the demon Prince's accidental bride

Three days later, the Shadow Realm was buzzing with unnatural excitement.

Banners of smoke and light floated through the air. Ghost musicians played haunting tunes. Fireflies shaped like dragons danced in the halls.

It was time for the Festival of the Forgotten Flame—a celebration that hadn't occurred in over 400 years.

Why?

Because it only happened when the Flame Crown reacted to a living heir.

And now… it was reacting to Talia.

---

🏰 In the Royal Courtyard...

Talia adjusted the silver mask on her face. Her dress shimmered like starlight dipped in fire. Her powers were slowly stabilizing, but the golden glow still flickered beneath her skin.

Mira walked beside her in a ridiculous witch hat covered in moving eyeballs. "I hate parties. I get allergic to royalty."

"Why are you wearing that?" Talia asked.

"It blinks. I trust nothing here."

Lucien approached, dressed in sleek black armor with gold embroidery. His usual cold, guarded expression had softened.

He offered his arm. "Shall we, my queen?"

Talia raised an eyebrow. "Getting bold, are we?"

"I'm cursed, immortal, and already married to you by accident. What more do I have to lose?"

Demons, witches, spirit lords, and magical nobles flooded the marble courtyard.

There were flame duels, shadow games, floating food, and one unfortunate ghost who accidentally got eaten by a vampire mid-dance (awkward).

Talia and Lucien danced under the red moonlight. As they moved, the golden thread between their hearts shimmered brighter than ever.

"You're getting stronger," Lucien whispered.

"So are you," she said. "Your fire's changed."

"It's not the fire," he replied, eyes on her. "It's you."

---

🔥 But Then… The Vision

Talia touched the crown during the ceremony.

A jolt of energy rushed through her.

Her eyes went wide—and suddenly, she was somewhere else.

> A battlefield.

A burning kingdom.

Mira screaming.

Lucien—on his knees, stabbed through the heart.

And standing above him…

A man with green eyes.

A man who whispered,

> "She chose wrong."

Talia collapsed. Lucien caught her just before she hit the ground.

Mira ran over. "Is she okay?! Did someone curse her?! Was it the punch?!"

Talia gasped, "I saw it. The future. Death. Fire. Him."

Lucien tensed. "Who?"

She looked at him, tears in her eyes. "I don't know. But he's coming."

A chained prisoner stirred.

His eyes opened—green and glowing.

His voice echoed in the shadows:

> "She still wears the ring I gave her.

She doesn't remember…

But she will."

Back in the castle, as Talia rested, Mira dug through some of the ancient scrolls she'd... "borrowed" from the royal library.

And she found it.

A photo.

Talia.

A boy.

Not Lucien.

> A childhood friend. A boy with green eyes.

Smiling. Holding hands with Talia.

A note written in faded ink:

> "Promised by blood. Bound before the veil."

Mira's face turned pale.

"Oh no. She was already promised... to someone else."

---

🌩️ That Night...

Lucien stood on the balcony, breathing hard. The vision haunted him. The fear in her voice. The strange man in her future.

Talia approached.

"I don't know what's real anymore," she whispered. "My past is a lie. My future is a war. And I… I'm scared."

Lucien turned to her.

"I will protect you."

She looked at him, heart aching. "Even if I wasn't meant to be yours?"

His voice trembled. "I don't care what fate says. You're mine."

Their lips touched again—

—but far away, deep beneath the castle, the frozen man opened his palm…

And in it—

> Talia's missing childhood ring.

The dreams had returned.

Talia stood in the middle of a flower field, her hair longer, her hands smaller.

She was… a child.

A boy stood in front of her — green-eyed, laughing, chasing fireflies. He gave her a ring made of moonvine.

> "Promise me," he said.

"You'll remember me, even if they take you away."

Little Talia smiled. "Always."

But then—

Smoke. Screams. Fire.

The boy vanished.

She woke up with a scream.

---

🕯️ In the Castle Library…

Mira had barely slept. Her hair was a mess, her spellbook was open, and she was currently trying to un-possess a floating skull with attitude.

"Will you just SHUT UP for five seconds?!"

The skull cackled. "She was his first, little witch. The boy who fell into shadow. The one she forgot."

Mira turned pale. "You mean… she really was promised before Lucien?"

The skull whispered:

> "He was the key before the flame…

And he's coming to claim her back."

Lucien watched her closely as they walked through the palace gardens.

"You're quiet," he said.

Talia hesitated. "Do you believe… people can love more than once?"

He stopped walking.

"I believe love that's true doesn't fade. It just changes."

She looked at him, pained. "What if I loved someone before you? What if I forgot… but they didn't?"

Lucien's jaw clenched, but he nodded slowly. "Then we'll face it. Together."

She touched his hand. "You don't have to pretend this doesn't hurt you."

He turned to her, his voice low. "I would rather burn alone… than cage you in a love you don't remember."

Talia's heart cracked open a little more.

Deep in the dungeons, the walls cracked.

The man with green eyes — once imprisoned in ice and chains — stood tall now.

His aura radiated forgotten magic.

The guards turned to stop him.

He raised a single hand.

They dropped, unconscious, as whispers echoed:

> "She's mine. And I'm coming for her."

Back upstairs, Mira was NOT having a good day.

