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Reborn as the lycan queen New Ep,25 SM
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00:00In the kingdom of Eloria, the werewolves, foxes, tigers, and myrrh all lived under the Lycan King's rule.
00:07I was Leora Nightclaw, the Lycan King's only daughter.
00:11When I was seven, my father chose four heirs from the four great clans.
00:15They were raised in the palace as my future mate candidates.
00:18The kingdom called them the four lords of Eloria.
00:26But none of them wanted me.
00:27When I came of age, I had to choose one of them as my mate.
00:30In my last life, I chose Cassian Thorne, the wolf I had loved since childhood.
00:35I thought my love could soften his coldness.
00:37But on my coronation night, he opened the palace gates for Serafina Ashford.
00:41Her family dragged me from the throne.
00:43Cassian held me down himself, while Serafina drove silver through my heart.
00:47I stared at him in disbelief.
00:49Only then did I understand.
00:51In his eyes, I had never been his mate.
00:53I was only the cage keeping him from Serafina.
00:56When I opened my eyes again, I was back on the day my father asked me which of the four
01:02I wished to marry.
01:03Without hesitation, I said,
01:05Father, I choose Rowan.
01:07Roran Blackwood, the most unreliable man among the four lords.
01:11A playboy who never slept alone.
01:15Laura, are you sure?
01:17Once the mating decree is sealed, there is no taking it back.
01:20I knew that.
01:21But Cassian never wanted me.
01:23I would not hand him my life twice.
01:25Beyond him, marrying any of the others made no difference to me.
01:28I was the Lycan princess.
01:30I had duty.
01:31And I had burdens.
01:35Dad, my mind is set.
01:36I will not regret this.
01:38He sighed and pressed the royal seal beside Roran Blackwood's name.
01:44In three days, I will announce to the kingdom that Roran of the Myr clan is to be your husband.
01:49I nodded and left the king's chamber.
01:51The moment I walked out, four striking young men were already waiting in the corridor.
01:56They were my four mate candidates.
01:58Magnus Ironclaw of the Tiger clan was the first to speak.
02:02Princess, we heard the king ask you to choose one of us.
02:06Who did you choose?
02:07My eyes drifted to Cassian out of old habit.
02:10Tobias Vale, heir of the Fox clan, clapped Cassian on the shoulder.
02:14Do you even need to ask?
02:15It's our Cassiel, of course.
02:18Everyone in this palace knows.
02:20The princess has been pining after Cassiel for years.
02:22Cassian's face went cold as stone.
02:25His gaze meets mine.
02:26Dark with resentment, bitterness, and defiance.
02:29For a heartbeat, I wanted to tell him I had not chosen him.
02:32Don't look at me like that.
02:33But I stopped myself.
02:34I had thrown myself at his ice-cold feet for years.
02:37Let him stew for a few days.
02:39When I said nothing, Magnus nudged me.
02:41Come on, Leora.
02:42Don't keep us in suspension.
02:44Who is it?
02:45I glanced at Roran.
02:46He stood silent, fanning himself lazily.
02:48In three days, you will all know.
02:51Roran caught my look.
02:52He arches a brow.
02:53I didn't say another word.
02:54I turned and walked back to my chambers.
02:57Tobias was not wrong.
02:58Everyone knew I had loved Cassian Thorne.
03:01But Cassian was proud.
03:02To him, rising through a woman was a disgrace.
03:05His heart had belonged to another all along.
03:08Every smile I offered him, he met with cold disdain.
03:11But what he had never understood was that my marriage was never just mine to decide.
03:16My father was ill.
03:17I was his only daughter.
03:18To stabilize the four great clans, my husband had to come from one of those four.
03:23Whether they wanted me or I wanted them.
03:25Lost in thought, I heard a voice call out behind me.
03:28Leora, wait.
03:32Is something wrong?
03:33Cassian gave a stiff, formal bow.
03:36My heart already belongs to another.
