Filed to story: Elowen Hale and Duke Cassian Valebourne Book PDF Free
The King turned.
“Hmm?”
Elowen’s eyes were faintly red.
But her voice was steady.
This time-she didn’t even look at Alaric.
She stepped forward and lowered herself into a deep, formal bow.
“I did grow up alongside His Highness,” she said clearly.
“But I have always regarded him with respect.”
She paused.
Then continued, each word calm and precise.
“I have never harbored improper feelings toward him.”
Silence fell.
Absolute.
Though she couldn’t see it-
Alaric’s brows tightened even further.
The King frowned slightly.
“Are you certain?”
Elowen knew him well.
If she didn’t name someone-he would not let this go.
She remained bowed, her posture unwavering.
Then she spoke.
Calm and certain.
“I have long admired the Duke of Duskmoor.”
A faint ripple moved through the hall.
“If I may become his wife…”
She lifted her head slightly. Her eyes were clear and steady.
“…then I would have no regrets in this life.”
The grand hall exploded into noise.
“What? The Duke of Duskmoor?”
“She actually said she wants to marry him?”
“Why would she give up the Crown Prince for him?”
“Does she even know he’s in no condition to marry anyone?”
Whispers surged like a rising tide, crashing from every corner of the hall. They overlapped-sharp with disbelief and ridicule.
Elowen heard every word.
And yet, not a flicker of emotion crossed her face.
She stood there, composed, as if the storm had nothing to do with her.
The King let out a quiet sigh, clearly trying to smooth things over.
“That would be… a difficult match for you,” he said, his tone gentle but hesitant. “Perhaps I should select another suitable candidate from the royal family.”
But Elowen didn’t retreat.
“Your Majesty,” she said, her voice steady, firm enough to cut through the murmurs, “I am deeply grateful for your kindness. But I have already sworn before the Holy Mother.”
A breath.
“In this life, I will marry no one but the Duke of Duskmoor.”
She lowered herself into a deep, formal curtsy before the King and Queen-and stayed there.
“I humbly ask for your blessing.”
She did not rise.
Her posture was unwavering, her resolve laid bare for all to see.
Cassian Valebourne.
Duke of Duskmoor.
The King’s younger brother, the ninth-born son of the royal family.
Back when the King had still been a prince, fighting his way toward the throne, it had been Cassian who stood beside him-unshaken, unyielding.
Again and again, he had pulled the King back from the brink of death.
Without him, there might never have been a crown.
Afterward, Cassian led campaign after campaign-east, north-crushing rebellions, expanding borders, carving his name into legend.
There was no one in Avenlor who didn’t know his reputation.
Until one year ago.
Stationed in the Northern Reaches, in the middle of a campaign-he collapsed.
Without warning.
He was carried back to Duskmoor Manor.
And never woke up.
Royal physicians came and went.
None could promise anything.
Some whispered he might never wake again.
Elowen knew all of it.
And she knew something no one else did.
In her previous life-
Cassian awoke in the third year of her marriage.
That year…had been one of the darkest she had ever endured.
She remained childless.
The Queen arranged for Alaric to take a consort.
Compared to Elowen, the consort was cherished-by Alaric, by the servants, by the entire Crown Prince’s Wing.
Everything Elowen was not.
When Cassian finally woke, Alaric brought both women to Duskmoor Manor to visit him.
On the way back-the consort deliberately left early in the carriage.
Leaving Elowen behind. Alone.
Elowen didn’t even know the road back to the palace.
She lingered there, quietly, hoping-just hoping-someone might offer her a seat.
