I won't fall for the queen who burned my world-Chapter 295: I’ll be there

Outside the nursery, the corridor had become a battleground of whispers, pacing, and shushed excitement.

Kaelith was not helping.

"Mama!" she shouted for the twelfth time in five minutes, little fists banging rhythmically against the carved wooden door. "Mama! Mama!"

"She thinks Lara’s behind the door," Malvoria said, voice dry but fond.

"Technically not wrong," Elysia murmured, rocking Kaelith gently in her arms. "She is in there. Just probably covered in afterbirth and in no mood to play."

Kaelith huffed and wriggled. Her cheeks were flushed with impatience, her eyes too bright for bedtime, and her little booted feet kept kicking at the air like she could force the door open with willpower alone.

Elysia didn’t blame her.

They were all a little impatient.

The hallway smelled faintly of medicinal herbs and old magic.

The healer had passed them earlier with blood on her gloves and a serene look in her eyes—the kind of look that said things are as they should be, but also please don’t ask me any questions for an hour.

No one had come out since.

Elysia had paced. Malvoria had leaned against the wall, arms crossed, her thumb brushing a wardstone on her belt as if she could sense through the runes what was happening inside.

Even Veylira had been here earlier—just long enough to offer a brief nod and then disappear like a shadow with errands that were surely "urgent" and "not at all related to avoiding emotional moments."

But Elysia had stayed.

Because this mattered.

Because Lara mattered.

Because the baby mattered.

And because Kaelith had made it very clear—she was going to meet her cousin first.

"Mamaaaaaa," Kaelith groaned dramatically, burying her face in Elysia’s shoulder.

"I can’t go in until they say it’s time," Elysia said, patient for now. "That’s how it works, my star."

Malvoria glanced over. "We could just break the door down."

Elysia snorted. "Please don’t."

"She’d love it," Malvoria muttered, flicking her eyes toward Kaelith.

"She’d copy it."

A pause.

Malvoria slowly backed away from the door. "Good point."

Then finally the door opened.

Not dramatically. Not with ceremony.

Just a soft creak and the quiet scent of lavender.

Raveth stood there, her hair disheveled and her shirt inside-out. "She wants to see you now. You three only."

Kaelith squealed like a pixie had bit her.

Elysia barely got the door open before the toddler wriggled out of her arms and half-walked, half-bounced into the room.

"Careful," Elysia warned.

Too late.

Kaelith skidded to a stop just before the central cradle and tripped over her own boot. She landed with a dramatic "Oof!" and immediately looked up, delighted.

"Mama!"

Sarisa—propped up against a tower of pillows, her silver hair loose around her shoulders—smiled warmly.

She looked exhausted. Radiant. Fragile in that uniquely powerful way only someone who had just delivered a child could be.

And she held the baby close against her chest, bundled in starlight-patterned cloth, tiny dark fingers curled into her mother’s sleeve.

Lara sat beside her, one hand protectively over Sarisa’s and the other gently cradling the baby’s back. Her armor had been abandoned for soft cotton. She looked dazed. Joyful. Unshaven.

"Come meet her," Sarisa said softly.

Malvoria entered first, slow, reverent. Elysia followed, heart thudding.

Kaelith darted forward and planted both hands on Lara’s leg with wide eyes. " titi."

"Yes, she is," Lara said, her voice uncharacteristically soft. "Very tiny."

"Can I?" Elysia asked, eyes on Sarisa.

Sarisa nodded and shifted slightly, lifting the bundle.

Elysia approached and looked down and stopped breathing.

The baby was small. Barely longer than Elysia’s forearm. Her skin was a warm, rich brown like Sarisa’s, but her hair soft black curls streaked with white fell like whispers across her temples.

And just above her brow were two small, perfectly formed black horns.

When she blinked her eyes open, they gleamed bright, molten red.

Elysia smiled. "Oh."

Malvoria leaned closer. "That’s my niece?"

"Yes," Lara said. "Meet Aliyah."

Kaelith clapped her hands. "Yah!"

"Close enough," Elysia murmured, laughing.

"Yah!" Kaelith shouted again, triumphant, then reached up and tried to poke one of Aliyah’s horns.

Lara gently caught her hand. "Let’s not poke the newborn, okay?"

Kaelith pouted.

Aliyah made a small, snuffling noise and buried her face deeper into Sarisa’s chest.

"She’s perfect," Elysia whispered.

Lara looked down at the child like she still didn’t understand how this had happened.

"She really is," she murmured.

Sarisa shifted, looking up. "She’s also loud. She screamed for ten solid minutes before calming down."

"She gets that from you," Lara said.

Sarisa blinked. "Excuse me?"

"You’re dramatic and noise-based."

Sarisa rolled her eyes. "And you set a training hall on fire for attention."

"That was strategy."

Malvoria snorted. "Yes, let’s argue in front of the infant."

