Chapter 30
Elara’s POV
The palace had begun to feel like a gilded cage. I walked its halls with my head high, but every whispered word, every watchful glance pressed against my ribs like invisible chains.
They thought I didn’t hear the whispers.
The girl from nowhere.
Lucien’s ward.
The pawn.
They thought I didn’t notice the way their eyes cut toward me, some curious, some wary, some hateful. But I noticed. I always noticed.
And I was done being silent.
I sat in my chamber that night, the pendant Lucien had returned to me resting against my palm. Its weight was more than gold—it was history, legacy, blood. The midwife’s words echoed in my memory: You are not just Elara. You are Elyra.
I could no longer pretend ignorance.
I was the blood they feared.
The crest that had burned in
