The Legacy of the Uncharted

~ Chapter 60 ~ The Wedding of the century

Dawn Aboard The Maelstrom Crown

The sea was surprisingly still. No gulls cried. No wind stirred the black banners that hung from the masts.
It was as if the ocean itself was holding its breath.

Alexandria sat by the window of her chamber, the morning light barely touching her face. The white gown laid out across her bed shimmered faintly silk and silver thread, the colors of stormlight. Her hands rested on the old journal in her lap, its cracked spine open to half-translated words that refused to make sense.

She hadn't slept.
She hadn't eaten.
The wedding day had come, and with it, the end of the world she once knew.

The door creaked. She turned and there he was.

Mordeclai entered with no guards this time, dressed in deep crimson and black, his iron jaw gleaming against the morning glow. In his hands, he carried a silver tray: fruits, sweet bread, and a cup of spiced tea still steaming.

"Well, well," he said with mock cheer. "A bride who greets her wedding day without a smile. Tragic."

Alexandria's eyes flickered to the food but said nothing.
He set the tray beside her gently, almost tenderly.

"I know the tradition," he said, lowering himself to one
knee beside her chair. "Bride and groom are not to see each other before the ceremony..." He leaned closer, voice low and magnetic.
"But I've never been one for tradition, sweetheart."

She arched a brow. "You've also never been one for consent."

That earned a chuckle low, dangerous. "Fair. But I have a surprise for you."

Before she could speak, the door opened again and Sophie entered, pale but alive, dressed in borrowed navy blue, her hair damp with salt. Her eyes brimmed with tears the instant she saw Alex.

"Alex..." she whispered.

Alexandria shot to her feet, the journal falling to the floor. "Sophie?"

The two women met halfway, collapsing into each other's arms. Sophie's touch trembled; her hands smelled of salt and ash, her skin still marked by ropes.

Mordeclai clasped his hands behind his back, smiling faintly. "A reunion gift. You've been behaving... I thought you deserved to see a familiar face before our vows."

Alex pulled away from Sophie, eyes narrowing. "What did you do to her?"

Sophie swallowed. "He... he let me go. Said the twins were safe."

"Safe?" Alex's tone cracked. "Where—?"

"They're being watched," Mordeclai interrupted smoothly, stepping between them. "Fed, clothed, unharmed. I'm not a monster, Alexandria. I simply keep order. When the world is reborn, your people all of them will have a place in it."

Alex's fury simmered behind her calm. "A place in your empire?"

"In our empire." He looked to Sophie, then back to her. "Tell me, doesn't it warm your heart to see me capable of mercy?"

"You call mercy what you took from me," she spat.

Mordeclai only smiled. "And yet, you're still here."