All Chapters of THE RAVEN KING’S BRIDE : Chapter 31 - Chapter 38

CHAPTER THIRTY ONEELARA’S POVSILENT STARES I stared at the chariot, about to hop on it. Valerie was already close to going to hold ny hands when I heard him“Let me help you,” he said softly.Before I could form the words, before I could argue or even process the gesture, he lifted me. Just like that. As if I weighed nothing.The world tilted briefly. The ground fell away. And suddenly, I was closer to his chest than I had ever been.The scent of him hit me first. Steel and leather and something warm underneath. Something human. His grip was firm but careful, like he was afraid I might shatter if he held me too tightly. The muscles in his arms flexed with every step as he carried me toward the waiting chariots.Every eye followed us.The people who had come with us were already gathered, murmuring among themselves. Soldiers. Attendants. Our journey to the Nations had been a waste of time.It was pointless in the way wars often are. No treaties signed. No alliances sealed. No victo

CHAPTER THIRTY-THREEALARIC’S POV“And you said you weren’t interested,” she said, mocking, her lips twitching like she enjoyed the taste of my discomfort.I scoffed and looked away, folding my arms. “Tell me.”She leaned back slightly. “Not like you care.”“I do,” I snapped, then paused. My jaw tightened. “I don’t. I just want to know if I’m not sharing space with an enemy.”Her laughter burst out suddenly, loud and unrestrained. It startled me.“Of course you are.”I squeezed my face, dragging my hand down slowly. Saints above, this woman would be the end of me.“Is it?” I asked, voice low, suspicious.She laughed even harder, clutching her stomach now. “I would’ve sworn you swallowed a frog.”I glared at her. “Stop laughing.”“I can’t,” she wheezed, wiping at the corner of her eye. “You look so serious.”My patience was thinning, stretched to its limit.“It’s lovers,” she finally said, calming down. “We are lovers.”The words landed like a stone dropped into still water.Lovers.I

CHAPTER THIRTY FIVEALARIC’S POVThe first thing I noticed was how quiet she had become. Not the awkward kind of silence. Not the angry one either. It was the soft, fragile quiet of someone holding too much inside and afraid it might spill if they spoke too loud. Elara sat across from me, fingers curled around a grape, eyes refusing to meet mine for more than a heartbeat.“So what’s it like?” I asked, my voice low, steady, even though my chest was anything but.She looked up, startled, then looked away again. Her lashes fluttered like she had been caught doing something she was not ready to explain.“Uhmm…”I almost smiled. She had been shy since the moment I confessed. Shy when I told her I wanted us to work. Shy when I said her name the way I used to, like it still belonged to me. It was funny, really. For years, she had been bold with her words, sharp with her mockery, fearless in the way she challenged me. She had always been over me, unafraid to look me in the eye and tell me exa

CHAPTER THIRTY-SEVEN.ELARA’S POVSleep finally claimed him. I lay there watching his chest rise and fall, slow and steady now, not tight with worry like it had been all night. The lines between his brows had eased. His fingers, which always seemed ready to reach for a sword even in rest, had loosened against the sheets. Tomorrow we would reach Earldom and my quest begins again.I turned slightly on my side, careful not to wake him. My gaze traced his face, memorizing it like I might need the memory to survive what was coming. My mission remained unchanged. Protect Alaric. Mentally. Physically. At all costs….or fall for Alaric. No..not it, not it.Rowland stood directly in the middle of that mission.And so did my past. So did the queen mother’s crown. So did my father’s shadow. So did the version of Elara that I'm yet to conquer and prayed would never be dug back up.With these people on my path, love alone would not be enough. I knew that.Still, I stayed awake longer than I should