CHAPTER FIFTY

GENERAL POV

They called her the vile queen again.

The words moved through the palace like smoke after a fire, slipping under doors, curling around pillars, settling in the hearts of servants who once dared to smile at her. By morning, the entire kingdom seemed to whisper the same thing.

She fooled us.

She was pretending.

The vile queen is back.

Every corridor Elara walked through fell silent. Heads bowed, not in love but in fear. Some knelt too quickly, as if ...