03:38I beg you not to choose me.
03:42Cassian Thorne, you really thought I'd choose you, didn't you?
03:46You are the princess.
03:47You have endless choices.
03:49Why force someone who doesn't want you?
03:53Don't worry.
03:54I won't chase after you anymore.
03:56You're free to live your dreams and run away with your beloved.
04:00Leora, what are you saying?
04:01Just as I was about to tell him I had chosen Roran, someone rushed straight at me.
04:05She crashed into me and sent me sprawling to the ground.
04:08Princess, forgive me.
04:10I didn't mean to.
04:11I swear.
04:13Please forgive me.
04:14It was Seraphina.
04:15She came from one of the most powerful wolf bloodlines in the kingdom.
04:19Yet every time she saw me, she trembled like a rabbit before a hunter.
04:22Even when I had done nothing to her.
04:25In my last life, I thought she was only pretending to be weak to win his pity.
04:29Now I knew every tear was part of the act.
04:32She kept slamming her forehead to the floor until it turned red.
04:37Enough.
04:38It was nothing.
04:39There's no need for this.
04:42I pushed myself off the ground and said nothing.
04:46Princess, I deserve to die.
04:48Please, please, just forgive me this once.
04:54Leora, she didn't mean to.
04:56If you bully the weak like this, how will you ever rule a kingdom?
05:00How will you earn anyone's loyalty?
05:03Bully the weak?
05:05Fine.
05:06I'd show him what real cruelty looked like.
05:11Remember this.
05:13That is bullying.
05:15Cassian was too late to stop me.
05:16A red handprint blooms on Serafina's cheek.
05:19His finger jabbed at me, shaking with rage.
05:23You will address me as princess.
05:26Cassian froze.
05:28He had never imagined I would raise a hand to him.
05:33After all, I had spent years adoring him.
05:35His jaw clenched.
05:37His fists curled until the knuckles cracked.
05:42Fine.
05:45Well done, princess.
05:48Serafina, let's go.
05:53Cassian was not this cold to me from the start.
05:56When I was seven, I fell into a lake and someone pulled me out.
06:00I'd always believed it was Cassian.
06:02After that, of all four mate candidates, he was the one I had held closest.
06:06He used to sit with me through my lessons.
06:08He defended me when the tutor scolded me.
06:11He took my punishments alongside me.
06:17Then we grew older.
06:18He learned what we were to each other.
06:20He was being raised to become my future husband.
06:22He couldn't accept that future.
06:24So slowly, he pulled away from me.
06:26Only now did I understand.
06:27While I was clinging to a childhood memory,
06:29he and Serafina had already chosen each other.
06:32No wonder every tear of hers mattered more to him than every wound of mine.
06:35If he ever found out I'd chosen Roran instead of him,
06:39he should have been relieved.
06:41The next day was a long-awaited annual ceremony.
06:46My father's health was failing, so the right fell to me.
06:57The four mate candidates stood at my side.
07:15Cassian was still angry from the day before.
07:17He did not give me a single warm glance all morning.
07:25After the midday meal,
07:26I went into the back garden for a moment alone.
07:30Cassian, I made these honey cakes for you.
07:34Try one.
07:35Tell me if they're good.
07:36Serafina laughed and brushed a crumb from his lip.
07:39I had no interest in watching the two of them together,
07:41so I turned to leave.
07:43And that was when figures in black burst from the shadows.
07:46Who are you?
07:47They did not answer.
07:48They lunged at me from every side,
07:50their blades aimed at every killing point.
07:56I shifted at once.
08:05Then I charged at them.
08:07I had two of them on the ground in seconds.
08:09But before I could reach the third one,
08:10he flung a fistful of silver dust into the air.
08:13The moment it touched my fur,
08:14pain ripped through me.
08:16My limbs buckled.
08:17I was forced to shift back.
08:18Then I crashed onto the grass,
08:20unable to move.
08:24I reached for the mind link at once.
