On the day I tried on my bridal robe, I had just stepped out from behind the silver mirror in Hera’s Temple of Vows when I saw Daphne adjusting the obsidian clasp on my fiancé’s cloak. Theron Erebius was heir to the Stygian royal house, chosen and ennobled by Hades himself, Lord of the Underworld. I was about to say, “Let me,” when the priestess beside us smiled and went straight to Daphne. “This way, my lady. We still need to fit the bridal crown.” I stopped short. Theron only curved his lips and offered no explanation. Daphne smiled shyly and leaned into his side as if she belonged there. “Don’t move. This angle is perfect.” Meles, who had grown up with me, lifted an image crystal and caught their likeness in a flash of white light. The crystal preserved the image of Theron and Daphne standing shoulder to shoulder. And I, the true bride, stood beside the silver mirror like an outsider who had wandered into the wrong ceremony. Daphne turned to me. “Selene, bring me that bouquet of white lilies.” She said it so naturally, as if she were the one entering the marriage covenant today. I did not move. When I did not answer, Theron walked over and took the white lilies from my hands. “Selene, why are you daydreaming again?” He said, “Go look at the designs for the vow scroll. Daphne can try the robe on in your place. The one she’s wearing suits her well enough.” I looked at him, and the cold in my chest sank deeper, inch by inch. Theron did not hear the hurt beneath my silence. He had already handed the white lilies to Daphne. Meles frowned slightly, still holding the image crystal. “Selene, move aside a little. You’re blocking the sacred light.” I silently retreated into the corner. Moonlight poured from the temple dome and fell over Daphne, making her look like the bride Hera herself had blessed. And I stood in the shadows, finally understanding how unnecessary I was. I turned back behind the silver mirror, removed the bridal robe, and folded it neatly on the stone platform. When I came out again, Daphne was turning in front of the mirror. Theron stood behind her, adjusting the golden thread at her waist. Meles laughed. “Yes, that’s the angle.” I stood at the doorway and looked at them one last time. At that moment, I finally understood how unnecessary I was. If this marriage covenant did not need me, then I would not be there. I turned and walked out of the Hera’s Temple of Vows. … On the carriage ride back to Whitecliff House, one of Hermes’ messengers delivered a glowing parchment scroll. It was the shared scroll for the wedding rites. Lady Selene, have you chosen the design for the marriage vow scroll? My fingertips hovered above the parchment. Soon, another line of golden writing appeared. Or Lady Daphne may choose on your behalf. She has already selected two designs and asked that you review them. Two golden patterns lit upon the scroll. Again. Let Daphne choose for me. My fingers tightened around the scroll. I loved the sea. I had once told Theron that I hoped our marriage rites could be held at the Tidal Altar by the shore. But Daphne had taken one look at the plan and wrinkled her nose. “What’s so good about the seaside? The wind is strong, and the waves are noisy. Theron is the heir to the Stygian royal house. Of course his wedding rites should be held in the High Temple, among roses and obsidian.” Theron had barely hesitated. “Daphne is right. We’ll use the High Temple.” I wrote three words on the scroll. As you wish. In the end, Theron would listen to her anyway. After I returned to Whitecliff House, golden words appeared one after another on the Hermes message scroll. Meles had already set the images from the fitting into the shared wedding scroll. I opened the first one. In the image, Theron wore a black divine robe, while Daphne stood beside him in a white bridal robe. They looked at each other and smiled. Like a pair of newlyweds truly blessed by the gods. I looked through them one by one. Almost every image was of them. Daphne trying on the bridal crown. Daphne holding the white lilies. Theron adjusting Daphne’s cloak. As for me, the true bride, only the edge of my sleeve appeared in a corner. On the cold-stone cabinet in Whitecliff House, there was still a piece of parchment written by Daphne’s own hand. Seven days until the wedding covenant. I stared at those words and suddenly found them unbearable. I reached out, tore the parchment down, crumpled it, and threw it into the brazier.
