Chapter 60 Elara Accepts Her Fate
Elara's POV
The guard brought me paper and ink without a word. Set them on the floor of my cell. Left.
I stared at the blank pages. My final words to the people I loved.
How do you sum up a life in a few letters? How do you apologize for everything? How do you say goodbye?
My hand shook as I picked up the quill. Blood from my chest wound stained the paper. Didn't matter. Nothing mattered anymore.
I started with the hardest letter first.
"Dear Drakon,
By the time you read this, I'll be dead. Executed for treason, for betraying you.
I deserve this death. I know that. I'm not writing to beg for mercy or make excuses. I just want you to understand when it started. When I fell in love with you.
It was the first night in the library. You found me surrounded by books, and instead of being angry I was there, you smiled. You asked what I was reading. You talked to me like I mattered. Like my thoughts were worth hearing.
No one had ever done that before.
I fell a little bit in love with you that night. Not enough to change anything. Just enough to make the lies hurt more.
Then you showed me your kingdom. Your people. How you treated everyone with kindness; dragons, faeries, humans, everyone. You made me want to be better. To deserve the trust you gave so freely.
I fell more in love with you then. But still, I kept lying. Because Lily's life depended on my silence.
When you showed me your dragon form, when we flew together, when you held me like I was precious that's when I fell completely. That's when I knew I loved you more than I loved my own life.
But by then, it was too late. The lies were too deep.
I want you to know something important: I would do it all again.
If Queen Morgana took Lily tomorrow and gave me the same choice, I'd make the same decisions. I'd lie to you. I'd betray you. I'd break your heart.
Because she's my sister. She's twelve years old. And her life is worth more than my honor.
I'm sorry that makes me a villain in your story. I'm sorry I couldn't be the hero you deserved.
But I'm not sorry I saved her.
I understand your hatred. I understand why you can't forgive me.
I only ask one thing: protect Lily after I'm gone.
She's innocent, she's brave, she's everything good I tried to be and failed.
Don't let my mistakes hurt her. Don't let Queen Morgana find her. Keep her safe.
That's all I ask. All I'll ever ask.
I love you, Drakon. That was never a lie. That will never change, even in death.
I hope someday you find someone worthy of your heart. Someone who doesn't break it. Someone who deserves the love you gave so freely to me.
I'm sorry for everything.
But I'm not sorry I loved you. That was the one true thing in all my deception.
Goodbye, my Dragon King. My true mate. My greatest regret and my deepest love.
Forgive me. Or don't. Either way, know that I died loving you.
Elara."
I sealed the letter with shaking hands. Started the next one.
"Dear Lily,
I'm so proud of you. So proud of your courage. Your strength. Your fierce heart.
By the time you read this, I'll be gone. But I need you to know everything I did was worth it. Every lie, every betrayal, every terrible choice.
Because you're alive, you're safe, you're free.
That's all that matters.
Don't blame yourself. Don't think this is your fault. I made my choices freely. I chose you over everything else. I'd choose you a thousand times.
Live well, little sister. Be brave, be kind, be everything I couldn't be.
I love you forever.
Elara."
The last letter was shortest.
"Dear Mama,
I'm sorry I couldn't come home. I'm sorry I failed you. I'm sorry for everything.
Lily is safe, that's all that matters.
I love you.
Elara."
I sealed all three letters. Set them aside for the guards to deliver.
Then I lay back on the cold stone floor and waited to die.
The bleeding had slowed but not stopped. Each breath hurt. Each heartbeat was weaker than the last.
How long did I have? Hours? Minutes?
Did it matter?
I closed my eyes and thought about Drakon. About his smile. His laugh. The way he'd held me like I was precious.
The way I'd destroyed all of that.
Footsteps echoed on the stairs. I didn't open my eyes.
"Elara?" A familiar voice. "Are you awake?"
I looked up. Saw a face I didn't expect.
Drakon stood at the bars of my cell. Reading my letter. Tears streaming down his face.
"You're an idiot," he said, his voice breaking. "A noble, self-sacrificing, impossibly stubborn idiot."
"I know," I whispered.
"And I'm an idiot too. Because even after everything, even after all the lies and pain and betrayal, I still love you."
My heart stopped. "What?"
"I still love you," he repeated. "I hate myself for it. But I do."
He unlocked the cell door.
Stepped inside.
Knelt beside me.
"I can't forgive you yet," he said quietly. "Maybe not ever. But I can't let you die either. So we're going to heal the bond. Save your life. Figure out the rest later."
"No," I said. "Don't save me out of guilt. Let me die knowing you're free."
"I'm not free. I'll never be free of you." Drakon took my hand. "You're my true mate. That doesn't just disappear because you lied. It doesn't die because we broke each other's trust."
"But the execution..."
"Is cancelled." He pressed his forehead against mine. "I'm saving you. Not forgiving you. Not trusting you. Just... saving you. Because I can't watch you die. Because Lily deserves her sister. Because some stubborn part of me still hopes we can fix this someday."
"Drakon..."
"Shut up and let me heal you before I change my mind."
Golden light began to glow between us.
The bond. Mending. Slowly. Painfully.
But mending.
I gasped as the pain in my chest eased. As the bleeding stopped. As life flowed back into me.
"Why?" I asked through tears. "Why save me?"
Drakon pulled back. His eyes were conflicted. Tortured. But determined.
"Because you were right," he said. "Love isn't enough. Trust isn't enough. But it's all we have. And I'd rather have a broken, damaged love than no love at all."
He stood up.
"You'll be moved to better quarters. Under guard. Under watch. You're not free. You're not forgiven. But you're not dying either."
"Thank you," I whispered.
"Don't thank me yet." His expression hardened. "Because now comes the hard part. Now we figure out how to live with what we've done to each other. And I don't know if that's possible."
He left.
I lay on the floor, alive but unsure if that was mercy or punishment.
The bond pulsed weakly between us. Damaged, fragile, but alive.
Just like me.
And I didn't know if that was a second chance.
Or just a slower way to die.