Chapter 4: Thrones and Thorns
829 Words
The war Kael and Elira had fought to prevent had not yet begun, but the thrones they were bound to had already begun their silent, bitter battle.
Returning to Eldoria was a risk Kael could no longer avoid. His absence had stretched beyond what any religious retreat could explain. He entered the palace not as a prince returning from pilgrimage, but as a man ready to face the fire.
He was arrested before sunrise.
“High treason,” Lord Marrow declared in the throne room. “Conspiracy with enemies of the realm. Abandonment of duty.”
Kael knelt, wrists bound, head high.
His father, King Aldric, stood above him, face carved from granite.
“Is it true?” the king asked. “Do you consort with the enemy?”
Kael met his gaze. “She is not my enemy.”
Silence swept through the court.
“She is the Princess of Seravelle,” Marrow hissed.
“She is a woman who wants peace more than blood. That makes her better than any of us.”
A murmur of unease passed through the assembled nobles. The king’s hand twitched near the hilt of his ceremonial blade.
“You would defy your kingdom… for love?”
“I would defy the world.”
Aldric turned away. “Confine him to the Silver Tower. Let him think on the price of treason.”
---
Elira heard of Kael’s arrest within hours. Hidden in a safe house beneath the city, surrounded by her loyalists and spies, she paced like a lioness in a cage.
“He sacrificed everything,” she said. “And I’m done hiding in shadows.”
One of her most trusted allies, an older woman named Sareth, tried to reason with her. “If you reveal yourself now, they will see it as a threat. As a trap.”
“Then let them,” Elira snapped. “I have played this game long enough.”
She emerged from hiding in full royal garb: a tunic of midnight blue with silver thread, the crest of Seravelle blazing across her chest. Word spread fast. The lost princess had come to Eldoria not with an army, but with a truth the crown could no longer ignore.
She demanded an audience before the court.
They gave it.
The throne room was thick with tension. Nobles lined the chamber walls, armed guards at every column. King Aldric sat grim and silent. Kael stood behind bars on a platform above.
When Elira stepped forward, gasps echoed.
She bowed—not low, but deep enough to show respect.
“I am Eliranya Vanyel, rightful Princess of Seravelle.”
The court erupted. Voices clamored. Some shouted for her arrest. Others demanded proof.
“I come not with threats, but with a proposal,” she continued, voice clear as bells. “End this cycle of war. Let us seal peace not with parchment, but with blood and bond.”
She turned to Kael.
“Let me marry your son.”
Even Kael seemed stunned.
Murmurs ceased.
Elira stepped toward the dais. “There exists an ancient law, older than your war—older than mine. The Rite of Unity. A royal marriage that binds two thrones, two peoples, into a single accord of peace.”
Lord Marrow scoffed. “That law has not been invoked in four hundred years.”
“Then it’s time,” she replied. “Let us become legend.”
King Aldric’s jaw clenched. “You would have me hand my son to a daughter of my enemies?”
“No,” Elira said. “I ask you to give him to hope.”
The chamber fell silent.
The king rose. “Leave us.”
Everyone hesitated.
“Now!” he bellowed.
The court emptied.
Kael was brought forward in chains.
Father and son stood before the fire, with Elira watching like a sentinel.
“Tell me,” Aldric said, “do you truly love her?”
Kael didn’t hesitate. “Yes.”
The king looked to Elira. “And you?”
“With all that I am.”
Aldric closed his eyes, weary beyond measure. “Then gods help us all.”
He turned to Marrow. “Unchain the prince. Prepare the altar.”
The Rite of Unity would proceed.
---
That night, as bells rang through Eldoria, protests broke out across the noble houses. Some called for the king’s removal. Others saw the union as salvation.
Meanwhile, Kael and Elira sat side by side in the chapel gardens.
“You surprised me,” he said.
She leaned on his shoulder. “I surprised myself.”
“Are you scared?”
She nodded. “But not of marrying you. Only of what comes after.”
Kael kissed her forehead. “Then let’s be afraid together.”
In the moonlight, amidst roses and thorns, they found peace.
But shadows still watched.
And far to the south, General Corvak—Elira’s traitorous uncle—prepared for war.
- Writer
