Chapter 10 - Dawn over Valoria
Three weeks later, the grand coronation hall was filled once more—not with panic and burning tallow candles, but with the bright, warm light of a peaceful spring morning.
The stained-glass windows had been repaired, depicting not just the ancient kings of Valoria, but a new mosaic at the center: a silver star resting beside an unmovable sword.
Elise stood upon the dais, dressed in simple, elegant robes of white and silver. The three stars on her left arm no longer burned with a painful heat; they rested against her skin like a quiet, comforting tattoo of her true heritage.
By her side stood Aurelia, who had chosen to remain in the capital as an advisor of state rather than flee into exile. The animosity between them had faded into a fragile, hard-won understanding born of shared survival and truth.
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The archbishop stepped forward, holding the ancient crown of Valoria—not the one Marcelline had worn, but the original circlet of Queen Selene, recovered from the deepest vaults of the catacombs.
As the crown was placed gently upon her head, the heavy oak doors of the hall swung wide open, letting in the fresh breeze of a united kingdom. Outside, the bells of Valoria rang out across the mountains, welcoming a new era where the steel served only justice, and the rightful dawn had finally come home.
