The city had quieted.
Not in fear. Not in silence.
But in relief.
For the first time in years, Elyria knew peace—not the fragile kind that teetered on a throne, but the kind that settled into the hearts of the people.
Queen Selene had given them everything they demanded:
A son.
A strong heir.
A ruler who never wavered.
Now, she was giving them something they never expected:
A new future.
In the palace library, Princess Lyra studied ancient laws beside her tutor. Scrolls were stacked high around her—documents on succession, war treaties, land rights.
"You're reading royal law at age six?" her tutor asked, half-impressed, half-concerned.
"I'm not reading," Lyra replied, flipping a page. "I'm remembering."
She had become the heartbeat of Selene's quiet revolution.
Not with power, but with presence.
She attended council meetings. She sat in trade negotiations. She listened, learned, and—once—a nobleman caught lying in court apologized to her instead of the queen.
Lyra smiled politely and corrected him in front of everyone.
Meanwhile, Queen Selene walked the halls as if they were part of her body.
She issued new laws protecting girls' education.
She established a school for war orphans—and named it after her late steward who had been poisoned by Miranna's plot.
She appointed a woman—Lady Ilaira—as the first female chancellor of the realm.
And when nobles questioned these changes, Darian answered for her:
"She has earned more than your approval.
She has earned your obedience."
He no longer stood behind her.
He stood beside her.
Not in love—but in trust.
And trust, Selene had learned, was rarer.
Even Kael, the infant prince, seemed to carry the quiet power of his mother.
Guards said he didn't cry much—only when Lyra wasn't near.
The siblings were opposites.
He was calm.
She was fire.
And Selene loved them both in her own way:
Kael, with protection.
Lyra, with preparation.
Yet, beneath all this peace, one shadow still lingered.
Lady Miranna had not returned.
Her lands had been stripped. Her title removed. Her allies scattered or imprisoned. But she had vanished before they could find her.
Captain Lirael brought Selene reports each month.
Nothing.
No letters.
No sightings.
Nothing.
But Selene kept a sword near her desk anyway.
She knew better than to believe in happy endings without caution.
On the eve of Kael's naming ceremony, Selene stood before the Flame Temple in full royal garb. The people cheered. Priests spoke blessings. Lyra stood proudly beside her brother.
And when Selene raised Kael to the crowd, she spoke not of thrones or power or war.
"This is not the end of fear," she said.
"But it is the beginning of a kingdom that will never again be ruled by fear."
The cheers rose like thunder.