THE MORNING AFTER THE WEDDING
Sunlight. Headaches. Love. A New Chapter Begins.
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DAWN — A THORNMERE THAT HAS SEEN SOME THINGS
The sun rose gently over Aurelthane’s estate, filtering through stained glass in thin golden rays.
Which was tragic.
Because every member of the Crimson Dice who had stayed up drinking last night reacted like vampires seeing daylight for the first time.
Garruk:
“WHO LET THE SUN EXIST?!”
Vex (face buried in a pillow):
“Arden. Make it stop. Make the light stop.”
Arden (also hungover):
“I… cannot heal hangovers. Only regret.”
Kaer was sitting upright in a chair, still fully dressed from last night, perfectly still.
Kaer:
“I believe… I am dead.”
Laz groaned from underneath a table:
“We are ALL dead.”
Pancake was the only one bouncing around with absolutely no remorse.
Pancake:
“Good morning losers! I stole pastries!”
He was too chipper. Suspiciously chipper.
Borin staggered in holding a bucket of ice over his head.
Borin:
“…if ah move mah skull cracks.”
A collective groan followed him like a funeral procession.
This was, without question, the most hungover the Dice had ever been.
And yet—
Through the misery?
Something glowed.
A warmth.
A happiness.
A kind of contentment that even alcohol couldn’t smother.
Because the newly weds were awake.
And blissfully in love.
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THE VORN FAMILY — PURE MORNING LIGHT
Elaris was sitting at the edge of their shared bed, hair a complete disaster, robe half-tied, but smiling in a way that made the world feel easy.
Sereth—
Soft. Radiant. Sleep-tousled hair with the silver streak catching sunlight.
One arm around her stomach instinctively.
Her head on Elaris’s shoulder.
Sereth (sleepy whisper):
“…Morning, husband.”
Elaris melted.
Elaris:
“Say it again.”
Sereth (smiling now):
“Husband.”
He kissed her forehead as if the word alone blessed him.
Elyra burst through the door seconds later—
Elyra:
GOOD MORNING MUM, GOOD MORNING— oh.
She blinked at them cuddled together, glowing.
Elyra:
“…okay, that’s adorable.”
Sereth patted the bed and Elyra crawled in between them, snuggling into her mum’s shoulder.
Elaris wrapped an arm around both of them.
A family.
For the first time — whole, safe, warm.
Elyra:
“I know you’re both hungover, but… you look really happy.”
Sereth:
“We are. Today begins everything.”
Elyra’s smile was impossibly bright.
But then—
Her hand slipped instinctively to her thigh.
The circlet pulsed softly.
Her legs remained steady.
Elaris noticed.
Elaris:
“How’s it feeling this morning?”
Elyra:
“Good. Better than it has in weeks.”
Sereth kissed her temple.
Sereth:
“You’re healing. We’ll see it through.”
Elyra nodded…
…then remembered.
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ELYRA’S SECRET LETTER
Elyra:
“Oh — um — I’ll be right back!”
She darted out of the room with suspicious speed.
Sereth raised an eyebrow.
Sereth:
“…that’s new.”
Elaris:
“She’s hiding something.”
Sereth:
“She’s nineteen. Of course she is.”
Elaris corrected softly:
“She’s twenty-two.”
Sereth blinked.
Sereth:
“…no she’s— wait. No. No she is.
Gods I forget she ages slowly.”
Elaris:
“She’ll always seem younger. That’s part of the gift.”
Sereth smiled at that.
But Elyra—
Elyra had rushed to her own room, heart fluttering.
She shut the door, leaned against it, and pulled a folded note from her bedside table.
Her fingers trembled.
The parchment smelled faintly of ink, rain, and pine.
Tavian’s handwriting.
She bit her lip, smiling before she even opened it.
She read:
Lady Elyra,
I hope today your legs are steady,
and that your heart is lighter.
Last night was… indescribable.
Dancing with you felt like finding sunlight in winter.
I know I’m not a warrior.
I know I’m not part of your world.
