Chapter 83 Magical Discovery
Elara's POV
"They threatened Lily." My hands clenched into fists as I stared at the dark message carved into stone. "They threatened my sister again."
Drakon pulled me away from the wall. "Guards! Triple the protection around Lily. No one gets near her without my permission."
Soldiers rushed to obey. Lily stood frozen, tears streaming down her face.
I ran to her and wrapped her in my arms. "It's okay. You're safe. I won't let them hurt you."
"They're never going to stop, are they?" Lily's voice trembled. "They'll keep coming after us forever."
"Not if we stop them first," Drakon said firmly.
Faye approached, her face serious. "That's why my discovery is so important. If we can fully heal your mating bond, you'll be stronger together. Strong enough to defeat both queens permanently."
"You said the bond needs complete trust to heal," I said. "But how do we build that after everything?"
"That's what I'm trying to explain!" Faye gestured excitedly. "Come to my workshop. I'll show you what I found."
We followed her through the castle. Lily came too, refusing to leave my side. The workshop was filled with books and magical instruments measuring various energies.
Faye pointed to a crystal that glowed with soft golden light. "This measures mating bond strength. Watch what happens when you two stand close together."
Drakon and I moved closer. The crystal brightened slightly.
"Now hold hands," Faye instructed.
We did. The light grew stronger.
"Interesting," Faye murmured. "Your bond responds to physical contact and proximity. But look what happens when I ask you questions." She turned to me. "Elara, do you love Drakon?"
"Yes," I answered immediately. "More than anything."
The crystal flared brighter.
"Drakon, do you love Elara?"
"With all my heart," he said.
The light blazed even stronger.
"See?" Faye smiled. "True love never died. The bond cracked when the lies were revealed because trust shattered. But love remained underneath."
"So how do we fix the trust part?" Drakon asked.
"That's the complicated part." Faye pulled out an ancient book. "According to this text, mating bonds based on true love can survive almost anything. But they only reach full strength when both partners choose each other freely."
"We already chose each other," I said, confused.
"No." Faye shook her head. "Elara, you were forced into this marriage by threats. Drakon, you were deceived about who you were marrying. Neither of you truly chose the other, you were trapped by circumstances."
The truth of her words hit me like a punch. She was right. I'd never freely chosen to marry Drakon. I was blackmailed into it.
"So what do we do?" Drakon's voice was quiet.
"You have to choose each other again," Faye explained. "No pressure. No threats. No deception. Just honest choice. Both of you have to decide if this is really what you want."
"I know what I want," Drakon said immediately, looking at me. "I want Elara. I want our bond. I want to build a life together."
My heart swelled. But fear crept in too. "What if you change your mind later? What if you wake up one day and realize you can't forgive me for lying?"
"What if you realize you can't forgive me for almost executing you?" Drakon countered. "Trust goes both ways, Elara."
"Exactly," Faye said. "You both carry wounds. You both made mistakes. The bond can only fully heal when you both decide those mistakes don't define your future."
Lily tugged my sleeve. "This is like when you forgave me for breaking Mom's favorite vase. Remember? I felt so guilty, and you said the vase didn't matter as much as our relationship."
"That's different," I protested. "You were eight. This is..."
"The same thing," Lily interrupted. "Just bigger. You have to decide if your relationship matters more than the mistakes."
Out of the mouths of children. My twelve-year-old sister understood what I couldn't grasp.
"She's right," Drakon said softly. "We can spend forever dwelling on what went wrong, or we can choose to move forward."
"But how?" Tears filled my eyes. "How do we just decide to trust again?"
"Slowly," Faye said. "One honest choice at a time. One vulnerable moment at a time. Trust isn't rebuilt overnight."
"So we start over?" I asked.
"Not start over," Drakon corrected. "Start fresh. We keep the love. We keep the lessons we learned. But we let go of the anger and fear."
The crystal between us pulsed brighter. The bond responded to our words.
Before we could continue, Thorne burst through the door.
"My King! We have a problem! A massive problem!"
"What now?" Drakon demanded.
"The Southern Kingdom citizens who surrendered, there are thousands of them. They're begging for asylum, but we don't have room or food for that many people. And some of our own citizens are angry, saying we shouldn't help the enemy."
"They're not the enemy anymore," I said quickly. "They were victims of their queens just like everyone else."
"Tell that to the families who lost loved ones in battle," Thorne said grimly. "There's already fights breaking out between Northern and Southern refugees."
Drakon ran a hand through his hair. "We just stopped one war. Now we're facing a civil conflict inside our own walls."
"You need to address both groups," Faye said. "Together. Show them that unity is possible."
"How?" I asked. "They hate each other."
"They hate what happened," Drakon corrected. "Not necessarily each other. We just need to remind them that we're all victims of Morgana's and Celestia's schemes."
"A public speech?" Thorne suggested.
"More than that." An idea formed in my mind. "A ceremony. Where both kingdoms' people can grieve together. Honor the dead. Acknowledge the pain. Then commit to building something better."
Drakon looked at me with surprise and admiration. "That's brilliant."
"We do it tomorrow at dawn," I continued, the plan taking shape. "We create a memorial for everyone who died. From both kingdoms. Show that every life mattered equally."
"The people might not accept that," Thorne warned.
"Then we make them see it." Drakon's voice was firm. "Elara and I will stand together. United. If we can forgive each other, they can forgive each other."
The crystal between us blazed brighter than ever. The bond was responding to our unity.
"It's working," Faye whispered in awe. "Your choice to face this together is strengthening the bond."
"Good." Drakon took my hand. "Because we're going to need all the strength we can get."
A bell rang through the castle. The warning bell. Danger approaching.
We ran to the ramparts. In the distance, smoke rose from the forest.
"What is that?" Lily asked.
A messenger ran up, gasping for breath. "Your Majesty! The forest! Queen Morgana set it on fire! The flames are spreading toward the city! If we don't stop it, thousands of refugees camped outside the walls will burn alive!"