the Devil's Son.

I wrapped my arms around myself.

"Who are you really, Cassian Ravelle?"

I had no idea that by tomorrow, I would finally meet him.

And that meeting him would change my life forever.

I tried to imagine what he would look like.

Would he have the cruel eyes everyone described? Would he speak harshly? Would he even want a wife he had never met?

I had heard countless stories about him, but stories were only stories.

Perhaps he was exactly as terrible as everyone claimed.

Or perhaps the kingdom had simply made him into a monster because they were afraid of what he had become.

Either way, I was about to find out.

Tomorrow, I would stand before the Devil's Son.

And I had no idea whether I would return from Ravaryn as a princess, a wife, or a prisoner.

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