But if you ever allow me a place beside you —
even for a moment —
I will guard that moment with my life.
Thank you for seeing me.
Thank you for the kiss.
Thank you for letting me help.
If you ever wish to see me again,
I will be waiting by the fountain at the Ember Tankard
every evening until you do.
Yours,
Tavian
Elyra pressed the letter to her chest.
The story has been illicitly taken; should you find it on Amazon, report the infringement.
Tears gathered, but happy ones.
Her legs tingled — warmth, not numbness.
Elyra whispered to the empty room:
“…I will.”
Pancake popped his head out from beneath her bed.
Pancake:
“So when’s the wedding?”
Elyra screamed.
THE OBSIDIAN ORB
A Gift. A Warning. A Plea From the Dragon Who Loves a Queen.
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The morning sun had barely crept into the bridal suite when Sereth’s eyes caught a glimmer of deep velvet across the room — something she was certain hadn’t been there last night.
Elaris followed her gaze.
Elaris (soft, cautious):
“…That. It was delivered after the feast.
A courier said it was for my eyes only.”
Sereth stepped closer, hand sliding around his forearm.
Sereth:
“Your eyes… but we’re a family now, remember?
We open it together.”
He nodded.
Took her hand.
And together they reached for the velvet-wrapped object.
Elaris peeled back one corner—
The moment the obsidian orb touched air, a cold whistle of magic rippled outward—
—and the world shattered.
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? THE FIRST VISION: A MOMENT BETWEEN LIFE & DEATH
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The bridal suite dissolved like smoke.
Suddenly Elaris and Sereth were standing inside the Ember Tankard—
—but not the present-day one.
A memory.
The night she died.
The night he killed her.
The night she became the Scarlet Huntress.
Sereth’s breath caught.
Sereth (whispered, horrified):
“…this… this was the moment…”
She saw herself, broken and bloodied, torn between realms —
—Vaelith’s voice offering her eternal peace.
—Elaris’s voice pulling her home.
But this time, they weren’t watching from their own eyes.
They stood beside a towering silhouette, tall as a doorframe, cloaked in shadow, his golden eyes glowing like two suns through a storm.
He turned in their direction.
Sereth gasped.
Sereth:
“It was him.
The man outside the Tankard.
The voice I heard when I died.
Who is he?!”
Elaris swallowed.
Elaris:
“…it’s—”
But before he could finish—
The vision trembled.
A second figure appeared, walking directly past them.
Valthrix.
She didn’t see them.
She wasn’t here.
She was part of the memory.
Valthrix (annoyed, impatient):
“Times up, drake. Your attempt to save her won’t depend on you alone.”
Drake.
Sereth’s eyes widened.
Sereth:
“…drake…?”
The golden-eyed man did not reply.
The world fractured like shattered glass—
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? THE SECOND VISION: THE GLASS CAVERN
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They landed on cold, mirrored ground.
A cavern of crystalline walls.
Sereth instantly reached for her bow—
Nothing.
Her blades—
Nothing.
Sereth (snarling):
“Damn it—!”
Elaris pulled her close.
Both stared ahead…
They saw Elyra — paralyzed, terrified, her legs dead weight as crystalline poison crawled up her calves.
A voice echoed through the cavern:
Silvenna.
Mocking. Cruel.
Holding Elyra hostage within her own reflection.
They watched the memory unfold—
Elyra’s terror.
The Mirrorborn closing in.
The bloom of numbness consuming her legs.
The moment the curse was born—
Sereth whispered, voice cracking:
Sereth:
“No… she was so scared…”
A sudden quake shook the cavern.
Talons scraped the mirrored floor.
A massive shadow descended behind them—
A dragon, wings stretching across the ceiling, landing with thunderous weight.
The beast dissolved in white flame—
—and took a humanoid shape.
He stepped into the memory of himself.
Azhareth.
As the draconic knight interrogated Silvenna, learned of the circlet, and launched into the sky—
Sereth finally spoke his name out loud.
