Betrayed by My Ex, Marked by His Alpha Emperor Brother

Chapter 286

Elara’s POV

It had been a year since the war ended. The afternoon sun warmed my shoulders as I walked down the stone path of the estate, shifting my six-month-old daughter, Aurora, higher on my hip.

"Claire, I need you to double the medical supply order for next month’s training rotation."

"Double?" Claire’s voice crackled through the communication crystal balanced on my shoulder. "Your Majesty, are you trying to bankrupt the medical wing, or just give me paperwork nightmares?"

"Neither." I adjusted my grip on Aurora. She was already built like a small fortress. Alpha genes were no joke. "Kaelen’s expanding the border patrol exercises. More recruits means more injuries means more supplies. Simple math."

"Simple math, she says. As if I don’t have to coordinate with every supplier in the eastern corridor." A pause. A rustling of parchment. "Fine. Double it is. But while I have you—did you hear about Lord Ashworth’s daughter and the stable master’s son? Apparently they were caught behind the—"

"Claire."

"Right. Business first. Gossip later."

"Gossip never."

"Gossip always, Your Majesty. You just pretend otherwise."

I smiled and ended the call just as the stone path curved toward the garden entrance. Aurora gurgled against my neck, one chubby fist tangled in my hair.

"Mama!"

Lyra exploded through the garden gate like a comet trailing golden hair. She skidded on the flagstones, caught herself, and launched at my free side with the full force of a six-year-old who had apparently been waiting for a long time.

"Mama, the party starts soon and I’ve been ready for a while and nobody else is ready and it’s taking too long—"

"Breathe, Lyra."

"—and Valerius won’t stop reading and the ribbons still need tying and—"

"Lyra. Breathe."

She sucked in a dramatic lungful of air. Behind her, Valerius approached at his usual measured pace. Hands clasped behind his back. Expression calm. He looked at his sister’s theatrics with the patience of someone who’d long since accepted his fate.

"The ribbons are already tied," he said. "I did them this morning."

"Well, they need more tying!"

"That’s not how knots work."

Aurora kicked her legs and made a sound halfway between a laugh and a war cry. Lyra’s attention snapped to her instantly.

"Rory!" She stretched up on her toes. "Mama, can I hold her? Please? I’ll be so careful—"

"Let Helena take her first. My arms are about to fall off."

As if summoned by instinct, Helena appeared from the side door. The woman had a gift. Some kind of sixth sense for the exact moment a mother’s muscles started screaming. She lifted Aurora from my arms with practiced ease, and the baby went willingly, already reaching for the silver pendant Helena wore around her neck.

"Come see the baby," Helena said to the children.

Valerius stepped closer, his dark gold eyes intent. "May I hold her? I’ll sit down first. And support her head."

Helena settled into the garden bench and guided Aurora into his waiting arms. He held her like she was made of glass—rigid, terrified, deeply committed.

Lyra pressed her face close to Aurora’s. "Hi, Rory. Hi. It’s me. Your favorite sister."

"You’re her only sister," Valerius murmured.

"Exactly. Favorite by default."

The garden gate banged open behind me. Heavy footsteps on stone. Then a familiar voice pitched high with glee.

"Again! Again, Daddy!"

Kaelen rounded the corner with Liam perched on his shoulders. The boy had both fists buried in Kaelen’s dark hair, pulling hard enough that it should have hurt. Kaelen didn’t flinch. His gold eyes found mine across the yard, and one corner of his mouth lifted.

"We’re back." He swung Liam down in a wide arc that made the boy shriek with delight. "Marcus sends his report. Border conflicts are down this quarter. Significantly."

"How significantly?"

"Forty percent." He said it casually. Like it was nothing. But I caught the edge of pride beneath the words—pride not just in the numbers, but in the system we’d built together. The new training programs. The border outposts. The diplomatic channels that had taken a long time of careful negotiation.

"That’s remarkable," I said.

"It’s a start." He set Liam on his feet. The boy immediately toddled toward Valerius and Aurora, drawn by some magnetic sibling force. Kaelen’s hand found the small of my back. Warm. Steady. "You spoke to Claire?"

