The truth came fast after that.
And it cut deeper than any blade.
Selene's kingdom had already begun negotiating another alliance.
Without her.
Replacing her.
As if she had already failed.
Elira hesitated before speaking. "They didn't expect you to survive."
Selene stood still.
No anger.
No tears.
Just clarity.
"I see," she said quietly.
Everything made sense now.
She had never been sent to win.
She had been sent to disappear.
Kael watched her closely. "What will you do?"
Selene lifted her chin slowly.
"I won't return."
A pause.
"I'll rise."
The court gathered the next morning.
Tension filled the room.
Uncertainty.
Expectation .
Selene stepped forward.
Not as a bride.
Not as an outsider.
But as something far more certain.
"I was sent here to secure peace," she said.
Her voice carried clearly.
"But I will not remain as a pawn in anyone's game."
Silence fell.
Then she continued—
"I will rule."
The words landed like a strike.
Kael didn't interrupt.
Didn't question.
He simply watched.
And when the moment came—
He stepped beside her.
Not in front.
Not above.
Beside.
That was enough.
The court understood.
Power had shifted.
And Selene had taken it.