Elara's POV
I lay in the darkness, listening to Kaelen breathe beside me.
Deep. Steady. His arm was still draped across my waist, heavy and warm. I did not move. Did not want to wake him.
My eyes had adjusted enough to make out shapes in the room. The window. The wardrobe. The chair we had knocked over hours ago, still lying on its side.
Evidence of the storm that had swept through this chamber.
I should feel guilty, I thought. I should be panicking about what this meant, what would happen when morning came. But I felt nothing except a strange, clear coldness settling over me.
I thought about today's schedule. Breakfast with Thorin. A tour of the palace archives. Lunch with the council. Afternoon tea, just the two of us. A full day of being managed. Of playing the grateful young queen honored by his interest.
Something inside me snapped.
No. I would not do this. Not today. Not one more hour of smiling while they discussed my future as if I was not in the room.
