Chapter 113: Dera's resolve

Dera walked through the palace without seeing the servants who stepped aside for her. Caius's words refused to leave her mind, repeating themselves with every step she took. She hated that they had found the part of her she had tried so hard to bury. More than that, she hated that they were true.

She stopped at the balcony overlooking the palace gardens and gripped the stone railing. The evening breeze brushed against her face, but it did nothing to cool the anger burning inside her. She closed her eyes, hoping the memories would leave her alone. Instead, they came rushing back.

There had been a time when everyone spoke of her and Viktor as though their future had already been written. The elders approved of their union, and the servants smiled whenever they saw them together. She had believed she would one day stand beside him as his wife. She had never imagined that dream could be taken away.

Then came the accusations.

They called him a traitor before anyone cared to learn the truth. They dragged him through the palace like a criminal while she stood frozen among the crowd, too shocked to speak. By the time she found the courage to look for him, he was already gone.

For years, she held on to hope.

She convinced herself that Viktor would return one day and everything would be as it had been before. She ignored every proposal that came her way because none of them were him. People called her foolish behind her back, but she never cared.

Then he came back.

The man she had waited for all those years walked into the throne room alive, stronger than she remembered and chosen by the throne itself. For one brief moment, hope found its way back into her heart. She thought fate had finally returned what had been stolen from her.

Then she saw the way he looked at Elara in the human world.

It wasn't a lingering stare or stolen glance that wounded her. It was the quiet concern in his eyes whenever Elara was near, the way he moved without thinking to place himself between her and danger. Dera had once dreamed of being looked at like that. Instead, she stood only a few steps away and felt like a stranger.

Her nails dug into her palms until they hurt.

"What does she have that I don't?" she whispered.

The question echoed in the empty balcony, unanswered. She had waited. She had stayed loyal even after everyone believed Viktor was gone forever. Yet the moment he returned, another woman stood where she believed she belonged.

A bitter laugh escaped her lips.

"How cruel."

She had spent years blaming the council for taking Viktor away from her. Now she realized someone else had taken what little she had left. Elara had never asked for her hatred, but that no longer mattered.

Dera straightened and wiped away the tear that had slipped down her cheek. Her expression hardened until nothing of the heartbroken woman remained. If Viktor had chosen Elara over her, then he would live with that choice.

A slow smile touched her lips.

She would help Caius.

Not because he had promised her power or status. Those things meant nothing compared to the pain sitting inside her chest. She would help him because Viktor had made his choice, and she intended to make him regret it.