Evangeline's parents, the King and Queen, stood frozen, their fury now laced with a dawning fear. They were no longer the all-powerful rulers of their kingdom; they were two mortals facing two formidable dragon kings. Their perfect daughter, the one they had used as a pawn, was now under the protection of two rival realms.
"Evangeline," her father sneered, his voice dripping with venom. "You ungrateful child! We gave you a crown, a throne, a life of luxury! And this is how you repay us? By shaming us in front of these… these beasts!"
Evangeline's mother, her face a mask of rage and humiliation, pointed a trembling finger at her. "She is not our daughter anymore! She is a monster! She is a disgrace!"
Evangeline remained calm, the words that once would have shattered her now sounding hollow and meaningless. She was no longer a child in their court; she was a woman in her own right. She looked at her parents with a cold, detached pity. They had given her a crown, but they had also given her a lifetime of fear and hatred.
Seraphina, seeing her last allies crumble, took a step back, her eyes darting between the angry monarchs. Her carefully constructed world of lies was falling apart. She had lost. She had lost her prince, her honor, and now, her chance at a crown.
Arion, who had been a whirlwind of confusion and anger, now felt a new, unfamiliar emotion: shame. He had stood by while the woman he loved was subjected to a lifetime of abuse. He had judged her based on a lie and had treated her with a possessiveness that had driven her away. He was a prince, a dragon, a fated mate, but he had failed to be a man.
A gust of wind, a whisper of a new power, swept through the courtyard. The beasts, a silent, unseen audience, began to stir. A griffin, a powerful, proud creature, landed near Evangeline's feet. It bowed its head, a silent acknowledgment of her as its queen. From the shadows, a pack of wolves emerged, their eyes glowing in the darkness, their movements a silent, deadly ballet. They were not a threat; they were an army, her army, her family.
Evangeline, a woman who had once been alone, now stood surrounded by a powerful, loyal army of her own. She was no longer an outcast. She was a queen.