Chapter 131: Chapter 132: let’s get Married

Elara’s POV

I woke before him.

The morning light was gray through the windows, soft and quiet, creeping across the floor like water. The fire had burned down to ash. The candles had died hours ago. The room was cold, but I was warm. His arm was around me. His chest was against my back. His breath was slow and even.

I did not move. I just lay there, watching the light, feeling him breathe.

Yesterday.

The square. The stones. The screams of the crowd. The look on Thorn’s face when I raised the sword. The council chamber. Kaelen walking in. The announcement. The silence that followed.

I thought about all of it. The fear. The rage. The exhaustion. The moment when I thought I might break. The moment when I did not.

I did not regret any of it.

That was new. For months, I had second-guessed every decision. Every choice. Every word that came out of my mouth. Was I strong enough? Was I smart enough? Was I doing the right thing? The questions had circled in my head like vultures, waiting for me to fall.

This morning, there was just clarity.

I knew what I had done. I knew why I had done it. And I would do it again.

I thought about what today required.

The wedding.

We were getting married today. In a few hours, Kaelen would be my husband. The Voice would be the king consort. The father of my child would stand beside me in front of the council and the court.

But it was not a big wedding. Not yet. Not the kind that would be celebrated with feasts and festivals and announcements to the people. This was small. Private. Just the council. Just the witnesses. Just the papers.

The only reason we were doing this now was to legitimate the baby. To give our child a name. To make sure that when the child was born, no one could call it a bastard. No one could use it against us. No one could take it away.

We would tell the people later. When the time was right. When the kingdom was stable.

I pressed my hand to my stomach. “We are doing this for you,” I whispered. “So you will be safe. So you will be legitimate. So no one can ever take you from us.”

The baby did not move. It was too early for that. But I felt something. A warmth. A presence. A small life growing inside me.

I smiled.

Then my thoughts went to Lena.

Her name settled in my chest like a stone. She was still locked in her room. I had not decided what to do with her yet.

But she had also been my friend. My only friend. For years.

I did not know if that mattered anymore.

Kaelen stirred behind me. His arm tightened around my waist. His breath changed.

“You are thinking too loud,” he said. His voice was rough with sleep.

” Yes about Lena. She told Malakor about the pregnancy. She put our child at risk.”

I was quiet for a moment. “She was my friend, Kaelen. My only friend. I trusted her with everything. My fears. My hopes. My secrets. And she took them and gave them to my enemies. ” I looked at the ceiling. “But I forgave you. For planning to kill me. For lying to me. For keeping secrets from me. I forgave you.

He was quiet for a moment. Then he said, “I stopped working with Lena because I could not do it anymore. I could not kill you. I could not go through with the plan. And I could not love her the way she wanted me to.”

I turned to face him. “You couldn’t love her?”

“Lena wanted more from me than I could give. She wanted my loyalty. She wanted my love..” He shook his head. “I could not give her that. I could not give her what she wanted because my heart was already somewhere else.”

“With me.”

“With you.” He took my hand. “I know it hurt her. I know she felt betrayed. But I could not pretend to love her. I could not pretend to want her. That would have been crueler than telling her the truth.”

I looked at him. “Why did you not tell me?”

“Because it was not my story to tell. Lena deserved to tell you herself. Or not. It was her choice.”

“You protected her.”

“I protected her because I understood her. She was angry. She was hurt. She made terrible choices because she was in pain. That does not excuse what she did. But I understand it.”

I was quiet for a long moment.

“You are a better person than me,” I said.

“I am not. I am just someone who has made too many mistakes to judge anyone else for theirs.”

We lay there for a moment The morning light grew brighter. The room grew warmer.

“Kaelen,” I said changing the topic.

“Yes?”

“What did you think when you walked into the council chamber yesterday? When you saw me standing there with the sword?”

He was quiet for a moment. Then he laughed.

“I thought, that is my wife.”

I laughed too. “I was not your wife yet.”

“You were. You just did not know it.”

I turned to face him. His eyes were soft. His mouth was soft. Everything about him was soft in the morning light.

“Today,” I said.

“Today,” he agreed.

Corvus knocked before the palace was fully awake.

The knock was sharp. Official. The knock of a man who had been working since before dawn and was ready to begin the day.

Kaelen stood up. He pulled on his shirt. I stood up. I pulled on my robe.

“Enter,” I said.

Corvus stepped inside. He carried a stack of papers. The wedding papers. Already prepared. Already correct. The witnesses had been arranged. The council had been notified. The ceremony would be small, private, nothing like the grand affair a queen’s wedding was supposed to be.

He looked at us. At the floor where we had slept. At the blanket tangled on the ground. At the ash from the dead fire. At the crown sitting on the table where I had left it.

He said nothing about any of it.

“I am ready,” he said. “When you are.”

He looked at me. Then he looked at Kaelen. Then he looked back at me. His face was still. But his eyes were warm.

“The people do not know yet,” I said. “About the wedding.”

“No, Your Majesty. The announcement will come later. When you are ready.”

“They will be angry.”

“Some of them will be. Some of them will not. But they will have to accept it. You are their queen. You have proven yourself. They will listen.”

I was quiet for a moment. “We are only doing this now to legitimate the baby.”

Corvus nodded. “I understand, Your Majesty.”

“Do you think it is the right thing?”

He looked at me. Then he looked at Kaelen. Then he looked back at me.

“I think you are doing what you must to protect your child. There is nothing wrong with that.”

I took a breath. “Then let us do it.”

Corvus nodded. “The council chamber in one hour. I will make the final arrangements.”

He turned to leave. He paused at the door.

“Your Majesty,” he said.

“Yes?”

“Lena asked about you this morning. The guards said she has not slept. She has not eaten. She asked if you were alright.”

I was quiet for a moment.

“Tell her I am getting married today,” I said. “Tell her that I am hurt. Tell her that I will talk to her when I am ready. Tell her that if I can forgive Kaelen, I can forgive her. But it will take time.”

Corvus nodded. He left. The door closed behind him.

Kaelen took my hand.

“One hour,” he said.

“One hour,” I said.

I picked up the crown. I looked at it for a moment. The metal was cold. The jewels were dark. It was heavier than it looked.

I put it on my head.

“Let us go get married,” I said.

We walked to the door together. His hand was in mine. The crown was on my head. The morning light was bright through the windows.

One thing at a time.

Start with the thing that matters most.

I opened the door. We walked out together.

The corridor was empty. The palace was quiet. The sun was rising.

Today, I was getting married. Not for love. Not for celebration. For our child.

Tomorrow, we would tell the people.

Tomorrow, we would face their anger.

Tomorrow, we would fight.

But today, just this. Just us. Just the papers and the witnesses and the quiet ceremony that would make our child legitimate.

Today, we would survive.

I squeezed his hand. He squeezed back.

We walked down the corridor together, toward the council chamber, toward the wedding, toward whatever came next.

One thing at a time.

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