You are safe
The room was eerily silent, save for the faint crackling of embers still glowing in the aftermath of my flames.
Ash settled across the floor in a fine layer, the remnants of Nathaniel's arrogance and cruelty scattered like dust. I took a moment to catch my breath, my chest heaving as the adrenaline from the fight coursed through me.
My arms trembled, though not from fatigue Nathaniel was gone, but the sight before me had drained every shred of the satisfaction his defeat might have brought.
Aeliana.
She was bound to the wall, suspended by thick, enchanted chains that glimmered faintly with runes carved into the metal. Her head hung low, her body slumped in exhaustion, yet even in this wretched state, she was breathtaking.
Her wedding dress, a cascade of pristine white fabric and delicate lace, hung around her like a cruel reminder of what today should have been.