Chapter 50
Elara’s POV
The camp smelled of smoke and steel. Banners hung limp in the night air, their edges frayed from too many campaigns, too many battles fought with blood and desperation. The army stretched before me in waves of flickering torchlight—rows upon rows of soldiers, veterans and fresh recruits alike, their armor dulled by ash, their eyes shadowed with exhaustion. They had marched for weeks. They had bled for a cause they still weren’t sure they fully believed in.
And tonight, I was to stand before them—not as a frightened girl, not as the hidden orphan of a long-dead queen, but as their sovereign.
The weight of that truth pressed on me like a crown of fire.
My hands trembled as I adjusted the cloak draped across my shoulders. The color was crimson, embroidered with thr
