Chapter 61 – Commander Queen
Elara’s POV
The banners snapped against the cold morning wind as I stepped onto the ridge overlooking the eastern front.
Below, the army stretched like a restless sea—rows upon rows of soldiers, horses, and war machines glinting under the pale sun. The air smelled of iron and tension.
Today, I wasn’t a princess. I wasn’t even a queen.
I was their commander.
The council had argued against it for days. They said the frontlines were no place for “a royal flame,” that I should stay behind walls and issue orders from safety. But I’d seen what safety did to rulers—it turned them blind. I would not make that mistake.
Lucien had ridden out before dawn to inspect the fortifications. I felt his absence like a missing heartbeat, but I couldn’t depend on him to hold
