Elizabeth clung to Araliz's neck as her mother turned, using her own body as a shield against the attack. Even knowing the consequences of being poisoned, Elizabeth saw it—through her silver-gold eyes—strands of silver flashing, blocking her vision for a fraction of a second.
—!!!
Dará struck again as she pulled back, blood dripping from her blackened claws. The iron stank of something foul, something wrong. But her victorious laughter died in her throat when she saw Araliz turn back… completely unharmed.
— What… how…
Her words dissolved into the suffocating air as blood surged upward, staining the queen's back and splattering across the upper half of the princess's face.
— Damn… your… existence…
The words were spat in bitterness.
The heavy sound of shifting flesh came seconds later. The transformation dragged Dará back into her human form.
Her pale skin was marred with old scars, bruises, and fresh cuts. The hair that had once been long, soft, and a source of pride now resembled lifeless steel straw, a dead shade of gold, unevenly cut at shoulder length.
At her throat lay the reason the madness had ended.
Three red lines carved open across her carotid.
— But… — Araliz's gaze fell over the ruined body, then lowered to the figure who had collapsed to her knees before her.
A young woman.
Barely 1.70 tall.
Hair silver like molten iron.
She looked up, just before a wave of blood spilled from her lower lip, staining the worn tunic she wore.
— Your Highness…
Leónia's voice came out low, strained, dragging itself forward. She was fading fast—but her body never touched the blood-stained leaves beneath her.
Araliz dropped down instantly, instinct taking over. Her free hand cradled the girl's head—the one who had just saved both her life and the life of the kingdom's heir.
The soldiers had already regained control of the situation.
The queen ordered the girl taken to the sanctuary, demanding the finest medicines and roots be used in her treatment.
Her savior would live.
She would make sure of it.
The outing ended there.
It was deemed safer not to take Elizabeth to the sanctuary. The return to the palace was wrapped in heavy silence.
Broken only by the soft laughter of a child weaving braids into dark hair streaked with silver.
Araliz held her daughter as if clinging to life itself, afraid—truly afraid—of losing her precious girl.
The king was furious.
A rage so suffocating even the Alphas surrounding the council struggled to breathe beneath it.
That very night, orders were given.
Anyone found to have dealings with renegades or witches—practitioners of forbidden dark magic—would be executed.
And their bodies would never know rest.
What they uncovered was worse.
A group of renegades—former servants, former pupils, and Dará herself, once a friend obsessed with the king—had orchestrated an ambush meant to kill not only Araliz… but Elizabeth as well.
Hatred had been their fuel.
A twisted sense of justice, born after exile for their own vile and treacherous acts.
It was under that same moon that Leónia swore her loyalty to the Crown—
And above all, to the queen and her only heir.
Now, years later, she watched the griffin's gallop cut through the snow, following her mistress with that same unbroken loyalty.
— Princess…
— You know you may call me Elizabeth.
Leónia tightened the reins until her fingers turned white.
— I am not worthy.
— If I allow it, then you are.
Elizabeth replied without turning to look at her.
— What do you think will happen from here?
— …
Elizabeth thought for a moment, her eyes tracing the thin layers of snow stretching ahead.
— Saying I don't know would be lying to myself. What could—and likely will—happen… is a rebellion during my absence.
— That would be treated as treason. A deliberate act of planning.
— I know… and that's what unsettles me.
— What, Your Highness… Elizabeth?
— That it was obvious from the beginning.
Leónia felt the color drain from her face.
— What? What do you mean?
— Dandara may have given me the greatest clue… and I may have misunderstood the message.
A heavier, more uncomfortable silence settled between them.
— Do you think this was strategic?
— It was manipulated. Which doesn't make it any less dangerous.
— That changes everything. Every plan. Every alliance still hanging unfinished.
— It only confirms what we should have known—
that the children of the Sun were never to be trusted.
Elizabeth clenched her jaw, letting the griffin carry them forward.
— Safira still says nothing?
— Nothing. Only the most unsettling silence I've ever known.
— We don't have much time to fix this. If the children of Mount Solari are involved, taking you there to be treated—
— You think they poisoned me?
— They plotted against Your Highness. Against the Lycan King. I would not doubt their ability to go further… into something far worse than this.