Chapter 1

My eighteenth bonding ceremony with Kael Frost was canceled—again—because of my adopted sister.

Mother opened a mind-link, her voice flooding into my head laced with agitation: "Briar's having another episode. Stomach cramps, bad ones. Your father and I are taking her to the infirmary. Handle the ceremony yourself—you've canceled enough of these by now, you're better at it than anyone."

My lifelong best friend and maid of honor, Liora, was even blunter: "Is your ceremony really more important than Briar's life? She's in so much pain she's nearly blacking out—are you seriously expecting us to stay for the ceremony? Selene, when did you become so heartless?"

And my fiancé.

I waited a full twenty minutes.

All he sent was this: Ceremony's off. We'll reschedule.

We'll reschedule.

I rolled those words over and over in my mind. He'd used the exact same phrase to dismiss me eighteen times.

A bitter laugh slipped through my lips. Suddenly, none of it mattered anymore.

The moon still hung at the edge of the sky, pale as a sliver of bone about to shatter.

I closed my eyes and silently addressed that moon—

Sever it. Every bond I share with them—let it end. Right now.

Moonlight flashed behind my eyelids, and a line of silver text crystallized at the center of my vision, visible only to me:

Connections severed. Countdown: 72 hours. When the time expires, all who were once bonded to you shall return everything—including their lives.

…

I opened my eyes, drew a deep breath, picked up the microphone, and walked onto the ceremonial stage.

Violets. Everywhere. My bonding ceremony, blanketed in Briar's favorite flower. Laughable.

"My apologies, everyone. Tonight's ceremony is canceled."

The Northern Realm's aristocrats exchanged glances, though none looked particularly surprised.

"Expected, isn't it? How many times have they tried over the years? Not once has it actually gone through. If I were the Graves heiress, I'd have stopped showing up ages ago."

"The entire Graves clan dotes on that adopted little sister. Why bother competing? Stepping aside would at least let Selene keep her dignity."

"You don't understand—Frost operations fall apart without Selene. They've tested it more than once. Every time Kael has a falling-out with her, the clan's holdings take a nosedive. That's the only reason he hasn't dropped her."

I descended the stage under the pitying, faintly mocking gazes of the crowd.

My lips twitched.

This time, it wouldn't be a mere dip in holdings.

I changed into plain clothes and returned to the Graves estate, wanting only to grab a few things before leaving for good.

But the moment I pushed open the front door, a procession of people swept into the foyer around Briar, all chattering and laughing.

The instant they saw me, every smile vanished at once.

Kael's dark gray eyes clouded with anger, his tone thick with undisguised reproach: "Selene, why didn't you give any explanation when you canceled the ceremony? You said nothing—now people are going to blame Briar again."

Father cast me a cold glance. "You handled this appallingly. In the past, cleaning up a canceled ceremony never required our involvement. Today, you have thoroughly disappointed me. Issue a statement immediately—say you canceled on a whim, and that it had nothing to do with anyone else."

Liora already had her phone out. "I'll have the publicist contact the major outlets. If Selene puts out a statement now, we can still get ahead of it. We'll plant a few narratives online, redirect the discourse toward her—then nobody will even think of Briar…"

I didn't respond to any of it. Not a single word.

I simply stared at the silver countdown hovering in my vision.

Remaining: 2 days, 18 hours.

When the time came, they would lose everything they had.

"Selene, what the hell are you staring at?" Kael stepped closer, his impatience reaching its peak. "I'm warning you—if you don't handle this properly, I can't guarantee when we'll schedule the next ceremony."

I lifted my eyes and looked at him for one brief moment.

That face I'd once fallen for at first sight now looked like a stranger's.

It didn't matter.

There wasn't going to be a next time.

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