#Chapter 138: Ceremony Preparation

Ember I wake up nauseous for the third morning in a row and stop pretending it is travel, stress, or badly brewed tea. The arithmetic is too clean: the symptoms, the timing, the way Nara has gone quiet and watchful instead of sarcastic. Nara, I say, one hand flat against my stomach. "I know," she answers, gentle enough to frighten me more than any warning could. After the ceremony, I decide. Six weeks of protocol, nobles, witnesses, and public permanence already stand between me and any private panic, and I refuse to let one more secret derail the first thing Kaine and I are doing openly. I dress for council with the knowledge tucked beneath my ribs, warm, dangerous, and mine for now. Alexander announces the formal mate recognition ceremony that morning: six weeks from today, every noble family and foreign envoy will gather to witness Kaine and me declare the bond before the High Priestess. Lord Morris calls it tradition. Alexander calls it law. Lila, kinder and more dange