08:29At the same time,
08:30I shouted through the garden,
08:32Guards!
08:33Assassin!
08:36Cassian had clearly heard the commotion.
08:39Cassian, don't go.
08:41I'm scared.
08:42Please.
08:43That single heartbeat of hesitation cost me.
08:45A blade sliced across my arm.
08:47The burn of silver ripped through me so sharply that my wolf howled.
08:52I looked at Cassian as he kept Serafina shielded behind him.
08:55And I almost laughed.
08:57What had I expected from him?
09:01I thought I had changed the fate that destroyed me in my last life.
09:04But in the end,
09:06I still could not escape death.
09:07Silver burned through my veins.
09:09Every breath came out broken.
09:11I tried to move,
09:12but my body would not listen.
09:15The assassin closed in.
09:18His blade was raised.
09:21I squeezed my eyes shut in despair.
09:23I forced my eyes open.
09:25And I saw Roran standing in front of me.
09:28A curling rip of water hovered at his fingertips.
09:31With a single flick of his hand,
09:32the water lashed out.
09:34The assassin's blade flew across the garden.
09:40Magnus's tiger tore through the trees.
09:43He and Tobias charged in behind Roran.
09:45Within moments,
09:46every attacker was pinned.
09:48Realizing they had failed,
09:49the masked men yanked daggers across their own throats.
09:52Their blood sprayed across me.
09:54I lay on the grass,
09:55barely breathing.
09:56Roran lifted me into his arms.
09:58He ordered the guards to fetch the healer.
10:00Fetch the healer!
10:01Now!
10:02Cassian was still shielding Serafina with one arm.
10:04But his eyes were on me,
10:06dark with guilt.
10:07In my last life,
10:07I had forced him into a bond he hated.
10:10From now on,
10:10I owed him nothing.
10:11Word reached my father swiftly.
10:13He ordered a full investigation.
10:15The Thorn family was too powerful to touch directly.
10:17But my father's fury demanded a target.
10:20Serafina was placed under house arrest.
10:26That night,
10:27Cassian stormed into my chambers.
10:30His face was dark with anger.
10:32He pointed at me.
10:33Leora,
10:34this has nothing to do with Serafina.
10:36Why would you do this to her?
10:38This is petty revenge!
10:39To Cassian,
10:40I was only taking revenge on Serafina out of jealousy.
10:43He had no idea.
10:44I already knew the Ashfords
10:46had been eyeing the throne for years.
10:48I stared at him.
10:49My voice was ice cold.
10:51Cassian,
10:52do you understand that today I almost died?
10:55He brushed it off.
10:56But you didn't, did you?
10:58You are a princess.
11:00You have an army of people to save you.
11:02Serafina has no one but me.
11:04And you saw what happened today.
11:06She was almost killed by those assassins too.
11:08She is the victim here.
11:10Go to your father.
11:11Beg him to lift her house arrest.
11:14Pain pulsed through the wound on my arm.
11:16I kept my voice flat.
11:17No.
11:18When he saw my refusal,
11:19his chest heaved with rage.
11:21And you call yourself a princess?
11:23You can't even tell right from wrong.
11:26This is unforgivable.
11:27He turned and stormed out of the room.
11:30Cassian did not return to the palace for two days.
11:32It was not until the third day that he finally came back.
11:35That was the day the mating decree would be announced.
11:37My father took my marriage seriously enough to throw a great feast for it.
11:42By the time I arrived,
11:43Cassian was already seated at his place.
11:45The moment our eyes met,
11:47he turned his face away.
11:48The hall buzzed with whispers.
11:50Nobles leaned toward each other across the long tables.
11:53Hey, who do you think the princess will choose as her husband?
11:57Need you ask?
11:58It'll be Cassian Thorns, of course.
12:00Everyone knows the princess has been mad for him for years.
12:03I heard the Thorn family has already prepared his dowry.
12:06Though Magnus isn't a bad pick either.
