Chapter 78 Elara Voss POV

Chapter 78 Elara Voss POV
Elara

I wake before dawn again. For a few disoriented seconds, I don’t understand why the room feels wrong then I realize what’s missing. The realm. No silver light bleeding endlessly through the sky. No constant pressure against my magic. No unstable lunar energy pressing against every breath. Just darkness and stillness. Real stillness.

I stare up at the unfamiliar ceiling above the massive palace suite for several seconds before slowly turning my head toward my mate asleep beside me. Callum is awake instantly. Not moving or startled. Just awake. His eyes meet mine in the dim light filtering through the windows.

“You staring at the ceiling again?” he murmurs quietly and a tired smile pulls briefly at my mouth.

“It’s strange.”

“I know.”

For eighteen years we slept beneath a fractured sky inside a dying realm while the rest of the world kept moving without us. Now silence feels unnatural. Safety feels unnatural. Callum shifts onto his back beside me slowly, one arm sliding behind his head while his gaze drifts toward the balcony windows. The moonlight catches the silver threading through his dark hair now. There’s more of it than there used to be. Eighteen years. The grief of that number hits differently every time I think about it.

“You should sleep more,” I say softly.

“So should you.”

“Probably, but we're not talking about me. Don't be irritating.”

His mouth twitches faintly.

“You still love me.”

“Mmm... Sometimes," I say and aquiet huff of amusement leaves him before the room settles back into silence. My gaze drifts across the room slowly.

The palace clearly rushed to prepare this bedroom for us after the battle. Fresh blankets. Clean clothing folded carefully near the fireplace. Food left untouched on the dining table near the windows. An actual suite intended for the Alpha and Luna of Moonstone and the thought still feels surreal. Moonstone exists again. Not trapped. Not fading. Not surviving day by day inside a realm prison. We are home. The emotion hits so suddenly I have to look away and Callum notices immediately. His hand finds mine beneath the blankets without either of us speaking.

“She’s alive,” he says quietly and my throat tightens instantly. Our daughter is alive. I close my eyes briefly.

“I loved spending that time with her yesterday.”

The words come out softer than I intended and omething shifts in Callum’s expression immediately.

“I know.”

“I kept trying to imagine what she would sound like all those years.” Emotion catches painfully in my chest. “I never got it right.” Callum’s thumb brushes slowly across my knuckles.

“She looks like you when she’s thinking real hard,” he says and a small breath leaves me. “And she argues like you too. Poor Kael. That’s unfortunate for everyone involved”

Despite everything, a laugh slips quietly from me. The sound fades quickly though because underneath the relief and joy and disbelief sits grief so enormous I still don’t fully know how to hold it. We missed her entire childhood. First words. First steps. Every birthday. Every nightmare. Every scraped knee. Every moment. Callum goes still beside me suddenly.

“You’re doing it again," he says and I blink toward him.

“What?”

“Thinking too far backward.” I stare at him quietly. The frustrating thing is that he’s right. Callum turns his head toward me fully then. “We’re here now.” Emotion tightens painfully in my throat.

“We should have been here eighteen years ago.”

His jaw tightens instantly and there it is. The wound beneath everything. Not the realm. Not the war. Our daughter.

A knock sounds softly against the suite doors before either of us can speak again. Callum’s posture shifts immediately. Protective and alert.

“Come in,” he says calmly. One of the palace attendants steps carefully into the room moments later.

“My apologies for disturbing you.”

“You’re not disturbing us,” I answer gently and the young woman visibly relaxes slightly before speaking again. "What can we do for you?"

“The king and queen requested permission to visit.”

Silence falls instantly across the room. Callum’s expression hardens beside me. I understand the feeling because despite everything that happened during the battle… despite Theron fighting beside Moonstone in the courtyard… despite his apology… None of this is healed. Not yet. Callum looks toward me quietly. The decision is mine too. After a moment, I nod once. The attendant disappears quickly afterward. Callum exhales slowly beside me.

“You don’t have to do this if you’re not ready.”

“I know," I sigh. "But avoiding the conversation won’t undo eighteen years either."

Less than ten minutes later, the suite doors open again. Theron and Lysara enter together. The exhaustion on both their faces is impossible to miss. Lysara looks emotionally wrung hollow while Theron carries the kind of weariness that settles into bone. For several long seconds, nobody speaks then Lysara finally breaks the silence softly.

