Love's Unexpected Awakening Elowen's Choice novel Chapter 835

Chapter 835 Sacrificial Shield

Malkor narrowed his eyes.

Flowira pressed on. “Advance another step toward the altar, and I’ll end him!”

Ronan felt the cold blade pressed against his neck yet refrained from struggling, confident Malkor would save him since he valued his lineage above all and swore he was his sole heir.

Mountain winds whipped black battle flags as Malkor stared at Ronan in prolonged silence.

Flowira pressed the dagger slightly deeper, drawing a thin line of blood on Ronan’s neck.

“Withdraw your forces!” she barked, “Or I’ll end House Harrow’s bloodline right now!”

Malkor’s face turned stern, but his eyes drifted past Ronan to rest on Thomas beside Elowen-Aguna’s legitimate son carrying the purest Harrow blood-whom he refused to give up even though he’d betrayed him, believing he could tame him once recaptured.

Hesitation evaporated from Malkor’s gaze as he declared, “Ronan, you are a son of House Harrow, and a Harrow man never surrenders as a woman’s hostage.”

The certainty on Ronan’s face froze while Flowira gasped in surprise.

Raising his curved blade toward Thomas, Malkor commanded coldly, “Reclaim Thomas! Execute Elowen!”

Color drained from Ronan’s face, “Father…”

Ignoring him, a general beside Malkor hesitated, “My Lord, Heir Ronan is still on the altar-if we loose arrows…”

Malkor cut him off harshly, “I said, loose arrows!”

Dreading further wrath, the archers formed ranks and drew their bows, arrowheads gleaming cold in the firelight.

Ronan stared blankly at Malkor standing below the mountain path. How could he not understand now? Between a legitimate son born to a wedded wife and a b*stard, Malkor had made his choice regarding who mattered more.

So-called fatherly affection was built entirely on being “the sole option.” Once he was no longer the only one, he became nothing at all.

Ronan suddenly felt an overwhelming sense of irony. For Malkor’s sake, he had abandoned Flowira. To claim the title of the Archduke’s heir, he had feigned amnesia, pushing away the girl who loved him most.

He believed he had chosen power, a father, and a future that no one could ever strip away. Yet now, Flowira no longer wanted him, and his father had cast him aside as well.

Everything he had painstakingly pursued crumbled into absolute nothingness in a matter of a few short days.

“Loose arrows!” Malkor barked the order sternly.

hapter 835 Sacrificial Shield

A shower of arrows surged into the sky all at once.

Anson’s expression shifted violently as he shouted, “Get down!”

Flowira instinctively yanked Ronan backward. Surrounding guards surged forward, raising their shields to intercept the volley. Arrows slammed against the wooden shields in a dense clattering metallic shower, Yet the altar was already plunged into chaos by the spreading flames, leaving very few guards able to raise their shields in time.

A stray arrow slipped through a narrow gap between the shields, flying straight toward Flowra, who was turning her head back toward Elowen’s direction, completely oblivious to the cold gleam closing in behind

her.

Yet Ronan caught sight of it. In that split second, time seemed to grind to a halt.

He saw the arrowhead aimed right at Flowira’s back, and saw her side profile illuminated by the flickering firelight.

His mind flashed back to many years ago, when the very first snow fell upon Kingsport. Flowira stood outside the palace gates, holding a warm sack of roasted chestnuts, running toward him with a bright smile.

She had said, “Ronan, why are you waiting for me here again?”

Back then, he hadn’t even dared to look her in the eye, merely lowering his voice to say, “Careful, Your Highness, the snowy path is slippery.”

Later on, she told him that once they were married, he was forbidden from calling her “Your Highness” and had to call her Flo instead. He had believed he would have endless opportunities throughout his life to call her by that name.

But in the end, he had destroyed every single one of those chances with his own hands.

His body reacted faster than his mind. Ronan violently wrenched his hand free from Flowira’s grip, whirling around to wrap her tightly into his arms. The arrowhead pierced deep into flesh with a dull, sickening thud.

Flowira’s body went rigid. She heard a muffled groan escape Ronan’s throat as his weight slumped heavily against her.

Flowira instinctively reached out to brace him. Only then did she see clearly that a long arrow had driven deep into his back, its tip protruding through his chest, fresh blood rapidly soaking his robes red.

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