12:08He grew up with the princess.
12:09And a marriage would bind the Tiger Clan and the royal family twice over.
12:14Tobias Vale wouldn't be a bad match either.
12:16A chillier voice cut through.
12:18Anyone but Ronan Blackwood.
12:20Why?
12:20Ronan spends his nights drinking and chasing skirts.
12:24He's the most reckless, most useless of the four lords.
12:27The princess would never settle for someone like him.
12:30The words drifted into Cassian's ears.
12:32His fists curled tight at his sides.
12:34Magnus and Tobias acted as if none of it concerned them.
12:38They sipped their wine in peace.
12:39Roran seemed lost in some thought of his own.
12:42When the feast began, a troupe of dancers swept into the hall.
12:45I caught sight of Serafina among them.
12:47My eyes widened.
12:48Wasn't she meant to be locked away?
12:50I glanced at Cassian without thinking.
12:52His gaze was fixed on her.
12:54I understood at once.
12:55He had pulled some string to have her freed early.
12:57Serafina caught my stare.
12:59Her lips curled into a smug little smile.
13:01I looked away.
13:02When the dance ended, my father beckoned me forward.
13:05Liora, this is the most important day of your life.
13:09The decree is yours to read.
13:11I took the scroll in my hands and felt a single burning gaze fix itself on my back.
13:17Cassian.
13:17I let myself smile at him.
13:19His whole body went rigid.
13:21Satisfied, I lowered my eyes to the scroll.
13:23By the will of the Lycan throne and the blood of the four sacred clans, let it be known.
13:28Rogan Blackwood, heir of the Myr clan, is hereby chosen as husband to Princess Lyora
13:34Nightcloth.
13:35The mating shall be sealed on a day soon decreed.
13:38So it is written.
13:40So it shall be.
13:41The hall fell silent.
13:43Magnus was the first to react.
13:44He stared at me in disbelief.
13:46Princess, did you read it wrong?
13:47Are you sure it says Ronan, not Cassian?
13:49Others quickly joined in.
13:50This cannot be right.
13:52How could the princess choose Roran?
13:54There must be some mistake.
13:56Everyone looked confused.
13:57No one wanted to believe it.
13:59I nodded and handed the decree to Roran.
14:01There is no mistake.
14:02It is him.
14:03Roran looked at me.
14:04My heart sank.
14:05You do not want this.
14:07Roran lowered his head and held out both hands.
14:10Rowan Blackwood receives the decree.
14:12I finally let out the breath I had been holding.
14:15Then I looked up and met Cassian's eyes.
14:17His face had gone pale.
14:18He stared at me as if he could not believe what he was seeing.
14:21He did not even react when Serafina nudged him.
14:24I watched him quietly.
14:25In my last life, I chose him.
14:27And he hated me for it.
14:29In this life, I did not choose him.
14:31And he looked even more shaken.
14:33By then, I had already given up trying to understand him.
14:36So I looked away.
14:37And I did not look at him again.
14:39Magnus snatched the decree from Roran's hands.
14:41He looked at it and laughed.
14:42It really is, Rowan.
14:43Well done.
14:44I always thought it would be Cassia.
14:46Then he looked between us.
14:47Tell us, when did you and the princess fall for each other?
14:50Roran only shrugged.
14:51Then he looked at me.
14:52For the rest of the feast, Cassian stayed quiet.
14:55The moment I stood up to leave, he shoved Serafina's hand off his arm and came after me.
14:59His voice was rough, almost accusing.
15:03Why, Rowan?
15:04I looked at him mockingly.
15:05Who else should it have been?
15:07He opened his mouth.
15:08I...
15:09Then closed it again.
15:10For a long moment, he said nothing.
15:12I remember what you told me.
15:13You said your heart already belonged to someone else.
15:16You told me not to force you.
15:18I gave you exactly what you wanted.
15:21So shouldn't you be relieved?
15:22He should have been.