She'd tried every protection charm she knew.

And still… the spirit kept whispering in her head.

> "Queen Seraphina had secrets, little witch… and so does your friend."

> "Secrets… even Lucien doesn't know."

Mira dropped her teacup. "Okay! That's it! One more haunted whisper and I'm going back to Earth to eat fries and cry."

Suddenly, her eyes turned pale blue.

And her mouth spoke a voice that wasn't hers—

> "He is the Shadowborn.

She is the Flame.

If she chooses wrong… the realms will end."

---

🌕 Later That Night…

Talia stood by the Mirror Hall again.

The glass shimmered.

And then — for the first time — she saw him.

> A man. Her age. Cloaked in moonlight. Green eyes. The same boy from her dreams — now grown, beautiful, dangerous.

He smiled.

> "You remembered me."

Talia gasped. "How are you—how are you alive?!"

> "They buried me in ice. Locked me in shadow. But I never forgot you, Talia. Not for one day."

Her heart pounded. "Who are you?"

> "You knew me as Kael."

> "Your first promise. Your first bond. Before the Flame… there was the Moon."

Lucien appeared behind her, suddenly sensing something was very wrong.

Kael looked at him through the mirror.

> "Ah. The prince. How nice of you… to keep my bride safe."

Talia stepped back.

Lucien's voice was barely a whisper. "You know him."

Talia's voice cracked. "I think I did."

Kael's voice echoed one last time:

> "I'm coming, Talia.

This time… I won't lose you again."

The mirror shattered.

And the war began.

Thunder cracked across the Shadow Realm.

The skies turned violet. The wind howled like a thousand cursed wolves. The torches lining the castle walls turned icy blue.

And then—

> BOOM!

The front gates of the Demon Castle exploded inward.

Guards went flying. Shadows twisted and recoiled.

And from the dust… walked Kael.

Hair black as night. Eyes glowing green. Cloak dancing with mist. And wrapped around his wrist—the twin thread to Talia's.

He had arrived.

And he wasn't alone.

Behind him stood three beings in silver armor and masks of starlight. Moon Knights—long believed extinct.

Talia stood frozen on the balcony as Kael's energy surged through the castle.

Lucien appeared beside her, armor glowing with rage.

"He's here," Lucien growled. "And he dares enter my realm."

Mira peeked from behind a pillar. "Okay, can we not fight the hot magical moon boy until I grab popcorn?"

Talia swallowed hard. Her heart raced—not from fear—but from the terrifying familiarity in Kael's presence.

She rushed down the hall. Lucien followed.

They reached the great hall just as Kael stepped onto the obsidian floor.

Their eyes met.

> "Talia," he breathed.

> "Kael…" she whispered.

Kael bowed low. "My Queen."

Lucien stepped between them. "She isn't yours."

Kael smiled coldly. "Oh, but she was—long before you branded her with your cursed bond."

He turned to Talia.

"You were taken from me. Bound by fire. But your soul called out, and I followed."

Talia shook her head. "I don't remember… any of it."

Kael took a step closer. "You were five when they tore us apart. Our kingdoms made a pact. We were bound by moonfire before your magic awakened. The demons feared it—feared us. So they erased your memory and buried me in ice."

Mira blinked. "Okay. Wow. Melodrama level: over 9000."

Lucien's eyes burned with fury. "You don't belong here."

Kael snapped, "She does. The Flame belongs with the Moon. You're the mistake, Prince."

Just then—the Flame Crown, locked in its pedestal above the throne, began to shake.

It glowed—not red, but golden-white.

Two threads pulsed from it.

> One pulled toward Lucien.

> One pulled toward Kael.

Talia staggered back, feeling the magic tear at her chest.

> The bond was splitting.

Mira grabbed her shoulder. "Girl. You have TWO magical soul bonds?! You're either cursed, blessed, or the season finale of a K-drama."

Talia's voice trembled. "This isn't supposed to happen. It's not supposed to—"

Kael held out his hand. "Come with me. Remember who you were. Who we were."

Lucien's voice broke. "Stay. Please."

---

😭 And Then...

The Crown's light burst outward, knocking everyone down.

Talia collapsed, caught in a swirl of visions:

A child's promise in a moonlit garden.

A blood ritual.

Lucien's lonely face, watching from the shadows.

Kael's laughter under starlight.

Her own voice, whispering "I choose—"

But the sentence never finishes.

She gasped awake in bed—sweating, heart pounding.

Lucien sat nearby, wounded and silent.

"I had to fight him," he said quietly. "But I didn't kill him. I… couldn't."

Talia looked at him, eyes wide with fear and confusion.

"I think… I loved them both," she whispered. "Once."

---

😈 Meanwhile…

Kael sat in the forest, healed by moonlight.

The Moon Knights circled.

"She remembers," he said.

"But her heart is divided."

Kael stared at the castle in the distance.

"Then I'll shatter the flame bond myself."

He stood.

"And when I do… she'll be mine again."

Coming in Episode 11:

The crown begins to malfunction, torn between Kael and Lucien's bonds,

Mira casts a memory spell to unlock the lost years of Talia's childhood,

Lucien's demon side begins to unleash dangerously, and

Talia must make an impossible decision… or risk destroying both realms.