<b>CHAPTER </b><b>93 </b>


    <b>Lyra </b><b>POV </b>


    The moment I stepped through the portal, I felt it–this was home.


    I emerged in the same spot where I had vanished into the other realm, and I didn’t need to think twice about where to go. I knew the way back to the castle like the back of my hand.


    I started running, my pace slower than I remembered because of the weight of my swollen stomach, but I didn’t care. That uneasy, gut–wrenching feeling in my chest was getting stronger by the second, and it pushed me to move faster, harder.


    Elias was in trouble. I could feel it.


    When I finally reached the castle, I saw the wolves racing into the forest for their pack run, but Elias wasn’t with them. He was still here. I followed the pull of his scent and the dread flooding my chest, rounding the corner to the patio–just in time to see him standing on the edge, ready to jump.


    I didn’t think, I just moved. Iunched myself through the air and tackled him backward, both of us crashing painfully onto the stone floor. It wasn’t a softnding, and I winced as I hit the ground.


    For a moment, I couldn’t move, just gasping for air. Then I heard Elias stand, heard his


    shocked intake of breath.


    I pushed myself up, meeting his eyes. All the color drained from his face as he stared at me


    like I was a hallucination.


    Neither of us knew what to say.


    Later, back in our bedroom, it still felt the same–awkward silence, but not because we didn’t want to talk. We just didn’t know where to start. All we knew, deep down, was that we couldn’t ever let something like this happen again. Neither of us could survive it.


    I’d held myself together while I was gone because I believed I’d make it back to him. But Elias … he hadn’t had that assurance. He had been living in this world without me for over two months, thinking I was dead. I’d only been without him for a week. Seeing him standing on that patio had terrified me because I knew–<i>I </i>knew–If I had been even a few minutester, <b>I </b>would’ve lost him forever.


    The next morning, I woke up in my own bed, wrapped in Elias’s arms. It was like a dreame true. For both of us.


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    Wey there quietly, simply savoring each other’s presence, until someone started pounding on the door.


    “That’ll be Luke,” Elias muttered.


    I nced at him and smiled softly before slipping out of bed. I padded to the door and yanked it open in one quick motion. Luke stood there, mid–knock, his eyes widening as he registered who was standing in front of him.


    “Hey, Luke… what’s the matter? You look like you’ve just seen a ghost,” I teased.


    Elias startedughing behind me.


    “What the <i>f</i>**k?” Luke blurted out, staring at me in disbelief.


    “She found her way backst night,” Elias said as he walked up behind me, wrapping his arms around my waist.


    “Queen Lyra… I don’t believe it. You’re actually here,” Luke said, his voice full of awe.


    “You want to hug me, don’t you?” I asked, grinning.


    “I’m allowed to. I have a mate now,<i>” </i>he said, gesturing to the woman standing next to him.


    “Alright, I’m going to want to hear all about <i>that</i><i>,</i><i>” </i>I said with a raised brow.


    “Absolutely,” Luke said as he leaned forward and hugged me tightly.


    “I think we should go downstairs and let everyone else see that I’m back,” I said.


    “Yeah,” Elias agreed. “I suppose it’s time. I can’t keep you all to myself any longer.”


    Luke stepped back, eyeing me more closely. “One question. Are you… pregnant?”


    I couldn’t help butugh. “Yeah,” I said.


    “Wow,” he muttered, shaking his head. “This is just getting weirder and weirder.”


    Elias and I headed down the stairs, and by then all the significant people in our lives had already been summoned to the castle. They were waiting together in one of the living rooms, gathered there before I made my appearance.


    They all stood frozen for what felt like forever, just staring at me, before the room erupted with shouting, tears, and embraces. Everyone was overwhelmed with happiness to have me back. I honestly hadn’t believed that I would be missed to this extent, but it turned out I was wrong. And I was so thankful to be proven wrong.


    :


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    Stephanie was thest to arrive, and she dashed straight toward me, wrapping her arms around me so tightly that she refused to let go. She kept telling me how much she had missed me and how much we needed to catch up on. The moment she noticed my stomach, that became the only thing she wanted to talk about.


    She immediately imed the title of my baby’s godmother and had already begun nning a baby shower, along with all the things I would need for the baby’s arrival. She even started discussing how one of the upstairs rooms would be transformed into a nursery.


    I had to stop her, telling her to wait because I first needed to see a doctor to find out exactly how far along I was.


    Not long after, Rowan stepped into the room.


    She had already been told I was back, and I could clearly see she had been eager to see me. But when I left, our rtionship hadn’t been on the best terms.


    “I’m truly d to see you again, Queen Lyra,” Rowan said.


    “I’m really d to see you too, mom,” I replied. Her eyes shot up to meet mine the second I called her “mom.” No one had been expecting that. I may have only been gone for a week, but during that time I learned there are people in this world who truly care about me.


    She had made a huge mistake by not returning for me when I was a baby, and she was well aware of that. There was nothing she could do now to erase it.


    But that didn’t mean we had to let it define the rest of our lives, especially now that I was going to be a mother myself. Rowan deserved the chance to know her grandchild.


    “Alright. Everything is arranged<i>,” </i>Stephanie said as she walked back into the room.


    “Arranged for what?” I asked.


    “For your wee home celebration. I’ve let everyone know, and they’ll all be here tonight,” Stephanie answered. I nced over at Elias, who was trying very hard not tough.


    “It’s also formal. So, you two have to wear suits,” Stephanie added. I smirked at Elias the instant his grin vanished when he heard that part.


    That night, the entire castle ballroom was filled with everyone from the vige that surrounded the castle. I stood at the top of the staircase wearing a floor–length, dark blue chiffon gown that flowedfortably around my growing belly. The bodice was low cut between my breasts and encrusted with shimmering diamantes, yet it still managed to look both elegant and modest. On my feet were silver high heels.


    Elias offered me his arm as we stood together at the top of the staircase.


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    The doors finally opened, and we stepped out onto thending overlooking the crowded ballroom while the announcer waited to the side.


    “May I present Queen Lyra and King Elias,” the announcer dered.


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    I turned to Elias with a smile before we began descending the staircase, greeted by hundreds of cheerful faces below us. They pped and cheered as we made our first entrance together as King and Queen.


    <b>THE </b><b>END </b>