15:23That was what he had wanted in my last life.
15:25So why did he look as if he had just lost something important?
15:29Then he finally said it.
15:30He is not worthy of you.
15:32I beg you.
15:34Reconsider.
15:34I let out a soft, cold laugh.
15:37If I chose him, then he is worthy.
15:39He stiffened.
15:41But you do not even know him.
15:43Marrying him will be the worst mistake of your life.
15:45My answer was simple.
15:47It will not.
15:47The moment I chose Rowan, I had already accepted everything that might come after.
15:52Whether it was good or bad, I would bear it.
15:54Then I turned and walked away.
15:56Cassian was left standing there alone.
15:58The date for our meeting ceremony was set.
16:01Three weeks later, I would marry Rowan.
16:03That afternoon, Rowan asked me to slip out of the palace with him.
16:06Are you truly willing to take me as your husband, princess?
16:09I nodded.
16:11Of course.
16:13No regrets?
16:14I frowned.
16:15My choice had shocked almost everyone in the kingdom.
16:18Half of them were waiting for me to change my mind.
16:20And clearly, Rowan was no exception.
16:23Why do you keep asking?
16:25Rowan smiled.
16:26I understood what he meant.
16:27Surely you have heard the rumors about me, princess.
16:30You do not have to worry.
16:32My father told me everything.
16:34I know it is not what it looks like.
16:36Everyone thought Rowan was a drunk.
16:38A man who chased women.
16:40The laziest and most useless one among the four lords.
16:43But that was only a mask.
16:45Under that mask, he had been gathering intelligence for my father for years.
16:49He was my father's hidden blade.
16:51Rowan raised an eyebrow.
16:52He clearly had not expected me to know.
16:54There is one more thing I want to ask, princess, if you would indulge me.
16:58Go on.
17:01His gaze locked onto mine.
17:05Why me?
17:06I hesitated.
17:07When I saw how serious he was, I finally gave in.
17:10I no longer want a husband whose heart already belongs to another woman.
17:13Rowan's eyes flickered.
17:15I looked away.
17:17And you, at least, look as if you belong to no one.
17:20Rowan froze for a moment.
17:22Then he laughed.
17:23Trust me, princess.
17:24From this day on, my heart belongs to you alone.
17:26I will never let you regret choosing me.
17:28I looked at him.
17:30Somehow, I believed him.
17:31Rowan and I had grown up in the same court, but all my attention had always been on Cassian.
17:36In my last life, I never talked with him openly.
17:39I could not deny it.
17:40Being near him felt easy.
17:42So when he asked me to walk through the city with him, I did not refuse.
17:45We had not gone far before I saw two familiar figures.
17:49Cassian frowned hard.
17:50What are you two doing here?
17:52Rowan glanced at him and Serafina.
17:54Then his mouth curved.
17:56You and Serafina can walk around together.
17:59But my future mate and I cannot even spend an afternoon getting to know each other?
18:03Serafina and I are not what you think.
18:05I looked at him in surprise.
18:06This was the first time he had ever denied anything between them.
18:10Shock flashed across Serafina's face, but Cassian did not even look at her.
18:14A guard slipped up behind Rowan.
18:16He murmured something low and urgent in his ear.
18:18Rowan looked at me.
18:19He clearly wanted to escort me back to the palace himself, but I waved him off.
18:23I can return to the palace myself.
18:25I knew he was investigating the assassination attempt, and I had no intention of delaying him.
18:30Rowan looked back once.
18:31Then he followed his men away.
18:32I was just about to step into the carriage when Cassian rushed forward and blocked my way.
18:38Cassian stood in front of my carriage.
18:40Princess, are you really going to marry Rowan?
18:42I lifted my eyes and gave him an impatient look.
18:45What else would I do?
18:46The whole palace was already preparing for the ceremony.
18:49Cassian's eyes flashed with panic.
18:52This is the rest of your life.
18:53If you regret it, there is still time.
