Consciousness returned to Elara slowly, like ripples spreading across a dark pool. The silk sheets whispered against her skin as she stirred, their texture unfamiliar yet luxurious. For a moment, she couldn't remember where she was – the weight of foreign magic pressed against her senses, and the air held scents she'd never encountered in the sun realm.
Then reality crashed back. The banquet. The ceremony. The binding of two realms through ancient magic and modern diplomacy.
She opened her eyes to a chamber bathed in eternal twilight. The massive bed she lay in seemed carved from living shadow, its posts twisting upward like smoke frozen in time. Above, a ceiling of polished obsidian reflected the room in distorted waves, making her feel as though she were looking into a dark mirror pool.
