Married To Darkness
Chapter 331: The Great Fall

Chapter 331: The Great Fall

The streets of Wyfellon in Wyfn-Garde buzzed like a hive of restless bees. From the stone-paved alleys winding past the bustling markets to the grand avenues lined with towering statues of past kings, there was one thing on every tongue—

The Demon Prince’s wife is missing.

Gossip spilled like wine from cracked cups.

At the marketplace, fishmongers paused mid-bargain to murmur behind their hands. Vendors leaned over carts brimming with fresh fruit and wilted herbs, whispering about the witch who had ensnared Prince Alaric’s heart—and now vanished without a trace.

"She’s gone," a butcher muttered, wiping bloodied hands on his apron. "Poof! Like smoke."

"They say it was a spell gone wrong," an old woman croaked, holding a basket of half-rotten apples. "Witches always meddle with things better left untouched."

Near the coastal edge of Wyfn-Garde, where the sea licked the rocky shores and saltwater stained the air, the whispers didn’t die—they grew.

The sailors spoke in low, fearful tones.

"Maybe the sea took her," one grizzled man said, peering out over the gray horizon. "The witch angered the gods, and now she’s part of the water."

Another spat into the waves. "Or maybe the Tackeros did it—they’ve been too quiet lately. Too quiet."

The forests, too, weren’t immune to the rumors.

In the shadowy woods outside the kingdom walls, hunters whispered as they sharpened their blades. "You think the prince killed her himself?" one asked, voice hushed but reckless. "You know how those demon royals get—jealous, dangerous."

"He’d burn the world for her," another muttered, his grip tightening around his bow. "He wouldn’t kill her. He’d kill us first."

Even the schools—where scholars scribbled furiously on scrolls and children learned their histories—were aflame with the story.

A boy, no older than ten, asked his teacher, "Is she really a witch?"

The tutor stiffened but didn’t answer. Instead, she glanced at the window, at the castle looming high on the hill, as though afraid someone might be listening.

And above it all, from the highest towers to the farthest corners of Wyfn-Garde—

Alaric’s name burned alongside Salviana’s.

A prince and his witch.

One missing.

One ready to burn kingdoms to the ground.

~~{────────────

Unknown.

Wyfn-Garde.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~}~~~

It appeared the capturer wasn’t coming back because it’s been awhile Salviana has been on the window and no reaction from him about the noise.

Her heart thundered like a wild drum.

Her arms ached from pulling at the window burglary, the rusted iron only budging a fraction no matter how much strength she forced into it. Sweat clung to her skin, and her cracked lips burned with thirst, but she refused to stop.

Not until she was free.

With a trembling hand, she shifted lower, pressing herself into the narrow space between the window and the cold stone floor. The magic barrier was there—she could feel it—an invisible barricade humming just beyond the iron bars.

If she could just reach it... just touch it...

Her fingers stretched, straining, the tips buzzing as though brushing against a live wire. Every muscle in her arm screamed in protest, but she didn’t stop.

Then—

Tap.

A sudden sharp sound startled her.

Tap. Tap.

Her eyes darted up.

There it was—the glasslike bird. Translucent, shimmering with an otherworldly glow, its delicate wings flickered like fragile sheets of crystal. It hovered for a moment, cocking its head as if studying her—before it darted forward, its beak striking the exact spot where her fingertip met the magic barrier.

The moment the bird touched the barrier—

CRACK.

A surge of blinding energy shot through her hand.

A sharp, electric pain zipped up her arm, and Salviana let out a strangled gasp, her body jolting violently as if struck by lightning.

Before she could process what had happened—

BANG.

The entire window burglary snapped off its hinges with a horrific screech, the rusted iron breaking away from the stone wall like brittle bones.

"Ahh!" Salviana screamed, the force of the collapse sending her tumbling forward.

For one heart-stopping moment, she was in freefall—weightless—until her billowing dress snagged on a jagged iron hook protruding from the wall.

She jerked to a sudden stop, the fabric straining and twisting, and now she dangled upside down—half outside the window, half caught by the tangled folds of her gown.

Her hair hung wildly, brushing against the rough stone wall, and her blood rushed to her head.

Her breaths were sharp, panicked, and every shift of her body made the dress tear a little more.

One wrong move...

One more rip...

And she would plunge to the ground far below.

Above her, the glasslike bird flapped its wings once—twice—before vanishing into thin air, as though it had never existed.

Salviana clung to the last threads of her torn dress, terror in her every breath.

Salviana’s mind spiraled, a wild chant thudding against the walls of her head—

I have to go back up.

I have to go back up.

I have to—

Blood pounded in her ears, rushing down to her head, making her dizzy—faint. Her vision blurred at the edges, and for a terrifying moment, the world seemed to tilt.

She clutched the twisted fabric of her dress, the only thing keeping her from a deadly fall, and pressed her lips together—refusing to make a sound.

If she screamed—

If she even whispered—

The delicate threads could snap.

And then—

She would be gone.

Her heart threatened to burst through her ribs, but she forced herself to move. Slowly. Carefully.

Biting down on her lower lip until she tasted blood, Salviana shifted her weight, her foot searching for a hold—any hold.

The window sills—

They were bare now. No more burglaries.

She blinked in disbelief, the thrill of freedom slicing through her fear—but the bitter reality followed like a shadow.

I’m not free.

I’m hanging off a wall.

What should I do?

I can’t die here, no. I cannot.

’Alaric!’ She yelled with all her might as a soft sob left her lips.

She couldn’t stop it but she knew she shouldn’t be crying as it shook her body so she held it in, blinked and glanced down.

Oh no.

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