18:55I stared at him.
18:56Why would I regret it?
18:58Cassian had no answer.
18:59When he stayed silent, I turned to leave.
19:02Then he shouted at my back.
19:04You said you loved me!
19:06Why are you marrying someone else?
19:09My servants, for a moment, I almost laughed.
19:12He had never loved me.
19:14He had even killed me for another woman.
19:16And now he was asking why I would marry someone else?
19:19I turned back and looked at him coldly.
19:22Cassian, you were the one who told me to leave you alone.
19:25I have done exactly that.
19:27Why are you still hounding me?
19:29His eyes flickered.
19:31It does not matter what you mean.
19:33In two weeks, I will be mated.
19:36Stay far away from me.
19:39But Cassian did not let it go.
19:41He started appearing wherever I was.
19:43He went out of his way to please me, as if a few late gestures could erase everything he had
19:48done.
19:48I ignored all of it.
19:50Then one afternoon, Magnus came tearing across the courtyard.
19:53He dragged me toward the training grounds.
19:55Roran and Cassian were fightable.
19:57No one knew why.
19:58By the time we pulled them apart, Cassian's face was covered in bruises and blood,
20:02even when the woman had taken his share of his.
20:15What are you doing?
20:16Who knows?
20:17He just snapped and demanded a fight.
20:20Cassian would not lift his head.
20:21The mating ceremony was ten days away.
20:24I would not let Roran walk into it with a battered face.
20:27Take him away and treat his wounds.
20:29And I did not spare Cassian a single glance.
20:31That evening, the royal seamstresses delivered my mating gown.
20:35I had just put it on when Cassian stormed in.
20:37For one moment, his eyes burned.
20:40I looked at him coldly.
20:41What do you want?
20:41Cassian pulled his gaze away.
20:43Then he dropped to one me.
20:45Princess, I was wrong.
20:47I frowned.
20:47I did not understand.
20:49Wrong about what?
20:50Princess, break this engagement with Roranion.
20:53Mate me instead.
20:54I could not believe what I was hearing.
20:56Cassian, do you have any idea what you are saying?
21:00Princess, I was a fool.
21:02I could not bear to admit I wanted you.
21:04I was afraid of being chained.
21:07I was afraid the kingdom would mock me as a man who climbed up through a woman.
21:11But the moment I learned you were going to mate Roranion, I remembered what I lost.
21:16I could not do it.
21:17I could not watch another man take you.
21:19I knew he was telling the truth.
21:21He had hated being bound to me.
21:23He had hated what the kingdom would say.
21:24But every choice he made had still been for himself.
21:27And I had paid my life for all of it.
21:29I looked at him calmly.
21:31Cassian, you know the word of a Lycan ruler is final.
21:34His eyes lit up.
21:35Princess, your father loves you.
21:38He would give you anything, one word from you, and he would let you mate me instead.
21:43I shook my head.
21:44It is too late.
21:45The smile froze on his face.
21:47Princess, what do you mean?
21:50I let out a soft, scornful breath.
21:53After everything you put me through, what makes you think I still love you?
21:56Cassian went pale.
21:57I know I was a bastard, but I swear I'll be good to you from now on.
22:01Just give me a chance to make it right.
22:03Enough.
22:04Get out.
22:05My patience was long gone.
22:06My engagement with Rohan is sealed.
22:09No one and nothing is going to change that.
22:11No, princess.
22:13You cannot do this.
22:14Roranion is not worthy of you.
22:17Tell me what you were here to me.
22:19Do not throw your life away because of what I did before.
22:23Roran was not worthy, and Cassian was.
22:26The man who had once held me down while silver pierced my heart, I had run out of words to
22:31waste on him.
22:32So I had my guards drag him out.
22:34In the days that followed, Cassian came begging at my door again and again.
22:38I refused him every time.
22:40Until Magnus' birthday arrived.
22:42His invitation came with it.
22:44I could reject Cassian, but I couldn't reject Magnus.
