Chapter 174

Princess Elena’s POV As soon as the shooting ended, Queen Gloria vanished without a word, the heavy doors closing behind her like a final seal. The energy she left behind lingered; sharp and electric. Rhys and I returned to my room in silence, our footsteps echoing down the palace corridor. By the time we reached my door, two armed guards were already stationed outside, their presence a quiet reminder that nothing I was doing now was small or harmless. Inside, the tension finally eased. Rhys moved straight to work, focused and precise. We sifted through the footage together; one video of the Queen and me in the throne room, her presence commanding, me steady at her side; another on the balcony, snow stretching endlessly behind us; and finally, the pitch itself. He trimmed, adjusted and enhanced. Light, angles, sound—everything sharpened until the finished product felt unreal. When we played it back, I barely recognized myself. “You look a lot like Queen Gloria,” Rhys said, a teasing gl