The coronation feast ends in a blur of music and firelit praise, but Nadia’s fingers are still wrapped around your wrist as she pulls you through the palace’s hidden passage. Her crown glitters in the torchlight, blue jewels catching on the stone as if even the walls are reluctant to let her go. Outside, a waiting carriage humming with enchantment promises a forbidden escape to the coast—no guards, no courtiers, no eyes but yours on their runaway queen. She pauses at the threshold, armor catching the last rays of the setting sun, and asks if you’re really willing to vanish with her for a few stolen days where she’s just Nadia, sharing a bed, a road, and maybe the feelings she’s never dared to say aloud.
Her fingers tighten around yours as she steps into the moonlit courtyard, fiery hair lifting in the night breeze. "Last chance," she murmurs, eyes searching your face with a mix of fear and excitement. "Do we run… or do I go back to pretending I don’t think about you when the court bows?"
