Love's Unexpected Awakening Elowen's Choice novel Chapter 493

Even without the slightest appetite, Elowen still forced herself to pick up her fork, steadying her breathing as she recalled Cassian's words before he left, as though holding onto that memory alone might keep her from unraveling.

Just as she was about to take a bite, a voice broke sharply from outside.

"Your Grace!"

Anson's tone was tight, urgent in a way that immediately felt wrong, so unlike his usual measured composure that it sent a sudden chill through her chest before she even turned her head.

By the time she looked toward the doorway, he had already reached the entrance, breath slightly uneven as he spoke. "The royal decree regarding His Grace has been issued."

For a brief moment, Elowen didn't react, as if the words hadn't fully settled.

Then the fork slipped from her hand, striking the table with a soft but unmistakable sound.

She rose immediately, the movement too quick to be entirely steady. "What does it say? What happened to His Grace?"

"I haven't heard the full decree yet," Anson replied without pause. "Lord Jett is already at the gates, and the procession is prepared. They'll be inside at any moment to announce it."

Her heart tightened.

"And His Grace?" she pressed, her voice lower now, edged with something harder to hide. "Is he still being held at court?"

She feared that more than anything, that judgment had already been passed while he remained beyond her reach.

Anson was about to answer when the sound of approaching footsteps carried in from the courtyard, firm and deliberate, leaving no time for anything further.

Elowen didn't wait.

She gathered her skirts and moved quickly toward the entrance, her pulse rising with every step as the flickering light from iron sconces along the corridor cast long, shifting shadows across the stone.

Through the archway ahead, a procession was already entering.

Quin led at the front, composed and formal, holding the rolled decree in both hands, its golden binding catching the light.

And beside him was Cassian.

The moment her eyes found him, everything else seemed to fall away.

He looked unchanged, dressed simply as he had been when he left, his posture straight, his stride unhurried, his expression carrying that same distant calm that never seemed to break.

Then he looked at her.

Their eyes met.

The reaction came faster than she could stop it, a sharp sting behind her eyes as her vision blurred.

She had held herself together this entire time, keeping her thoughts clear, her decisions steady, never allowing anything to show in front of others.

But now...

He's back. He's safe.

The fragile balance she had maintained gave way all at once, something softer and far more vulnerable breaking through.

Cassian saw it immediately.

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