22:47The moment I arrived, Cassian was already at my side.
22:51To get away from him, I slipped off into the back gardens.
22:54Serafina came striding toward me, and I rolled my eyes and turned to leave.
22:58Princess, you're about to be mated.
23:00Why is Cassian still circling around you?
23:03Aren't you afraid the whole kingdom will condemn you?
23:06She used to flinch from you like prey before a predator.
23:09Now she stood there questioning me, and I had no idea where she had found the nerve.
23:13My voice dropped low.
23:15Are you questioning me?
23:16Princess or not, you don't get to steal someone else's man.
23:20Steal someone else's man?
23:21I almost laughed.
23:22Whether in my last life or this one, I had known Cassian first.
23:26Back then, Serafina had still been hiding behind her mother's skirts.
23:29Now she had the nerve to call me a thief?
23:31I did not want to waste my breath on her.
23:33Then her face changed.
23:34No, princess, please!
23:36I can't swim!
23:37Before I could react, her hands slammed into my back.
23:40I lost my balance and fell straight off the bank into the lake.
23:43The water swallowed me whole, and the cold tore the breath from my lungs.
23:47Serafina thrashed and screamed beside me.
23:50Cassian!
23:51Save me!
23:52I can't swim!
23:53The memory of drowning at seven came rushing back.
23:56I tried to claw my way to the surface, but only choked on a mouthful of black water.
24:00Through the haze, I saw Roran cut through the surface in a single leap.
24:04The lake parted around him as he carved a path straight to me.
24:08Cassian only hesitated for a heartbeat before he plunged in, too.
24:11To my shock, he did not go for Serafina.
24:14He fought through the water toward me.
24:16Magnus was on the bank, his voice cracking with panic.
24:19Cassian, you idiot!
24:20You can't swim!
24:21What are you doing?
24:22I went still.
24:23What did he just say?
24:24Cassian could not swim?
24:26I forced my eyes wide and turned my face toward him.
24:29Sure enough, he was thrashing and sinking.
24:31A heartbeat later, Roran's arms were around me.
24:34He pulled me up to the surface and out onto the bank.
24:37I lay there gasping, watching as the warriors hauled Cassian and Serafina out of the water.
24:42A storm of questions tore through my head.
24:44If Cassian could not swim, then who had saved me when I was seven?
24:48I remembered it clearly.
24:49A small body jumped into the lake.
24:51A pair of arms pulled me out.
24:53When I woke, Cassian was beside me.
24:55I was the king's only daughter.
24:57If my father had known I had almost drowned, the servants on duty would have been punished,
25:01so I never told anyone.
25:02For all these years, I thought Cassian had saved me.
25:05Now I knew.
25:06I had been wrong from the beginning.
25:08The Ashford family had turned traitor.
25:10In my last life, they had not needed open rebellion.
25:13Cassian had already handed them my death.
25:15But this time, Cassian kept circling back to me.
25:18And Roran had been investigating them since the assassination attempt.
25:21They had run out of patience, so they chose force.
25:24The Ashfords carried the purest wolf bloodline beneath the lichen line itself.
25:29And they had never accepted a woman taking the throne.
25:31They had been plotting to seize a Loria for themselves all along.
25:35Even the masked killers at the moon ceremony had been theirs.
25:38What they didn't know was that my father and Roran had prepared for this.
25:42My father had already contacted the other three clans.
25:45Fox, Tiger, and Mare warriors were hidden behind the inner walls,
25:49waiting for the Ashfords to break in.
25:51Warriors from three clans wait in the shadows, weapons ready.
25:54When Serafina watched her father and brothers cut down one by one,
25:58something in her snapped.
25:59Serafina's face twists with madness and despair.
26:03She rushed at me with a blade.
26:04Before she could reach me, Cassian laughed.
26:06He cut her throat.
26:07I stared at him in shock.
26:09His family had joined the rebellion too.
