All Chapters of THE RAVEN KING’S BRIDE : Chapter 21 - Chapter 30

CHAPTER TWENTY ONEELARA’S POV“Elara?”The voice felt distant at first. Soft. Echoing through the fog inside my head.“Elara?”This time it was sharper, closer, and pulled me back into reality.My eyes flew open. I blinked and found Alaric standing over me. His face was carved with confusion and something that looked suspiciously like worry.I sat up quickly, heart pounding.Oh God. I had been imagining things.The kiss. The soft, warm kiss.The way he held me like he never wanted to let go.The heat flooding my chest and the way my heart trembled.All of it… a hallucination.Silly me.I scrubbed a hand over my face, embarrassed. “I was lost. Sorry.”He stared at me longer than necessary, as if searching my eyes for an explanation. Then he stepped back.“I said a lot and it seems you did not hear a word,” he murmured. “I will head out.”“Are you okay though?”I nodded slowly He turned and walked out before I could breathe or stop him.I sank into the bed, letting out a frustrated gr

CHAPTER TWENTY THREEELARA’S POVMy footsteps echoed softly as I hurried down the hallway, my heartbeat racing ahead of me. I felt like the walls were closing in, like the palace itself knew Anna was ready to tear my life apart with one sentence. I needed a plan. Something smart. Something sharp. Something that would silence her before she silenced me.I turned the corner, still thinking a little too fast, when a strong hand grabbed my arm and yanked me sideways.I gasped and almost screamed.Then I saw who it was.“Rowland?” My voice shot up in anger. “Are you mad?”What exactly was the universe’s problem with me? First Anna. Then the king. Now bald headed Rowland dragging me into corners like some villain in a cheap story.“Let me go,” I snapped, pulling my arm, but he held tighter.“Why should I?” he asked, frustration twisting his face. “Elara, what is wrong with you? You have refused to spare me a single look. You avoid me. You pretend like nothing ever existed between us. What i

CHAPTER TWENTY FIVEELARA’S POVChaos never announces itself. It just explodes.One moment Alaric was standing beside me, steady and warm, and the next… his entire face shifted into something I had never seen before. His skin turned a terrifying shade of blue, like life itself was draining out of him. His eyes bulged. His lips trembled. His fingers clawed at the air like he was fighting for breath that refused to enter his lungs.“The king is dying!” someone screamed.The palace erupted instantly. Guards rushed forward. Guests stumbled over their expensive clothes as panic swept through the hall. The music stopped mid–note. Someone dropped a golden chalice. It hit the floor like a warning bell.But my body wasn't in that moment. My mind had left everything behind.“Alaric… Alaric… can you hear me?” I grabbed his face with trembling hands. His eyes rolled back for a moment and then flickered open, unfocused.He tried to say something. A sound escaped him, maybe my name, maybe a plea, b

ELARA’S POVThe moment the words left his mouth, my heart exploded like fireworks. My eyes widened on their own. My breath caught. I pulled back a little, almost afraid I had imagined it.You say what?I barely whispered, but the question trembled out of me like a secret begging for light.“My King.” The physician stepped in immediately. “Forgive me for interrupting the moment, but I need to confirm you are fully rid of the poison.”If looks could kill, he would have dropped dead right there. He ruined it. He ruined that moment I had been waiting for since the first time Alaric stopped looking at me like his enemy. But I was still in shock. He said he wanted to give us a chance… right? He said that. You read it correctly, right? Or was my brain messing with me? I needed someone to scream it back at me. Tell me I heard him correctly because my heart was doing the most right now.Every disappointment is a blessing. Maybe it was true. Because Alaric loved me. Maybe he had always loved

CHAPTER TWENTY NINEELARA’S POVI waited for the pain.For the crushing blow. For the final breath to be ripped from my lungs.It never came.Instead, steel sang through the air. A sharp, violent sound that split the night apart. I sucked in a breath and forced my eyes open, my vision blurring as firelight and shadows collided before me. Alaric stood there, moving like fury given flesh. His sword cut through the attackers with ruthless precision, every strike sure, every movement deadly. There was no hesitation in him. No mercy.One man fell. Then another. The last staggered back, fear flashing across his face before Alaric drove the blade into his stomach. The sound that left the man was wet and final.Then silence.Guards poured into the courtyard as if summoned by blood itself, boots thundering against stone, voices shouting orders far too late to matter.Where were they when I was screaming.My knees gave out.Alaric turned at once, his expression changing the moment his eyes foun