Sereth (breathless):
“Azhareth…”
The cavern shattered.
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? THE FINAL VISION: THE QUEEN’S CHAMBER
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A crimson glow washed over them.
They now stood inside Vaelith’s private chamber —
the heart of the Crimson Spire.
Vaelith lay in bed, trembling, weaker than they had ever seen her.
Her veins, normally pulsing glowing red, were dim, almost human.
Azhareth knelt at her bedside, one clawed hand gently holding hers.
He whispered something soft — something heartbreakingly tender — too quiet to hear.
Sereth’s eyes softened despite herself.
Sereth:
“He loves her.”
Elaris didn’t answer.
Because someone else was suddenly behind them.
A voice like smoke and stone.
Azhareth (calm, heavy):
“Vorns.”
They turned.
But this was not memory-Azhareth.
This was him.
Speaking directly to them.
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? AZHARETH’S MESSAGE
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Azhareth stood inches from them, golden eyes burning like molten crystal—
but his posture was not hostile.
It was… weary.
Broken.
Determined.
Azhareth:
“Now you know.”
Sereth and Elaris said nothing.
Azhareth continued, voice low, resonant:
Azhareth:
“I cannot betray my Queen.
My heart is bound to hers.
I am her shield even as she falls deeper into corruption.”
He looked at Vaelith in the bed, pain flickering across his eyes.
Azhareth:
“Each defeat at your hands brings her closer to humanity.
I feel it.
Her heartbeat softens.
Her voice clears.
Her soul… reaches.”
He inhaled sharply, chest tight.
Azhareth:
“But the corrupted lattice whispers power to her…
and it warps her mind.
It devours her compassion.
It drags her from me.”
Sereth clenched her fists.
Azhareth raised a hand.
Azhareth:
“Her Hearts suspect me already.
I can help you no longer.
If I act again, they will expose me…
and she will burn me for treason.”
The room shook faintly.
Azhareth’s gaze shifted to Elaris.
Deep.
Direct.
A father addressing another.
Azhareth:
“Watch the devil Valthrix.
Her endgame is hidden even from me.
But she whispers around your fate like a spider spinning threads.”
Elaris felt a chill.
Azhareth stepped closer—
Elaris braced for his hand to pass through him—
But it didn’t.
Azhareth’s palm landed firmly on Elaris’s shoulder, solid, real, warm with draconic heat.
Azhareth (soft, pained, honest):
“Congratulations on your wedding…
your daughter…
and your new family.”
Sereth’s hand fluttered to her stomach.
Azhareth saw.
Azhareth:
“Sereth is special.
Her child…
will protect her.
Do not fear.”
The crimson world cracked.
Splintered.
Collapsed—
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? BACK IN THE BRIDAL SUITE
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The vision ended.
Reality snapped back.
The obsidian orb slipped from Elaris’s fingers, landing silently in the velvet.
The room was still.
Sereth clung to Elaris’s arm, breathing hard.
Elaris stared at the orb, stunned.
Sereth whispered:
Sereth:
“He helped us.”
Elaris:
“He’s been helping us for longer than we knew.”
Sereth:
“…He wants us to save her.”
Elaris:
“And he wants us to survive.”
Silence.
Then Sereth pressed a trembling hand to her stomach.
Sereth:
“He knew.”
Elaris swallowed.
Elaris:
“He knew.”
They held each other.
And the obsidian orb lay in the velvet—
silent,
waiting,
like the first move in a far larger game.
THE MORNING AFTER:
Revelation… and Breakfast?**
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The obsidian orb lay quiet in its velvet cradle, as if it had never erupted with visions that rewrote everything they thought they understood.
Sereth was still holding Elaris’s arm.
Elaris was still staring at the empty air where Azhareth’s hand had been.
No one spoke for a full ten seconds.
Sereth exhaled first.
Sereth (breathless):
“…That was… a lot.”
Elaris (hoarse, stunned):
“That was before breakfast.”
Sereth let out a tiny, breathy laugh — the kind you make when you’re too shocked to actually laugh.