Kaelith, meanwhile, had sat herself down cross-legged in front of the cradle and was now whispering "Yah" over and over while pretending to cast some sort of spell on a nearby pillow.

"She thinks Aliyah is a new familiar," Elysia said.

"She’s not wrong," Malvoria murmured.

Elysia stepped closer to Lara and nudged her shoulder.

"You look like your world just ended."

"It kind of did," Lara said. "And started again. She blinked at me, Elysia. Like she knew me."

"She does."

"I don’t even know what I’m doing."

"None of us do," Elysia said. "We just... love them. Loudly. And often."

Lara swallowed hard.

Then leaned over and kissed Sarisa’s temple without hesitation.

"You were incredible," she whispered.

Sarisa leaned into it. "I’m going to hold that over your head for the rest of our lives."

"I’d expect nothing less."

Malvoria moved to stand just behind Sarisa, placing a hand on the pillow beside her. She looked down at Aliyah, her face unreadable for a moment.

Then she whispered, "Welcome, little Aliyah."

Aliyah’s tiny eyes blinked slowly, and then shockingly her lips curled into something almost resembling a smile.

"Oh, she likes you," Sarisa said.

"Of course she does," Malvoria said calmly. "I’m terrifying and warm."

Elysia sat on the edge of the bed and took Sarisa’s hand.

"You did it," she said.

Sarisa smiled faintly, exhaustion blurring the edges of her elegance, but pride shining clear in her eyes. "We all did."

There was a pause, tender and quiet, filled only by the soft sounds of Aliyah’s slow, newborn breathing and Kaelith’s now-sleepy humming as she sat curled by the cradle, her cheek against one of the pillows she’d claimed as a royal seat.

Then Malvoria cleared her throat.

Her arms were crossed again, her voice light, but Elysia could already tell there was something coming.

"The Celestial Queen is coming tomorrow morning."

Lara’s head whipped up. "Wait—what?"

"She sent word while Sarisa was in labor. Said she wants to see the child with her own eyes. Confirm the traits. Offer blessings." Malvoria said it with a casual shrug, but there was a tension under it.

Elysia caught it too.

"She wants to confirm the horns," Elysia said flatly.

"Probably," Malvoria replied. "And she’ll likely bring an entire procession."

Sarisa’s eyes closed. "Of course she will."

Lara muttered something under her breath.

Then turned to Elysia. "Can we talk? Outside?"

Elysia nodded immediately, gave Sarisa’s arm a squeeze, and followed Lara out into the dim hallway, where the silence felt heavier than before.

They walked a bit past the nursery, past the stone arch leading to the inner gardens until they reached one of the quieter alcoves with a view of the stars.

The air was cool, and the castle’s newest enchantments pulsed gently beneath their feet.

Lara leaned her back against the wall, exhaled through her nose, and looked up.

"She’s cute."

Elysia smiled softly. "She’s perfect."

"She has my eyes. And... the horns."

"I’m not surprised."

Lara hesitated, then glanced sideways.

"I want to be in her life. Fully. Like... present. A constant. Not just some warrior aunt who shows up with knives and candy."

Elysia nodded. "That’s good. You should be."

"But..." Lara shifted her weight. "I don’t want to be with Sarisa. Not like that."

Elysia stayed silent, letting her speak.

"I know I was all bark and dramatics before, but I’ve been thinking a lot. These last two months, being close to her... I realized I care more than I thought possible. About the baby. About the whole situation. But I also realized I don’t want to give up the life I’ve built. The freedom. The mess. The me parts."

"You’re allowed that," Elysia said gently.

"I don’t want to confuse her either," Lara went on.

"Sarisa. Or Aliyah. I don’t want either of them thinking I’m one half of a royal couple, or that I’ll play some perfect future-diplomat mom. I’m not that person. I’m not a queen. I’m not built for palaces or tea ceremonies or... whatever it is Celestial parents do."

Elysia gave her a thoughtful look. "You think Sarisa wants that?"

"No. That’s the thing," Lara said, exhaling again. "She doesn’t. But the world expects it."

She ran a hand through her hair.

"I just want to be there. To teach Aliyah to fight. To play. To sneak into the kitchens at midnight and eat spicy dumplings with her. But I still want to sleep in a tent once a week, and disappear into the mountains when I need to breathe. I want to belong without being bound."

Elysia stepped closer, resting a hand on Lara’s shoulder. "You can have that. You’re already building it. You just need to be honest—consistently."

Lara laughed softly, shaking her head. "I’ve fought dragons without blinking, but telling someone I want to be close without being too close? That terrifies me."

"It’s hard to draw lines when love’s involved," Elysia said. "But Sarisa’s not a fool. She’ll understand."

Lara’s gaze softened.

"She looked so tired," she whispered. "But so damn proud."

"She has every reason to be," Elysia said. "And so do you."

Lara looked down at her hands, flexed her fingers, then nodded.

"I’ll be there," she said again. "Not in her bed. Not in her court. But right there. For Aliyah. Always."