Elara’s POV

Bodies pressed in from every direction.

"—and we heard the baby has Kaelen’s eyes, is that true—"

"—you must bring her to the autumn festival, everyone’s dying to—"

"—Marcus said you used to take down enemies single-handedly—"

The voices blurred together. Tyler and Jack had drawn closer, wide-eyed and eager, and somehow their questions had attracted more people. A circle had formed around me—tight, warm, suffocating. Someone’s elbow bumped my arm. The smell of wine and roasted meat and too many bodies thickened the air until it felt like breathing through cloth.

My chest constricted. I kept smiling. Kept nodding. Kept saying words I couldn’t hear over the rushing in my ears.

"—Sir Marcus tells us you were unmatched in battle during—"

"—is it true the Emperor himself—"

"—must be so proud, two children now—"

A hand landed on my shoulder. Heavy. Well-meaning. I flinched.

Then the crowd parted like water before a blade.

"All right, all of you. Back. Now."

Riley’s voice cracked through the noise like a whip. She shouldered past Tyler, wedged herself between me and Sir Marcus, and planted both hands on her hips. Her dark hair bounced with the force of her movements.

"Marcus. Jack. Tyler." She pointed at each of them in turn. "You are smothering her. She just had a baby. She does not need an interrogation."

Sir Marcus raised both hands in mock surrender, his grin unrepentant. "We were just welcoming her back. No need to be so fiercely protective, Riley. You’ve gone awfully soft and sentimental lately."

"You were forming a siege." Riley flicked her wrist toward the food table. "Go. Eat something. Bother someone else."

Jack opened his mouth.

"Go."

They went.

Tyler lingered half a step, glancing back at me with something like awe still clinging to his young face. Jack tugged his sleeve and pulled him away.

The circle dissolved. Air rushed back in. I exhaled slowly through my nose, willing my pulse to settle.

Riley’s hand found my elbow—gentle now, nothing like the commanding force she’d just wielded against three grown soldiers.

"Come on," she murmured. "Over here."

She guided me across the hall toward a stone window bench tucked into an alcove. Ivy crept along the frame outside. The glass was cracked open, letting in a thin thread of autumn air that tasted like wet earth and fallen leaves. I sank onto the bench. The stone was cool through the fabric of my dress.

Riley dropped down beside me. Close, but not crowding. She studied my face with those sharp dark eyes.

"Ela." Her voice softened. "You look exhausted."

"I’m fine." The words came automatically. Practiced. "Lyra’s been keeping us up. She’s healthy, though. Strong lungs." I managed a small laugh. "Kaelen is completely besotted. He just stands over her cradle and stares at her like she’s made of starlight. And Valerius—" A genuine warmth crept into my voice despite everything. "He’s the best big brother. He insists on helping with every feeding. Brings me blankets without being asked."

Riley’s expression shifted. The searching look faded, replaced by something softer. She pressed her lips together, and her eyes—were they glistening?

I blinked. "Riley. Are you crying?"

"No." She swiped at her cheek with the back of her hand. "Shut up. I’m not."

"You are."

"It’s allergies."

"We’re indoors."

She punched my arm lightly. "I just—the image of Valerius bringing you blankets. That’s—" She sniffed hard. "That’s really sweet, okay? Leave me alone."

I stared at her. This was the same woman who had just scattered three imperial soldiers with a single look. The same Riley who once broke a man’s wrist for touching her sword without permission.

Something about it loosened a knot behind my ribs. Just slightly.

"So," I said, leaning back against the cool stone. "Tell me about the proposal. Properly this time. I want every detail."

The tears vanished instantly. Her whole face lit up.

"Okay. Okay." She shifted to face me fully, tucking one leg beneath her. Her hands were already moving as she spoke—animated, restless. "So it was recently. We were doing the morning patrol. We’d been walking in silence for a while. Cassian was being weird all morning. Quiet. He kept adjusting his patrol belt, which he never does. I thought maybe he was coming down with something." She paused. Her voice dropped. "Then he just... stopped. Right there on the trail. Knelt down in the mud. Full armor. Didn’t even hesitate."

Her fingers went to the ring on her left hand. She twisted it unconsciously. A simple silver band. A single small diamond caught the lantern light and threw a tiny spark across the stone wall.

"He said—" She stopped. Pressed her lips together. Her chin trembled.

"Riley."

"I’m fine." Another hard sniff. "He said he’d spent his whole life learning to protect people, but he’d never known what it meant to want to protect someone until me."

The words hung between us. I reached over and took her hand. The ring was warm beneath my fingers.

"It’s beautiful," I whispered. And I meant it.

"He tried to make it this whole eloquent speech, but his voice cracked halfway through and he just held the ring up and said ’please.’" She laughed—a wet, breathless sound. "I said yes before he finished the word."

"Of course you did."

"And then—oh, Ela, you’ll love this—" She leaned forward conspiratorially. "Not long ago, he decided he wanted to bake cookies for the patrol unit. As a celebration. He stayed up the entire night."

"Cassian. Baking."

"Cassian. Baking." She nodded solemnly. "The bottoms were completely black. Burned beyond recognition. And the middles were still raw. Like, actually doughy. It was genuinely one of the worst things I’ve ever put in my mouth."

"And you ate them."

"Every single one." She grinned. Wide and shameless. "He was standing there with flour on his nose, watching me chew, and I just—I couldn’t. I told him they were perfect."

I squeezed her hand. The warmth in my chest was real. Fragile, but real. Like holding a candle flame in cupped palms.

Then Riley straightened. Her eyes brightened with fresh energy.

"Which brings me to the important part." She grabbed both my hands now, bouncing slightly on the bench. "We’re having the engagement party. Soon. Here at the grounds. Everyone’s coming. Music. Dancing. Cassian’s already panicking about the guest list, which is adorable."

My stomach dropped.

The hall. Full of people. All those eyes. The questions. The expectations. The weight of a title I no longer deserved pressing down on my shoulders while I smiled and pretended I wasn’t hollow inside.

My chest tightened. A slow, creeping pressure that squeezed the air from my lungs in measured increments. I could feel my heartbeat in my throat.

Riley was watching me. Waiting. Her face was open and bright and so full of hope that it physically hurt to look at.

She wanted me there. She needed me there.

And after everything she’d done—every time she’d stepped between me and danger, every door she’d kicked open, every crowd she’d scattered just so I could breathe—how could I possibly say no?

The tightness in my chest coiled tighter. I ignored it.

"Riley," I said, and squeezed her hand. "I’ll be there. I promise."