Chapter 54 Elara in the Dungeon
Elara’s POV
Cold water splashed across my face. I gasped and jerked awake.
“Wake up, traitor,” a guard sneered, the same one who used to bow when I passed. Now he spit at my feet. “His Majesty wants you conscious. Can’t interrogate a corpse.”
I pushed myself upright, every movement agony. The wound on my chest where the bond had broken throbbed with each heartbeat.
“Water,” I croaked. My throat burned raw.
The guard laughed. “Traitors don’t get water. Traitors don’t get mercy.”
He walked away, boots echoing against stone.
Darkness swallowed me. The dungeon reeked of mold and despair. Iron bars surrounded me. Cold seeped into my bones.
This was where I belonged. This was what I deserved.
“Well, well, well,” a voice drawled from the next cell. “Look who finally joined me. The fake queen herself.”
The assassin.
“Shut up,” I muttered.
“Oh no, this is far too entertaining.” He laughed. “You walked around like royalty. Played the perfect wife. And now? You’re lower than me. At least I never pretended to be good.”
“I said shut up!”
“The Dragon King trusted you. Loved you. Defended you.” His voice turned sharp. “And you betrayed him. Made him a fool. How does that feel?”
Each word cut deeper than steel.
“I didn’t want to,” I whispered. “They had my sister. They would have killed her.”
“Excuses,” he spat. “We all have reasons. Doesn’t change the damage.”
He was right.
Footsteps approached. Guards unlocked my cell and shoved in a bucket of water and stale bread.
“Eat,” one ordered. “You’re needed alive for the trial. Unfortunately.”
Trial. Then execution.
I deserved it.
But Lily, had the rescue worked? Was she alive? Or had Morgana killed her anyway?
Not knowing was torture.
Time blurred. Guards came and went. Some brought food. Others brought insults.
“Fake queen.”
“Lying whore.”
“Traitor.”
Each one burned because each one was true.
A familiar face appeared at the bars. Marie, the servant who loved books.
“Your Majesty...” She stopped herself. “Elara. I brought you something.”
She slipped fresh bread through the bars.
“Why?” I asked. “Why be kind to me?”
“Because you were kind to me,” she said softly. “You remembered my name. Treated me like a person. That wasn’t fake, was it?”
Tears filled my eyes. “No. That part was real.”
“Then I believe you.” She glanced around nervously. “Not everyone thinks you’re evil. Some of us remember the good.”
She hurried away.
I ate slowly, savoring the warmth. One small kindness in the dark.
The assassin laughed. “Won’t save you from the blade.”
“I know.”
The wound on my chest kept bleeding. Not fast, just constantly. The healers had tried. Failed.
Only Drakon could heal it.
Only Drakon could save me.
And Drakon hated me.
So I was dying. Slowly. Alone.
Maybe that was justice.
Footsteps echoed again. I expected guards.
Instead, Faye stood at the bars, eyes shining with tears.
“Oh, Elara,” she whispered. “What have they done to you?”
“What I deserve,” I said. “Why are you here? Shouldn’t you hate me too?”
“I’m furious. Hurt. Disappointed.” Her voice cracked. “But I don’t hate you. I understand. Even if I wish you had trusted us sooner.”
“Is Lily safe?” I blurted. “Please.”
Faye nodded. “She’s alive. We got her out. She’s in the healing ward.”
Relief crushed me to my knees. “Thank you.”
“But…” Faye swallowed. “Aurora and Crystal died during the rescue.”
The relief turned to ash. “They died because of me.”
“They died as heroes,” she said firmly.
“Everything is my fault!” I screamed. “The invasion. The deaths. Drakon’s pain!”
“You were trapped...”
“Stop excusing me!” Tears streamed down my face. “I deserve this cell. I deserve execution.”
Silence stretched.
“Lily wants to see you,” Faye said quietly. “She doesn’t understand why you’re imprisoned.”
“Don’t tell her,” I begged. “Let her think I’m sick. Anything but the truth.”
“What do I tell Drakon?”
“Tell him to do what’s right. Execute me. Forget I existed.”
“He can’t forget you,” Faye said softly. “The bond broke, but the pain remains.”
“Good,” I said bitterly. “He deserves to hate me.”
“Elara...”
“Go,” I whispered. “Tell Lily I love her.”
Faye left, wiping her eyes.
The dungeon fell silent again.
Then chaos erupted above, shouting, running, armor clashing.
“What’s happening?” I called.
A guard rushed past. “Queen Morgana’s forces surround the castle. They want you handed over by dawn.”
My blood froze.
Morgana wanted me alive.
The guard paused. “His Majesty can’t decide. One moment he orders your execution. The next he posts guards to protect you. He’s breaking apart.”
I sank against the wall.
Waiting.
For dawn.
For judgment.
For Drakon’s choice.
Clutching my bleeding chest, I realized something.
I didn’t want to die.
I wanted to see Lily again. Wanted to earn forgiveness. Wanted to make things right.
But that choice wasn’t mine anymore.
It was Drakon’s.
And I had no idea what he would choose.