26:11So why was he saving me now?
26:12I had no idea how much he had heard.
26:15For a moment, I could only stare at him.
26:17I threw myself into his arms.
26:19Why didn't you tell me it was you?
26:20Roran wrapped his arms around me.
26:22He let out a long...
26:23If I had known you fell in love with him over that,
26:25I would have told you the truth the very next day.
26:27His arms tightened around me.
26:29We came too close to losing each other.
26:30A shudder ran through me at the thought.
26:32Thank the moon goddess.
26:33This time, I had finally chosen the right man.
26:35I wanted to drag Serafina out and make her pay for pushing me into the lake.
26:39But she had vanished.
26:40Every search party came back empty.
26:43Three days later, on the day of my mating ceremony with Roran, I learned why.
26:46She came back at the head of an army and smashed through the palace gates.
26:51The moment Cassian woke, I went to him.
26:53Who saved me that day?
26:55Cassian's whole body went rigid.
26:57He turned his face away and refused to look at me.
27:00Cassian's jaw tightens, his face pale with guilt.
27:03Princess, what are you talking about?
27:04I don't understand.
27:05My eyes darkened.
27:07Don't lie to me.
27:08You can't even swim.
27:09It wasn't you who pulled me out of that lake.
27:11Cassian pressed his lips together.
27:12For a long, long time, he said nothing.
27:15Cassian lowers his eyes, trapped in silence.
27:19I stamped my foot.
27:20Frustration boiled over.
27:21Tell me, who was it?
27:24He fell silent again.
27:25Just when I thought he would not speak at all, a name slipped from his lips, soft as a breath.
27:30Rogan.
27:31My whole body jolted.
27:32A bitter, self-mocking smile crossed Cassian's face.
27:36After Rayan pulled you out, he ran to find the healer.
27:39By the time you woke, I was the only one there, and you assumed it was me.
27:42His voice went hoarse.
27:43I was a fool.
27:44I let you believe it.
27:46I'm sorry.
27:47I stared at him, dazed.
27:49I had never imagined that the boy who saved me had been Roran.
27:52I did not catch what Cassian said next.
27:54All I wanted was to find Roran and tell him I knew.
27:58I yanked the door open.
28:00Roran was standing right outside.
28:01Roran stands quietly in the doorway, his eyes fixed on Leora.
28:05I learned the rest of the truth later.
28:08Cassian had given my father the Ashford's attack plans before the rebellion.
28:11Because of that, my father set the trap in advance.
28:14Cassian's information saved the Thorn family from execution.
28:18Still, they were stripped of their titles, driven out of Eloria and exiled to the Blackstone Wastes,
28:24a frozen borderland where even wolves struggled to survive.
28:27Cassian left with them.
28:29Before he left, he came to see me one last time.
28:32You came back too, didn't you?
28:34I said nothing.
28:35His face turned white.
28:36Cassian understands the answer from her silence.
28:38After a long silence, he said,
28:40In the last life, Serafina told me the silver was only for show.
28:44She said they only needed you to look dead until the throne was theirs.
28:47His voice went hoarse.
28:49I didn't know they meant to truly kill you.
28:50My fingers tightened around the edge of my sleeve.
28:53Too late.
28:54Whether he knew or not, he had still held me down.
28:57The hope in Cassian's eyes faded.
29:00He lowered his head and left with the thorns.
29:02I stood on the palace ramparts and watched the thorns leave Eloria.
29:06They were driven through the outer gates in chains.
29:09Border warriors escorted them toward the frozen wastelands.
29:12The exiled thorns disappear beyond the outer gates.
29:15Roran stepped to my side and drew me into his arms.
29:18He held me quietly.
29:20A moon later, my father passed.
29:22I was crowned.
29:23I became the first queen in the kingdom's history.
29:26With Roran at my side,
29:27our kingdom's name traveled to lands we had never even mapped.
29:30And our people slept easily beneath a peaceful moon.
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