Chapter 173
We arrived at the kingdom just as the sun began to rise. The golden light spilled across the cobbled streets, and I was stunned by what I saw, people flooding the roads, cheering and singing. Laughter rang through the air. Children danced, and banners flew proudly from every rooftop. Someone banged a drum in rhythm, and flower petals rained from windows above.
"The war is over!" someone shouted. "The Alpha King has returned victorious!!”
My heart pounded as I wrapped my shawl tightly around me and my baby. I didn't want to be seen. Not yet. I wasn't ready.
I didn’t want another drama, or unwarranted attention.
Miriam walked beside me, her hood drawn low over her face. "They don't know what we've been through," she said quietly. "They're celebrating, and you've been fighting for your life inside and outside the castle walls.”
"They don't need to know. Not now," I whispered, my voice shaking. "Let them have their joy, the war is over.”
It felt strange, walking through so much happiness after everything we'd endured. My body ached. I could barely feel my feet. But the weight of my son against my chest gave me strength.
We entered through the side gate. Davin helped us bypass the larger crowds. As soon as we were inside the palace walls, I paused. Everything was the same yet different. The sun touched the old stone with warmth instead of fear. The guards that had once threw me out, now bowed for me, as if nothing had happened. As if they had not followed Lucian’s every order.
It could only mean one thing.
Rowan was here. Somewhere in these walls.
Miriam looked at me. "Do you want me to stay with you?"
I shook my head. "No thank you Miriam, you need to rest and get some stitches for your wound. I need to do this alone."
She nodded and reached out to touch my arm. "I'll come by later your majesty.”
I carried my son, every step feeling like it might break me open. My breath caught as I reached the old hall, the one we used to walk down together. The last time I was here, I was in the council meeting, presenting a fake letter that Rowan would be back in three days, I didn’t know then, just how soon he would come back after forging that letter, but it had given me a little bit of time. Just a little.
When I turned the corner and saw him—Rowan—standing in the grand corridor, speaking with his guards, my feet froze.
He looked the same... and yet so different. Older. Tired. But his eyes—when they lifted and landed on me—they lit up like fire.
"Ariadne?" he breathed.
I couldn't speak. My voice caught in my throat.
He took two steps forward before breaking into a full run. I was shaking before he even reached me.
"Ariadne gods, is it really you?" His voice broke. He reached for me, then stopped when he saw the bundle in my arms. "Is that...?"
I nodded. Tears blurred my vision.
"Yes," I whispered. "This is our son."
Rowan's hands trembled as he reached out, gently touching the blanket. "How? How’s that possible! He's... he's real."
"He's ours," I said, voice cracking. "Rowan, we have a son."
He looked at me, then back at the child. His eyes filled with tears, real ones. Slowly, carefully, he slid his arms around both of us and held us close, his head pressing against mine.
"I didn't know," he choked. "I didn't know, Ariadne. I'm so sorry. I should never have left you. I should have protected you from that bastard Lucian. From all of them!”
My tears finally fell. I clung to him tightly, my shoulders shaking.
"I thought you died," I sobbed. "I thought I lost you forever. It was so hard, Lucian, he told the council you were never coming back, he was going to take the throne. I had to have the baby earlier to stop him. He tried to take our child."
Rowan's jaw clenched. "He will pay. I swear on my life, Lucian will suffer for what he's done. He’s locked in the dungeons now, but I’ll kill him with my bare hands, I swear it!”
"I was alone," I whispered. "I was so alone, Rowan. They treated me like an abomination, they were going to strip me of my title, they sent me out of our chambers, Lucian tried to kill me and our son even after I agreed to leave everything behind and run.”
"I should've been there," he said brokenly, his arms tightening around me. "Every single day I was away, all I thought about was you. I dreamed of you. I heard your voice when I closed my eyes. Ariadne, I never stopped thinking about you."
I couldn't speak. I just held onto him, feeling the safety of his embrace wrap around me like a blanket after a storm.
"Come," he said softly. "Let me take you to our chambers. You need to rest."
He led me gently through the halls, nodding at no one. His focus was only on me, his hand never leaving my back.
Once inside, he shut the door and locked it behind us. The baby stirred in my arms but didn't cry.
Rowan turned to me, his expression full of emotion. "Let me see him."
I carefully placed the baby in his arms. Rowan looked terrified at first, but then the child cooed softly and gripped one of Rowan's fingers. The alpha king smiled through his tears.
"He's beautiful," he whispered. "He has your eyes."
"And your scowl," I teased, my voice still shaking.
Rowan chuckled, a broken sound. "I can't believe I missed all of this. His birth... his first cry..."
"You came back," I said, touching his cheek. "That's what matters now."
“What’s his name?” Rowan asked and I shrugged.
“I thought we could name him together… I haven’t given him a name yet.”
Rowan nodded.
“You’re right. We would.”
He sat beside me on the bed, still holding the baby. I leaned into him, resting my head on his shoulder.
"I thought I'd lost you," he whispered again. "Every step I took in that war, I fought harder because I needed to come back to you. I didn't care about the throne, the power, or the glory. I just wanted to hold you again. I did everything I could to come back to you as fast as I could.”
I touched his hand. "You're home now. I heard you killed the Emperor.”
Rowan shrugged.
“It had to be done. He wouldn’t call off the war, even when we suggested a truce. I had to end him to call off the war.”
“Well… at least it’s all over now. I’m just glad it’s over.” I murmured, still thinking it was all a dream. I couldn’t believe it, Rowan was back, in the flesh, talking to me.
"I love you," he said. "More than life itself. I should have never have left you and our son. I will spend every day of my life making it up to you. I will protect you and our son. No one will ever hurt you again."
I looked up at him through my tears. "I love you too, Rowan."
We sat there in silence, wrapped in each other's arms, with our son cradled between us. The war was over. We were together.
I was with Rowan again.
All was right in the world.
And for the first time in so long, I felt safe. I felt whole.
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