"Supplies are being doubled for next month."

"Good." His thumb traced a slow circle against my spine. "And the—"

"Daddy!" Lyra appeared between us like a apparition. "The party. Is it time? Is it three yet? It has to be three."

Kaelen looked at the sky. Looked at Lyra. "Almost."

"Almost isn’t three!"

"Patience is a virtue."

"Patience is boring!"

He crouched down to her level. "Tell you what. Help your brother set up the last of the chairs, and by the time you’re done, it’ll be time."

She was gone before he finished the sentence.

---

The party started on time.

By a quarter past three, the backyard had descended into what I could only describe as beautiful chaos.

Children sprinted between the garden beds. Someone had already knocked over a lantern stand. Lyra chased Riley’s daughter through the rosebushes, both of them shrieking at a pitch that made the dogs howl. Riley’s little girl was younger than the twins by exactly six months, but she kept pace with Lyra’s wild energy stride for stride.

At the grill station, Cassian and Marcus had positioned themselves on opposite sides of the iron rack and were locked in heated debate.

"Medium rare," Cassian said flatly.

"Well done," Marcus countered. "Anything less is uncivilized."

"Well done is leather. You might as well chew your boot."

"At least my boot won’t give anyone food poisoning."

"If I poison anyone, it’ll be on purpose, and it won’t be with steak."

I left them to it.

The elders had claimed the shaded seats along the garden wall, nursing goblets of chilled wine. Helena was making rounds with Aurora, who seemed deeply entertained by the noise and color. Liam was fast asleep against my shoulder, having exhausted himself dismantling a bread roll earlier.

Everything was warm. Everything was loud. Everything was exactly right.

Then Brenna dropped into the chair beside me under the old oak tree, and I knew from the look on her face that something had changed.

"So," she said. Too casual. Studying her lemonade like it contained state secrets. "Finnian’s opening a second shop. Near the border."

"I heard." I watched her sidelong. "Business must be good."

"It is. He’s been working nonstop. The demand for quality ironwork up there is—" She stopped. Took a breath. "Anyway. He’s happy about it."

"You look happy too."

"I’m always happy."

"You look specifically happy."

"What does that even mean?"

I didn’t answer. Because I’d just seen it.

Her left hand. Resting on the armrest. Catching the light.

A ring.

Simple. Elegant. A thin band of hammered silver cradling a single blue stone that caught the afternoon sun and scattered it into tiny sparks.

I grabbed her wrist.

"Brenna."

Her face went scarlet. "It’s—don’t—"

"Brenna."

"Ela, please, I was going to tell you privately—"

I was already on my feet. The chair scraped back against the stone. Every head in the garden turned.

"EVERYONE!" My voice carried across the entire yard. Cassian froze with tongs in midair. Marcus stopped chewing. The elders lowered their goblets. Even the children paused. "BRENNA IS ENGAGED!"

Silence.

Then Riley screamed.

It was a sound that could shatter crystal. She launched herself across the garden so fast her chair toppled behind her, and suddenly Brenna was being engulfed in a tidal wave of bodies and congratulations.

"When?" I demanded, gripping both her shoulders. "How? Where?"

Brenna’s face was the color of the roses behind her. She looked helpless. Overwhelmed. Devastatingly happy.

"Last night," she whispered. "He took me back to the waterfall. Where we had our first date." She pressed her fingers against her mouth like she could hold the smile in. "He got down on one knee, and I—I just—"

Her eyes filled.

"I said yes before he even finished asking."

I shoved the sleeping Liam into Cassian’s unsuspecting hold. The knight caught the toddler with a look of pure terror, but he managed to adjust his grip and hold him securely anyway.

"He’s asleep," I told him. "Don’t move."

Then I pulled Brenna into the tightest hug my body could manage.

"I knew it," I whispered fiercely against her hair. "I knew it from the moment I pushed you into him. I made this happen."

"You absolutely did not—"

"I absolutely did. I am taking full credit."

She laughed. It was wet and shaky and the most beautiful sound.

Someone brought out the champagne. Everyone began to toast. Finnian and Brenna were forced to kiss about seventeen times.