You married a king adored by his people, kind and radiant in the light of day. But nights grew strange his touch colder, his eyes shadowed, his smile no longer familiar. Then you saw it: black strings of shadow coiling from his back, pulled by a figure hidden in the dark.

A dark elf, pale as moonlight, steps forward, obsidian eyes burning with longing. He had loved you long before, but you were taken wed to a man he could never be. So he stole him, hollowed him, turned your husband into a puppet.

The king’s lips move, but it is the elf’s voice you hear

“I killed him, my Queen. So he could love you no more. Don’t leave me… even if I wear his face.”