Sereth:
“I mean, gods… I’m used to chaos, but this is—this is new.”
They were still trying to ground themselves when the door swung open.
Elyra entered, hair braided loosely from sleep, circlet glistening atop her head, Tavian’s letter folded carefully in her hand.
She was smiling — bright, glowing, the happiest she’d looked in ages.
Elyra:
“Morning! You two look like you saw a ghost or—”
She took one look at their faces.
Stopped dead.
Elyra:
“…What happened?”
Sereth and Elaris exchanged a look.
Neither wanted to burden her.
Neither wanted to worry her.
Neither knew how to explain what they had just witnessed.
But they were a family now.
So Elaris gestured her closer.
Elaris:
“Come here. Sit.”
Elyra sat immediately, eyes wide and searching.
Elyra:
“Did something go wrong? Is someone hurt?”
Sereth reached out and took her daughter’s hand.
Sereth (soft, steady):
“No, sweetheart. No one’s hurt.
But something… happened.
Something big.”
Elyra straightened, alert.
Elyra:
“Tell me.”
Sereth nodded at Elaris.
He lifted the velvet cloth.
Revealed the obsidian orb.
And very quietly, he said:
Elaris:
“We received a message.
From Azhareth.”
Elyra blinked.
“…The dragon?”
Sereth:
“Yes.”
Elyra swallowed.
“And the Queen’s… heart?”
Sereth nodded.
Sereth:
“Him.”
Elyra’s expression flickered from confused → wary → horrified → oh gods what now in less than two seconds.
Elaris explained everything.
Every memory.
Every vision.
Every line Azhareth spoke.
Every warning.
His plea.
His pain.
His knowledge about her, about Sereth, about the child.
Elyra didn’t interrupt.
Not once.
When he finished, she sat very still — eyes bright, jaw tense, breath shallow.
Then:
Elyra:
“…He protected us.
He really has been.”
Elaris nodded.
Elaris:
“Longer than we realised.”
Sereth squeezed Elyra’s hand.
Sereth:
“And he’s asking for our help.
To save her.”
Elyra bit her lip — a tremble of empathy and fear.
Elyra:
“I knew he didn’t hate us.
I could feel it.
But this…
this is…”
She shook her head, overwhelmed.
Then suddenly — as if remembering — she placed her hand over Sereth’s stomach.
Elyra:
“He knew about them, didn’t he?”
Sereth’s eyes softened.
Sereth (whispering):
“He did.”
Elyra’s voice cracked, happiness and fear tangled together:
Elyra:
“Mum… Dad… your baby…
Is part of this too.”
Elaris placed his hands over Sereth’s, grounding her.
Elaris:
“Not as a pawn.
Azhareth was clear.
They’re something good.
Something protective.”
Sereth drew in a shaky breath.
Sereth:
“So much is happening at once…”
Elyra leaned forward suddenly — and pulled both of them into a fierce hug.
Elyra (firm, steady, emotional):
“Whatever this means…
Whatever’s coming…
We face it together.
Like we always do.”
Sereth melted into the embrace.
Elaris closed his eyes, holding both his girls — and the future between them.
A future now tied to a queen, a dragon, a devil, a cursed lattice, and a child who was already destined to matter.
Elyra finally pulled back, wiping her eyes.
Elyra (sniffing, trying to smile):
“…So.
Should we go get breakfast
— or should we all lie on the floor and process for the next ten hours?”
Elaris actually laughed.
A quiet, exhausted, incredulous laugh.
Elaris:
“Both?”
Sereth slid her hand around his waist.
Sereth:
“We’ll start with breakfast.”
Elyra grinned faintly.
Elyra:
“Good. Because Tavian sent another letter and I need carbs to emotionally cope.”
Elaris and Sereth exchanged a knowing smirk.
Sereth:
“Oh really?”
Elyra (bright red):
“Mum—”
And the Vorns — shaken, wiser, bound tighter than ever — walked toward the breakfast hall as a family.
Together.