The moment the flames swallowed the parchment, the Hermes message scroll lit again. It was a sending from Theron. His voice carried displeasure. “Selene, where did you go? Didn’t I tell you to choose the pattern for the vow scroll?” I leaned against the window, looking at my pale reflection in the crystal pane, and spoke softly. “I’m a little tired. I came back first.” From the other end of the scroll, Daphne’s bright voice cut in. “Then rest well. I already helped you choose the robe and the vow scroll.” Then came Theron’s low voice. “See how considerate Daphne is? She’s handled everything for you. Once the wedding rites are over, you should thank her properly.” Holding the scroll, I suddenly smiled. Was she truly being considerate? Or was she ignoring my wishes and deciding everything for me? I said nothing more and extinguished the sending. Early the next morning, when I woke, the shared wedding scroll was already filled with three whole pages of golden writing. I opened the only voice-sending Daphne had left me. Her sweet, syrupy voice drifted from the scroll. “Selene, I changed the wedding hymn for you. The one you chose was too solemn. The ceremony should be lighter.” In the next moment, Theron’s reply appeared. Yes. The original one doesn’t suit the occasion. The gods and the heads of the divine houses will all be present. Change it to something lighter. I stared at that line, my fingertips slowly turning cold. I had spent a month choosing the original hymn. It was the song that had played when my parents entered their marriage covenant. They had died too early. I had once imagined that, during my own wedding rites, when that melody sounded, they might accompany me across the altar in another way. But now, everyone was saying the new hymn was better. No one asked me even once. Selene, do you want this? I turned the scroll face down on the table, and the room fell instantly quiet. Beside the bed, my leather trunk was already open. One by one, I placed inside my spare gowns, my sea-passage permit, a few gold drachmas, and the old necklace my parents had left me. Deep in the wardrobe hung the bridal robe I had never truly had the chance to wear. On the table lay the draft of the marriage vow scroll. The names embossed in gold on its cover stung my eyes. Theron Erebius and Selene Leukaia Soul-Bonded Marriage Covenant I had once thought this ceremony would belong to me at least once. But in the end, even the robe, the hymn, the vow scroll, and the temple had all been chosen for me by someone else. The message scroll lit again. Daphne wrote in the shared wedding scroll: Selene has never liked making decisions. We can decide these things for her. Theron replied with a single word. Good. I lowered my head and looked at the trunk. Suddenly, it all seemed laughable. Meles had known me the longest, yet he always stood on Daphne’s side. When Theron pursued me, he said I was quiet and gentle, someone who made him want to protect me. But after Daphne appeared, he began saying girls should be livelier, more opinionated. I wanted to be cherished too. I wanted someone to hold a bouquet of flowers and ask me, “Do you like these?” But no one ever asked. Even this wedding covenant, which I had thought would finally allow me to be the center of my own life, had still become someone else’s backdrop. I closed the trunk. The click of the bronze latch was especially clear in the silent room. Then I summoned the steward of Whitecliff House. “I won’t be staying in this palace anymore.” The steward froze. “Lady Selene, aren’t you moving into the Erebius palace soon?” I looked out at the gray-blue sky beyond the window and said calmly, “No. I’m leaving Olympus.”
The steward was visibly stunned. “Leaving Olympus?” I nodded. “Yes.” He opened his mouth as if he wanted to ask something, but in the end, he only lowered his head. “Then please leave the palace key and the Whitecliff sigil here.” After packing the last of my things, I had just stepped out of the room when the palace doors were pushed open. Theron and Daphne walked in together, laughing and talking. “It’s settled, then, Theron.” Daphne tugged at his sleeve, her voice soft and coy. “After your marriage covenant, I’ll stay in the Erebius palace for a few weeks. I want the room near the garden, and the curtains must be changed to my favorite rose pink.” Theron did not object. Instead, he smiled with indulgent warmth. “As long as Selene has no objections.” Daphne immediately looked at me and blinked. “My sister has always taken care of me. How could she object?” She said it so naturally. As if my future marriage palace had always been meant to have a place for her too. A dull ache pressed against my chest. “And if I say I don’t want that?” The smile on Daphne’s face froze. The next second, her eyes reddened. “Selene, I only wanted to be closer to you. If you don’t want me there, then forget it. I won’t move in.” Theron frowned. “Selene, what’s wrong with you?” I looked at him. “That is our marriage palace. It is the place meant for the future consort. Who exactly are you entering this covenant with?” Theron was choked into silence by my words. Daphne immediately lowered her head and whispered, “Sister, I really didn’t mean anything else.” Disappointment showed in Theron’s eyes. “Selene, you’re making a fuss over one room?” I smiled faintly. “I’m not making a fuss.” “Then what do you mean?” His voice darkened. “She’s your sister, not an outsider. The palace is so large. What’s wrong with letting one more person live there?” “She wanted to enter my palace, and you agreed.” I looked at him and said, word by word, “She wanted to change my robe, and you agreed. She wanted to change my hymn, and you agreed too.” “Theron, in this wedding covenant, what is still mine?” Theron’s brows lowered in displeasure. “Enough!” The air fell still. Daphne’s tears fell. “I was only trying to help you…” His voice turned cold. “Daphne stayed among the divine houses because of you. I take care of her for your sake. Do you have to be so petty?” Petty. That word again. Suddenly, I no longer had the strength to explain. Daphne tugged at his sleeve and said softly, “Theron, don’t say that. Sister is probably just in a bad mood.” Theron’s tone softened, but it remained unquestionable. “I’ve already decided. If you two sisters live closer together, you can look after each other. Selene, stop making trouble.” I looked at him and slowly nodded. “Fine.” Fine. I would be leaving soon anyway. Whoever wanted the Erebius palace could have it.
