Hearts of Gold but Forbidden to Love

Previously

…The city, though still bearing the scars of the plague, felt different. The air was cleaner, the oppressive fear lessened. We had brought proof, not just of Valerius’s treachery, but of the power that could heal, not destroy. The path ahead would be fraught with challenges, with the Queen’s fear and the court’s resistance, but for the first time, I felt a flicker of true hope. And beside me, Kael, the captain who had dared to see beyond the shadows, stood ready to face it all. Our hearts, though bound by forbidden love, were now also bound by a shared fight for the kingdom’s soul.