Elara’s POV
I didn’t sleep that night.
Every time I closed my eyes, I saw invisible chains tightening around my wrists, felt doors closing before I reached them. Marriage. The word echoed like a sentence already passed, heavy and suffocating. I lay staring at the ceiling until dawn bled through the shutters, my chest tight with anger and something sharper underneath it.
When Dani returned from training the guards, I was already waiting.
He froze when he saw me standing in the center of the room, dressed, awake, unmoving. For a moment he looked almost afraid, as if he recognized the storm he had woken.
“You should be resting,” he said cautiously.
“No,” I replied. “We’re finishing this.”
He sighed and set his sword aside with deliberate care. “Elara—”
“I’m not marrying anyone,” I said.
His shoulders tensed. “We talked about this.”
“No,” I snapped. “You talked. I listened.”
He pinched the bridge of his nose. “You’re angry.”
“I’m furious,” I corrected. “And you don’t get to dismiss that.”
“I’m trying to protect you,” he said, frustration bleeding into his voice.
“From what?” I demanded. “From living?”
“From the world,” he shot back. “From men who won’t hesitate to break you.”
“You think a husband won’t?” I asked bitterly.
He flinched. “I will choose carefully.”
“That’s not the point,” I said. “I don’t want to be chosen at all.”
“Elara,” he said softly now, like he was speaking to a wounded animal. “You can’t fight everything.”
“I’m not fighting everything,” I replied. “I’m fighting this.”
“You’re chasing a fantasy,” he snapped. “Soldiers die. Warriors are buried young.”
“So was Mother,” I said, the words slipping out before I could stop them.
Silence slammed down between us.
Dani’s face went white. “Don’t,” he whispered.
“She stayed,” I said, voice shaking but loud. “She stayed in this village. She followed rules. She did everything right, and she still died.”
“That’s not fair,” he said hoarsely.
“No,” I agreed. “It’s not. And that’s why I won’t live my life waiting to be safe.”
“You think I don’t know that?” he shouted suddenly. “You think I don’t wake up every night hearing her cough?”
I froze.
He turned away, breathing hard. “I couldn’t save her,” he continued. “I won’t fail you too.”
“I don’t need saving,” I said, tears burning my eyes. “I need freedom.”
“You need stability,” he argued. “A home. Children. A future that doesn’t involve blood.”
“You don’t get to define my future,” I said. “I won’t be traded like livestock.”
“I am not trading you,” he said sharply. “I am securing your place.”
“My place,” I repeated. “Is that all I am to you? Something to put somewhere safe so you can stop being afraid?”
He turned back, anger and grief twisting together. “You have no idea what fear is.”
“Then teach me,” I challenged. “Stop locking me out.”
“You don’t want what’s behind that door,” he said.
“I want the truth,” I said. “I want to know why you’re so desperate to cage me.”
He stared at me like he might finally speak, like something was clawing its way up his throat.
Then he looked away.
“I won’t argue this anymore,” he said flatly. “You will attend meetings. You will be polite. And you will marry.”
Rage flooded me, hot and blinding.
“I hate this village,” I spat. “I hate these walls. I hate the way you pretend love means control.”
“That’s enough,” he barked.
“No,” I shouted. “I loved her too, and you don’t get to bury her memory under your fear.”
His hand slammed against the table. “Get out.”
I stared at him, stunned.
“Get out,” he repeated, voice breaking. “Before you say something neither of us can forgive.”
My chest heaved. I turned and stormed toward the door, fury and grief tangling until I couldn’t tell them apart.
Outside, the morning air was sharp and cold. I walked without direction, boots striking dirt hard enough to hurt. I didn’t stop until my legs burned and my anger dulled into something raw and aching.
When I returned hours later, the house was quiet again.
Dani sat at the table, shoulders slumped, a sealed parchment in his hands. The wax bore a crest I didn’t recognize, but the paper itself looked expensive, foreign.
“What’s that?” I asked cautiously.
He looked up, eyes hollow. “An invitation.”
“To what?”
He hesitated, then held it out. “A royal event. At the palace.”
My heart stuttered.
“The King himself,” Dani added quietly. “It’s… important.”
I stared at the seal, unease crawling up my spine. Whatever was coming next, I knew one thing for certain. My life was about to change, whether I wanted it to or not.