Elara's POV
I woke up screaming.
Hands grabbed my shoulders, holding me down as I thrashed against blankets that felt like chains.
Easy! You're safe, stop fighting! Zara's voice cut through my panic.
I blinked hard, my heart racing. Not the dungeon. Not the river. A room with stone walls and warm firelight. Real blankets, soft pillows. My body ached everywhere, wrapped in clean bandages.
Where My throat burned.
The Shadow Fortress. Zara released me slowly, watching to make sure I wouldn't bolt. You've been unconscious for two days. The healer said it's a miracle you survived that river.
Two days. The empire probably thought I was dead. Good.
You said... I struggled to sit up, ignoring the screaming pain in my ribs. You said you're my cousin. That my mother was a princess. That's crazy
Is it? Zara sat back in her chair, studying me with those sharp eyes. Did your mother ever talk about her past? Her family? Where she really came from?
I opened my mouth, then closed it. Mother never talked about her life before marrying Father. When I asked as a child, she'd get sad and change the subject. Father said her family died in a plague and it hurt too much to remember.
But what if that was a lie?
Come with me. Zara stood. There's someone you need to meet.
I can barely walk
Then I'll carry you. She wasn't joking.
Ten minutes later, dressed in borrowed clothes and leaning heavily on Zara, I walked through corridors that felt ancient. We stopped before massive doors carved with symbols I didn't recognize.
Ready? Zara asked.
No.
She pushed the doors open anyway.
The woman sitting on the throne at the far end of the hall made my breath catch. She was old—maybe seventy, but held herself like a queen. Like someone who'd ruled for decades and crushed anyone who challenged her.
She had my mother's eyes. Storm-gray, exactly like mine.
Grandmother, Zara said formally. May I present Elara Ashbourne. Your granddaughter.
The word hit me like a punch. Granddaughter.
The Shadow Queen rose, moving with predatory grace despite her age. She came down the steps slowly, her gaze never leaving my face.
Sera's daughter. Her voice was rough, emotional. You look just like her.
My mother's name was Seraphina, I whispered. Not Sera.
That's what she called herself in the empire. The Queen stopped in front of me, reaching out to touch my butchered hair. Here, she was Princess Sera. My only child. My heir.
She's dead. The words hurt to say. She died when I was ten
I know. Pain flickered across the Queen's face. I felt it the moment she left this world. And I knew that someday, you would need us.
Need you? Anger flared hot in my chest. If you're really my grandmother, where were you when I needed help? When Cassian divorced me? When they threw me in a dungeon and tried to kill me?
We've been watching you for twenty-six years, Zara said quietly. Waiting for the right moment.
The right moment? I wanted to scream. They destroyed my life!
Exactly. The Queen's smile was cold. We needed the empire to throw you away first. To strip you of everything so you'd have nothing left to lose. So you'd want what we're offering.
The calculation in her voice made my skin crawl. But she was right. If they'd come to me a week ago when I was still Crown Princess, still hoping Cassian loved me, I would have refused. Stayed loyal to the empire.
Now? Now I had nothing to be loyal to.
Show her, the Queen commanded.
Zara led me to a side chamber where books and papers covered a large table. She picked up a leather journal, worn and faded.
Your mother's diary. She left it when she ran away. Zara opened it to a marked page. Read.
My hands shook as I took it. Mother's handwriting filled the pages—younger, messier than I remembered, but definitely hers.
Father wants me to marry the Duke of Ironhold. A political alliance. But I've met someone else—a young duke from the Crimson Empire named Marcus Ashbourne. He's kind. He makes me laugh. He doesn't care that I'm a princess or what I can give him politically. He just... loves me.
I'm going to run away with him. I know Father will never forgive me. The Shadow Kingdom needs its heir. But I can't marry someone I don't love just for politics. I won't be a pawn.
Forgive me, Father. Forgive me, my people. I choose love.
Tears blurred the words. This was Mother. Young and hopeful and choosing love over duty.
Just like I had with Cassian.
And look where it got us both.
Keep reading, Zara urged.
I flipped pages, scanning entries about Mother's wedding, her happiness, and then—
I'm pregnant. A daughter, the healers say. Marcus wants to name her Elara. I agreed, but secretly, I've decided: if anything happens to me, if I die and she needs help, the Shadow Kingdom will find her. I've made arrangements. Left signs. My father's spies will know her by her eyes.
My daughter will have two kingdoms to choose from. Two birthrights. I pray she never needs the Shadow Kingdom's power. But if she does... if the empire fails her the way it's failed so many others... I hope my father will forgive me and take her in.
The journal fell from my numb fingers.
She knew, I breathed. She knew the empire might destroy me.
Your mother was brilliant. The Queen's voice softened. She saw how the Crimson Empire treats women. How they use us and discard us. She hoped you'd be different. That you'd be loved. Protected. Her expression hardened. But she was prepared for the worst.
And you've been watching me. Waiting. I looked up at my grandmother. Waiting for them to throw me away so you could claim me.
Yes. No apology. No shame. Just truth.
Zara handed me another document. Official, sealed with the Shadow Kingdom crest.
This is your mother's will. It names you as her heir. The rightful Crown Princess of the Shadow Kingdom. She paused. If you want it.
And if I don't? My voice came out harsh. If I say no?
Then we give you money, a new identity, and you disappear. The Queen's gaze was steady. You can start over somewhere far from both kingdoms. Live quietly. Safely. Alone.
Alone. The word echoed in my head.
Or I could take what they offered. Power. A throne. The ability to make everyone who hurt me pay.
What do you want from me? I asked bluntly.
Revenge, the Queen said simply. The Crimson Empire has grown too powerful. Too corrupt. They need to be reminded that the Shadow Kingdom exists. That we're not weak just because we're small. She stepped closer. And you, my dear granddaughter, are the perfect weapon.
A weapon. I tasted the word. Cassian had treated me like a political pawn. My father threw me away like garbage. The empire laughed while I bled.
Maybe it was time I became something they couldn't control.
What exactly are you offering? I asked.
Three years of training. Combat, strategy, commerce, espionage. We'll make you powerful enough that no one can ever hurt you again. Zara's smile was sharp. We'll help you build an empire of your own a merchant network so vast you'll control half the trade routes. You'll become untouchable.
And then?
Then you return to the Crimson Empire as Lady Seraphine. The Queen's eyes glittered. A mysterious merchant queen they can't ignore. You'll tear down their corrupt system from the inside while gathering evidence of their crimes. And when the time is right... She paused. You'll make Crown Prince Cassian Valorian regret every second of the day he threw you away.
Cassian. His cold eyes. His silence while they destroyed me.
I divorce you.
Three words that killed everything I was.
I want them all to suffer, I heard myself say. Cassian. His mother. The Grand Chancellor. Everyone who laughed while they dragged me away.
Then kneel, the Queen commanded. Accept your birthright. Become the princess your mother knew you could be.
I thought about going back to nothing. Living quietly somewhere, always looking over my shoulder, always remembering the humiliation.
Or I could take the power they offered and burn the empire to ash.
The choice wasn't hard.
I knelt before my grandmother, the Shadow Queen, and bowed my head.
I accept, I said clearly. I claim my mother's throne and everything that comes with it.
The Queen placed her hand on my head like a blessing. Or a curse.
Rise, Princess Elara of the Shadow Kingdom. Her smile was terrifying and beautiful. Your training begins tomorrow. In three years, you'll return to the empire stronger than they can imagine. And then...
Then I'll make them all pay, I finished, my voice steady and cold as winter.
Every single one of them.