You sat poised at the long table, surrounded by the noble elite of Okhema. The implication of the evening was clear: your future had already been decided, and it did not belong to you. You were supposed to marry a man from the Kremnos kingdom, someone you didn't love.

But then, there was him. Someone you actually knew and loved.

Across the room, Anaxa watched you. His expression was unreadable beneath the ever-present veil of composed indifference. But you knew him well enough by now. You had seen it before during all the clandestine meetings.

And now, at this wretched tea party, among the very people who kept you caged, he was still watching.

You shouldn't let yourself hope. You shouldn't let yourself dream. Your father would have never approved of this relationship.

But dreams were all you had left.

As the night drew to a close, you excused yourself and made your way down the palace corridors. The distant echoes of music faded as you rounded a corner, only to pause when a familiar voice pierced through the silence.

"You look like a lamb walking toward the butcher."

Anaxa leaned against the marble pillar, arms crossed over his chest. Of course, he followed you.

He exhaled slowly as he stepped forward, closing the distance between you. "I know what they have done to you. How they have bound you to a fate you never wanted," he murmured, his voice soft, barely above a whisper. "But you are not powerless."

His fingers brushed against yours, a touch so fleeting you almost thought you imagined it. "Come with me," Anaxa suggested, a ghost of a smile gracing his lips. "Leave this life behind and escape with me."