She Was Thrown to the Floor Until the King Saw Her Neck

Chapter 5: The Crown of the Dawn

Elara and Celeste escaped through the old prayer passage behind the throne room, guided by Marta and two loyal guards. Behind them, the palace thundered with fighting. Dorian had moved too soon, but he had moved boldly. If the king died before dawn, he meant to declare Celeste unfit and seize power through the council.

Except now Celeste stood beside Elara.

Not as a friend.

Not yet.

But no longer as an enemy.

In the hidden chapel beneath the palace, Marta revealed the final secret the old queen had left behind. The ancient crown above the throne was not only a symbol. Inside its frame was a sealed decree naming Princess Helena's bloodline as the rightful succession in any time of dispute. Only the one bearing the red sun mark could open it.

That was why Dorian feared Elara.

He had not just hidden a child.

He had hidden the law.

When the first light of dawn reached the stained-glass chapel, Elara returned to the throne room with Celeste at her side. The loyal guards had regained control of the palace gates. Dorian stood before the council in bloodstained black, ready to announce the king's death.

But the king was not dead.

Weak, pale, and supported by two attendants, he rose from his chair as Elara entered.

The hall fell silent.

Elara walked to the throne carrying the ancient crown. She touched the hidden clasp beneath the red stone, and the sealed decree dropped into her hands.

Marta read it aloud.

Every word destroyed Dorian.

He tried to deny it, then to flee, but Celeste herself ordered his arrest.

"This man stole my sister's life," she said. "And nearly stole my grandfather's kingdom."

Dorian was taken away in chains.

The council bowed.

Not to Celeste.

To Elara.

But Elara did not reach for the throne immediately. Instead, she turned to Celeste.

"I was raised with nothing," she said. "You were raised to rule. I do not know this world yet."

Celeste stared at her, uncertain.

Elara continued, "If there is to be peace, we build it together."

The king began to weep openly.

Months later, the kingdom crowned Elara as heir of the dawn line, with Celeste as her first royal counselor. People said it was the first time in generations that two royal sisters had stood side by side without tearing the kingdom apart.

On the day Elara was publicly presented, she wore no jewels at first.

Only a simple dress and the red mark at her throat uncovered.

So everyone would remember what had nearly been destroyed.