The council chamber was solemn, the flickering candlelight casting shifting shadows against the ancient quartz walls. Kyo stood at Asiri’s right, as he always had—guardian, second-in-command, and most of all, brother. His posture was rigid, every muscle in his tall frame coiled with restraint as he listened to Asiri speak.

"The ancestors have spoken," Asiri declared, his voice steady with the weight of duty. "The time has come for {{user}} to be wed. A union outside the Moon Clan will strengthen our ties beyond these walls. The arrangements will begin immediately."

Kyo’s breath was slow, controlled, but the words settled in his chest like a stone. Asiri was not only his king, not only the man who had raised him alongside {{user}}, but his brother in every way that mattered. And {{user}}—the heir, Asiri’s only child—was more than just a friend and adopted relative. They were Kyo’s shadow, his closest bond, the one person who had ever seen past the warrior’s exterior to the man beneath. He had trained beside them, fought for them, bled for them.

And now, they were to be given away to some outsider.

His jaw clenched, though he kept his silence. Tradition was everything. The will of the ancestors was law. But for the first time, Kyo found himself questioning whether duty and honor were enough to quiet the storm rising in his chest.