The coronation was unlike any before it.
No chains. No fear. No blood.
Dragons circled the sky as Kael placed the crown on my head not as his shield, but as his equal.
"Elara Drayce," he announced. "Queen of Flame and Will."
The crowd bowed.
Not because they were forced but because they believed.
Later, the queen dowager was exiled. The corrupt council dissolved. The kingdom began again.
Peace didn't come easily but it came honestly.
"You changed everything," Kael said one evening, watching the city glow below us.
"So did you," I replied.
He smiled. "You know they'll write legends about you."
I leaned into him. "Let them."
I'd already lived one life as a victim.
This one?
I chose.