“I hope these rooms suit you better than the realm did.”

A startled laugh escapes me before I can stop it and the tension in the room eases slightly at the sound. Theron’s eyes move carefully around the suite before settling on Callum.

“I wanted to make sure your people were being properly cared for.”

Callum studies him in silence for a moment.

“They are," he replies. Not warm, but not cruel either. Just factual.

Theron nods once slowly. The atmosphere still feels fragile enough to shatter with one wrong sentence. Lysara notices it too. She steps farther into the room first.

“The children born inside the realm are struggling most with the transition,” she says quietly. “The healers are trying not to overwhelm them.”

Grief flashes sharply across Callum’s face. Children born imprisoned because of one catastrophic choice. Theron notices it immediately.

“I know apologizing cannot fix any of this,” he says quietly. Callum’s expression doesn’t change.

“No. It can’t.” The honesty lands heavily through the room, but Theron nods anyway because he already knows. “If you had come to us, none of this would have happened.”

The words aren’t sharp and that makes them feel worse. Theron’s jaw tightens visibly.

“I know.”

“No,” Callum says calmly. “I still don’t think you do despite the fact I already said these things to you.” Lysara closes her eyes briefly beside him. Callum slowly rises from the bed then, every movement controlled. Measured. Dangerous because of how controlled it is. “I would have died protecting this kingdom,” he says quietly. “Every wolf in Moonstone would have.” His gaze locks fully onto Theron now. “If you had simply trusted me enough to speak to me directly instead of listening to Morvena and Ashwood, I would have bled for Elaris willingly.”

The grief in the room becomes almost unbearable because it’s true. Every word of it. Theron looks older suddenly. Not physically. Just… tired in a way no king should ever look.

“I was afraid,” he admits quietly and Callum laughs once without humor.

“Yes. That much became obvious.”

“I thought if the prophecy was real...” Theron starts.

“You destroyed an entire people over fear of what might happen," Callum interrupts and Theron falls silent because there is nothing to argue against. Lysara’s voice breaks softly into the tension then.

“I tried to stop it," she says quietly and all three of us look toward her. Pain flickers visibly across her face. “I should have fought harder. I knew Morvena was manipulating the situation. I knew Theron was listening to the wrong people.” Her throat tightens slightly. “But by the time I realized how far things had gone…”

"It was too late," I say, finishing her sentence for her. I study her quietly for a long moment. Queen of Elaris. Mate to the king who destroyed Moonstone. A woman who has probably spent eighteen years watching guilt slowly hollow out the man she loves. There are no winners in this room. Only survivors. “I hated you for a long time." Lysara flinches slightly.

“I know.”

“But not because you were cruel.”

Her eyes lift toward mine slowly.

“You stayed,” I say quietly. “Even after you realized what happened.” Emotion tightens painfully in my chest. “Part of me used to wonder if I would’ve had the strength to stay beside Callum if he had done something unforgivable.” Callum looks toward me sharply and Lysara’s eyes glisten instantly.

“I used to ask myself why I stayed every day,” she whispers and silence settles heavily again. Then Callum exhales slowly before finally looking back toward Theron.

“The only reason I still believe this kingdom deserves saving,” he says quietly, “is because my daughter chose it anyway.”

Emotion flashes sharply across Theron’s face because he understands exactly what Callum is saying. Elowyn had every reason to walk away from Elaris forever. Instead she saved it. Lysara wipes quickly beneath one eye before composing herself again.

“She loves Kael very much.”

A faint smile touches my mouth despite everything.

“Yes,” I say softly. “She does.”

“And he would burn this entire kingdom to the ground for her,” Callum mutters and Theron actually huffs a quiet laugh at that.

“That is incredibly accurate. He said those exact words.”

After a while, Theron and Lysara finally leave the suite again, exhaustion pulling heavily at both of them. The silence afterward feels different. Lighter somehow. Callum moves toward the balcony doors slowly before stepping outside into the cold dawn air. I follow him quietly. Below us, Moonstone pack members are slowly beginning to walk across the palace grounds. Children run sleepily between exhausted parents while guards rotate patrols near the outer walls. The sky overhead glows pale gold as sunrise slowly spills across Elaris. Real sunrise. Real sky. Freedom. Callum’s hand finds mine again, squeezing it as he looks at me with tears in his eyes.

For the first time in eighteen years, our people are finally waking up in a world that belongs to them again.