"What... how did I...?"
She descends slowly. The flames gutter and die as her feet touch the arena floor. When she looks around at the thousands of kneeling figures, her eyes are her own again.
Lilac and wonderfully warm.
She sways slightly. I'm there before she can fall, catching her against my chest.
"Svenn?" Her voice is small. "What happened? The Aeonians were so strong. I had to use more strings than I could—"
"You won," I whisper against her hair. "You saved us all."
She pulls back to look at me. Then past me at the crowd still kneeling in the arena. At Blaire standing in the center with tears streaming down her face.
"My queen," I say, and drop to one knee beside her. I have never given my loyalty to anyone. Not to kings or lords or the gods themselves. But I give it to her.
Rainer is the first to follow. Then Shade. Then Eyepatch, Red, Darstan, even wounded and bloodied. One by one, her knights kneel.
The wave spreads outward from us like ripples on water.
The silence shatters.
"We pledge our swords to Queen Rhianelle!" Lord Wesley's voice rings out. He descends the steps, moving to the arena floor, his ancient blade drawn and held point-down before him as he kneels.
"Our fealty is yours, Your Highness!" Lord Ctibor calls out, the same lord who moments ago declared them doomed. "Long live the Queen!"
The chant spreads like wildfire.
Within moments, the entire colosseum thunders with devotion. The sound shakes dust from ancient stone. Even those who questioned her now shout themselves hoarse in loyalty.
Rhianelle looks down at the crumpled forms of the elders. Her hands begin to tremble. For a moment, the horror threatens to consume her. I can see it in her eyes—the little girl who survived the forest, who protected the villagers who hurt her, who never wanted to become this.
She closes her eyes and takes one shaking breath. When she opens them again, the horror is still there but understanding settles over her features.
"This is not who we are,"she says, standing straighter. The exhaustion fades from her features as she embraces what she has become. "We will rebuild what has been shaken. We will protect one another. And when war comes, we will face it together."
The roar of approval is deafening.
Rhianelle doesn't smile or bask in their adoration. There's a weariness in her eyes—the look of someone who's just realized the full cost of survival. Blaire crosses to us and pulls Rhianelle into a fierce embrace.
"I'm glad you came back," she whispers.
Rhianelle's arms close around her friend. Just for a moment, she allows herself to lean into that comfort. To be small again. But when she pulls back, the queen's mask is firmly in place.
Rainer approaches next. I watch him come, my body tense with the weight of what I know. The Asterdust frenzy he fell into. The broken ribs he gave her while lost in that haze.
My hands curl into fists at my sides.
It would be so easy. He's exhausted from his own battle, wounded, and vulnerable. I could tear his throat out before anyone understood what was happening.
But I stay where I am. Rhianelle has already chosen to forgive, even if I never will. I force myself to stand perfectly still, to keep the violence leashed inside me even as it howls for release. I let him reach her and watch her face when she sees him coming.
"Rhianelle, I—"
"You didn't know," she says gently. “I made sure you didn't know what the villagers were doing to me. That was my choice."
He lowers his head."I should have seen it anyway."
She liftsher hand and rests her palm against his cheek. "When Blaire reached you, you came for me. That's what matters."