That afternoon, I went to the Temple of the Styx. It was where Theron handled underworld affairs and covenants among the divine houses. Outside the temple, obsidian pillars rose into the clouds, and the waters of the Styx flowed slowly along the side of the hall, gleaming with cold silver light. I placed the access sigil to the Erebius palace, the key to his private study, and the secondary seal of the family covenant into a black silk pouch. The messenger in the front hall bowed respectfully when he saw me. “Lady Selene, you are here. I will inform His Highness at once.” “No need.” I handed him the pouch. “Just give this to him for me.” The messenger froze for a moment, then lowered his head and accepted it. “Yes.” I turned to leave. At the end of the carpeted corridor, I suddenly heard Theron’s voice. “You want me to accompany you tomorrow to try on the golden bridal crown?” My steps stopped. From behind the half-open door came Daphne’s light laughter. “I just want to look beautiful at your wedding rites. But Selene is so petty, she’ll definitely misunderstand.” Theron’s voice carried amusement. “All right. I’ll go with you. I’ll explain things to Selene.” My fingers tightened around the strap of my pouch. The wind from the Styx was cold enough to pierce bone. But my heart was colder. I had already decided to let go. What was I still hoping for? I shook my head lightly. At that moment, the message scroll suddenly flared with divine light. Inside the hall, Theron’s voice became instantly alert. “Who’s at the door?” I did not stay. I left quickly. By the time Theron stepped out to check, the corridor was already empty. He passed through the front hall with Daphne. The messenger carefully spoke. “Your Highness, these are the things Lady Selene left behind…” But Theron was lowering his head, listening to Daphne talk about the pattern for the crown. He did not even slow his steps. The two of them walked past the messenger just like that. The messenger stood awkwardly in place, holding the silk pouch filled with keys and sigils. By then, I had already boarded a carriage, left the main city of Olympus, and returned to the seaside town of Leukakti. There was an old house there that my parents had left me. It was also the last place I wanted to clean before leaving the divine realm. Leukakti stood by the sea. At dusk, sea wind swept across the white cliffs, carrying the damp scent of salt. Dragging my trunk behind me, I pushed open the door to the old house. A thin layer of dust covered the rooms. On the windowsill still sat the empty flowerpots my mother had once kept. Aunt Kleia and Uncle Rhodion, who lived nearby, came to help me. As she wiped the table, Kleia asked, “Selene, why didn’t Theron come back with you?” I shook my head. “I don’t know. He’s probably busy.” She frowned, as if she wanted to say something, but in the end, she remained silent. That evening, the pre-wedding family feast began. Three obsidian royal chariots stopped outside the courtyard. Stygian guards stood at the gate, their cloaks snapping in the sea wind. Theron stepped down from the lead chariot. Daphne held his arm and stood beside him like the lady of the house. When they saw me, the smiles on both their faces stiffened. “Selene?” Theron frowned. “Why are you here?” I looked at him and suddenly found it ridiculous. “The pre-wedding family feast was always arranged at my uncle’s house. Is it strange for me to be here?” “Besides, this is where I grew up. Am I not allowed to come?” The air fell silent. Rhodion’s face darkened. “You don’t even know where your own bride is. What exactly have you been busy with?” Daphne immediately smiled and took my arm. “Selene, we meant to bring you with us, but you didn’t answer the sending.” I glanced down at the Hermes message scroll. There were no unanswered summons. Not one. I pulled my hand back and did not expose her. During the feast, Daphne poured wine for Theron and answered the elders’ questions for him, skilled and easy as if she were the future mistress of this family. I sat to the side like an unnecessary guest. After the meal, Rhodion instructed Theron, “For the next few days before the wedding rites, you two should not see each other. Let there be some anticipation. Tonight, take Selene back to the Hera’s Temple of Vows and let her prepare properly there.” Theron nodded. “I understand.” I turned back to my room to fetch my trunk, confirming that my sea-passage permit, gold drachmae, my parents’ necklace, and my divine travel permit were all inside. But when I dragged the trunk to the door, only the fading glow of torches remained outside the courtyard. Theron’s chariot had already left. I stood in the doorway, frozen. The message scroll lit. Theron had sent a line of text. Daphne was in a hurry to return to the High Temple to check the guards and arrangements for the ceremony, so I took her there first. I forgot you were here for a moment. Go back to the temple by yourself. Forgot. Again, he forgot. How many times had he forgotten me? I stared at that line, so tired I no longer had the strength to feel hurt. The next moment, the silver seal of a sea-passage writ appeared on the scroll. Sea-passage writ sealed: Whitecliff Harbor to the Aegean Isles. One-way. Departure: tomorrow night, third watch after moonrise. Hermes’ Silver Gull Seal affixed. I stared at the words one-way for a very long time. Then I erased Theron’s message and closed the scroll. I was not going back to the Hera’s Temple of Vows. I was going to the harbor.
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