Chapter 10 - THE KING WHO CHOSE LOVERen opened her eyes.

Everything was white.

No palace.

No battlefield.

No blood.

She stood in a field covered in white roses.

Her mother was waiting.

“Am I dead?”

“No.”

“Then where am I?”

“Inside your own blood.”

Ren frowned.

Her mother smiled.

“The power was never inside the Heart.”

She touched Ren's chest.

“It was inside your choice.”

Ren looked behind her.

Draven stood at the edge of the field.

He was wounded.

Blood covered his armor.

But he was alive.

“Draven?”

Her mother nodded.

“You have to choose.”

“Choose what?”

“Power or love.”

Ren stared.

“What happens if I choose love?”

“You lose the throne.”

“And the kingdom?”

“You lose the ancient power.”

“But everyone lives?”

Her mother smiled.

“Perhaps.”

“Perhaps?”

“Nothing is guaranteed.”

Ren looked at Draven.

He said nothing.

He simply held out his hand.

She walked toward him.

“I'm choosing you.”

The field disappeared.

Ren woke in Draven's arms.

The final battlefield stood around them.

The ancient king towered above the palace.

But his expression had changed.

Fear.

Draven slowly stood.

Ren stood beside him.

The ancient king roared.

“You would surrender eternal power?”

Draven answered,

“Yes.”

“You would give up the throne?”

“Yes.”

“Why?”

Draven looked at Ren.

“Because for the first time in my life, I know what I want.”

Ren stepped forward.

“The kingdom doesn't need another king who demands obedience.”

She raised her hand.

“It needs someone who chooses people before power.”

The ancient king attacked.

Draven blocked.

Ren joined him.

Their bond erupted.

Not as a weapon.

Not as a chain.

As light.

The ancient king screamed.

The dead soldiers stopped moving.

One by one, they fell silent.

The black wings disintegrated.

The crown shattered.

The ancient king dropped to his knees.

“No.”

Ren stood before him.

“You lost.”

He looked at her.

“You are the heir.”

Ren shook her head.

“No.”

She turned toward the kingdom.

“I am not what you want me to be.”

The ancient king whispered,

“Then what are you?”

Ren smiled.

“Free.”

The light exploded.

The ancient king vanished.

The battlefield became still.

Then the sun rose.

For the first time in twenty years, dawn touched Blackwood without smoke.

The war was over.

Months passed.

The kingdom changed.

The council was rebuilt.

Baron Silas was imprisoned.

The Hollow Court collapsed.

Karine disappeared from court after revealing the names of every noble who had worked with Vesper.

Captain Hale became commander of the royal guard.

Alaric survived.

But he resigned the throne he had once tried to control.

Draven remained king.

Not because of blood.

Because the people chose him.

Ren was not crowned queen.

She refused.

Instead, she became the Keeper of Vael, rebuilding the ancient alliance between the northern clans.

And the palace changed too.

No more whispered rumors.

No more laughter when Draven entered a room.

No more people calling him a monster.

One evening, Ren found him in the garden.

He stood beneath the old white roses.

She walked toward him.

“You're hiding.”

“I am thinking.”

“That's dangerous.”

He smiled.

She took his hand.

For a moment, they said nothing.

Then Ren asked,

“Do you still think you're too much?”

Draven looked at her.

“No.”

“Why?”

He pulled her closer.

“Because you never asked me to become less.”

Ren smiled.

“I never wanted less.”

“Good.”

He kissed her forehead.

Then the palace bells rang.

Draven sighed.

“Again?”

A young messenger ran across the garden.

“Your Majesty!”

Draven turned.

“What happened?”

The boy held out a sealed letter.

“The southern kingdom sent this.”

Draven opened it.

His expression changed.

Ren stepped closer.

“What is it?”

He handed her the letter.

Only one sentence was written inside.

THE LAST DRAGON HAS AWAKENED.

Ren looked at him.

Draven looked at her.

Then he smiled.

“So much for peace.”

Ren laughed.

“You sound disappointed.”

“Not at all.”

He reached for his sword.

“But I was hoping for at least one quiet year.”

The palace bells continued to ring.

Beyond the mountains, thunder rolled.

Something enormous moved across the clouds.

A shadow with wings.

Then a dragon's roar shook the northern kingdom.

Ren looked toward the horizon.

Draven tightened his grip around her hand.

The Weapon of Blackwood had survived war.

He had survived betrayal.

He had survived twenty-three rejections.

And he had finally found the one person who never asked him to become smaller.

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