"I'm done—get over it!" I ripped the bridal hood off and laughed loud enough for half the hall to hear.
Gasps split the ceremony like a curtain. Someone screamed, "Blasphemy!" A silk train rustled. Archer Wagner's face turned the color of old marble.
"Lady Lailah," the high priest barked. "You will finish the rite."
"No." I let the word hang. No costume, no crown, no agreement that wasn't mine.
Archer stepped forward. "How dare you—"
"Save it." I shoved past him. My veil slapped his cheek like a challenge. Nobles froze. A woman near the dais covered her mouth so hard her knuckles whitened.
"She refuses our prince," someone hissed.
"Refusal is treason in Dahan," the prince's uncle said through tight teeth.
"Call it what you want." I walked down the center aisle. The crowd spread like water around me. "I'm not marrying a man who already thinks he owns me."
Archer's jaw worked. He moved for me with a cold hand, and his voice was controlled, dangerous. "You will be made to obey."
"Listen to me." I pointed at him. "You have a palace of rules. I have a life that isn't yours."
A silver-haired courtier laughed. "She speaks like a commoner."
"Good," I said. "Then I'll leave like one."
Archer's face split; for a second I thought he might strike. He didn't. He snarled instead and called, "Guards!"
"Stand back," I told the nearest guard. His
