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The sun of the Realm of Light spilled like molten gold across the palace towers, gilding every spire in a glow that felt almost sacred. The gates creaked open with a slow, echoing groan — not ominous, but reverent, as if the palace itself were awakening to receive her.
Elara stepped inside, her breath catching in her throat. Her heart beat wildly — not from fear this time, but from something deeper. Something unnamed. Something ancient.
And then she saw her.
At the top of the white marble steps stood Queen Ayela. Her silver gown shimmered like moonlight dancing on still water, and her crown glinted with quiet dignity. But it was her eyes — deep, warm, and shining — that held Elara frozen.
“Elara…” Ayela whispered, her voice cracking like a fragile thread. She descended the stairs slowly, each step trembling with emotion. And when she reached her, she didn’t hesitate.
She pulled Elara into her arms.
It was not a formal embrace. It was raw. Fierce. The kind that says I have missed you my whole life and I didn’t know how much until now.
Elara gasped as the warmth of that embrace seeped into her bones, melting years of loneliness. Her face pressed into Ayela’s shoulder, and she breathed in the faint scent of lilies and parchment — the scent of memory.
Tears poured freely down her cheeks. She was no longer the girl who only dreamed of motherly arms. She was here. In them.
“I thought…” Elara’s voice cracked like ice. “I thought no one ever wanted me.”
Ayela cupped her face, her own tears falling like stars. “Oh, my child… I wanted you before I even knew you existed. You are the last light of my sister — and I will never let you go again.”
That night, in her chamber, the golden warmth of the palace could not cool the storm burning in her chest.
Kael came to her.
“You knew,” she said, her back to him, her voice low and sharp. “You knew who I was, and you said nothing.”
“I wanted to protect you,” he said quietly. “If the truth came out too soon—”
“You let me live as a shadow,” she snapped, turning to face him, “while you guarded my crown in silence!”
Kael’s jaw tightened, then softened. “You were never a shadow. You were my whole sky. I am sorry… Elara, I am so sorry.”
She looked at him for a long moment. Her eyes shimmered, not with tears, but with the weight of betrayal.
“You broke my trust.”
He lowered his head. “Then I will spend the rest of my life earning it.”
She didn’t forgive him. Not yet. But she didn’t tell him to leave, either.
321Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡd5MYhwi3qe
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