All Chapters of The Knight's Claimed Bride : Chapter 61 - Chapter 69

69 Chapters

Chapter LXI : A Heir and a Friend

Rebecca's POV I pulled back slightly, my fingers still wrapped around his. "I'm going to tell her." Gideon's eyes searched mine. "You're sure?" "I'm sure." He nodded once, then helped me to my feet. My legs were steadier now, though my heart still pounded like I'd just run through the entire palace. We walked back through the corridors, passing guards who straightened at Gideon's presence, passing servants who bowed their heads. None of them knew yet. None of them had any idea what I was about to do. When we reached the Queen's chambers, the guards stepped aside without question. Gideon squeezed my hand once before releasing it. I nodded and stepped inside alone. "Rebecca," the Queen said. "I didn't expect you back so soon." "I've made my decision," I said. The Queen's expression didn't change, but something shifted in her eyes. Wariness, maybe. Or hope. I couldn't tell. "And?" she asked. I took a breath. "I'll do it. I'll accept the throne." The Queen stared at me for a

Chapter LXII : Grace and Grit

Rebecca's POV The coronation gown felt like someone else's skin. I stood in front of the mirror in the Queen's chambers—my chambers now, technically, though I still couldn't think of them that way—and stared at the woman reflected back at me. Heavy silk the color of midnight spilled from my shoulders to the floor, embroidered with silver thread that caught the light when I moved. The circlet I'd worn during the announcement had been replaced with something heavier. More permanent. A crown. "Stop fidgeting," Maddie said from behind me, adjusting the fall of my sleeves for the third time. "I'm not fidgeting." "You are. You've been twisting that ring for the past five minutes." I looked down. My fingers had found Gideon's ring without conscious thought, turning it slowly around and around. "Sorry," I muttered. Maddie's hands stilled on my shoulders. "You don't have to apologize. You're allowed to be nervous." "I'm not nervous." "You're terrified," Maddie said. "Which is comple

Chapter LXIII : Ends and Beginnings

Rebecca's POV The applause started quietly at first. A few hesitant claps from the back of the hall. Then more joined in, growing steadily until the sound filled the entire space. I stood there, hands clasped in front of me, trying not to let my relief show too obviously. When the applause finally died down, I stepped off the platform. Gideon was there immediately, his hand finding the small of my back. "Well done," he said quietly. "I didn't trip," I said. "That too." The rest of the evening passed in a blur of faces and conversations and more wine than I actually drank. By the time the last guests filtered out, exhaustion had settled deep into my bones. Maddie found me near the end, her own face tired but pleased. "You survived," she said. "Barely." "That counts." Maddie squeezed my hand. "Get some rest. Tomorrow's going to be even worse." "Worse?" "You're Queen now," Maddie said. "The work doesn't stop." She was right. The next morning started before dawn. An attend

Chapter LXIV : The Night I Was Rebecca and the Morning I Was Queen

Rebecca's POV The night had gone quiet in a way the palace rarely allowed. No knock at the door, no guard's footstep in the corridor, no distant echo of voices carrying through the stone. Just the low breath of the fire in the hearth and the particular stillness that settles over a place when the world has finally run out of things to demand from you. I sat on the edge of the bed, the crown set aside on the dressing table where I couldn't see it, and let myself be small for a moment. The gown was already half-unlaced, my hair loose around my shoulders, and the silence pressed against me like something living. Gideon came out of the adjoining room without his armor. Just his shirt, untucked, sleeves pushed to the elbows. He stopped when he saw me and didn't say anything right away, only read my face the way he always did. "You're not asleep," he said finally. "I tried." He crossed the room and sat beside me on the bed, close enough that his shoulder pressed against mine. The warm

Chapter LXV : She Who Rules and He Who Fights

Rebecca's POV The council chamber felt smaller than it should have, the walls pressing in as the argument built. Lord Cailen's voice cut through the noise, sharp and dismissive. "War," he said, leaning forward over the map spread across the table. "The point is clear. The King across the border has been waiting for an excuse, and now he has one." Another councilmember, a younger lord with a thin face and too much confidence, nodded sharply. "This isn't about the border anymore. It's about the entire kingdom. If we don't respond, they'll see it as weakness. They'll push further." I stood at the head of the table, my hands braced against the edge of the map, staring down at the lines and markers that meant nothing to me and everything to them. My voice came out steadier than I felt. "There has to be another way," I said. "Something other than war." The room went quiet. Not the kind of quiet that meant I'd said something brilliant. The kind that meant I'd said something they were a

Chapter LXVI : Ares and Tressa

Rebecca's POV The war room smelled like parchment and steel. I stood near the window while Gideon hunched over the center table, mapping out routes with several senior knights. His fingers moved across the territory markers with practiced certainty, but I noticed the way his jaw stayed locked, the tension radiating through his shoulders. "The third battalion will hold the eastern pass," Gideon said, tapping a ridge on the map. "Second battalion supports from the valley. We push through before dawn and cut off their supply line." "What about their archer positions?" one of the knights asked. "We take those out first. Silent approach, no torches. Then the cavalry moves in." I watched him work, the way he commanded without raising his voice, the way the other men leaned in to catch every word. This was the version of Gideon the realm knew. The Iron Wolf. The man who had never lost a battle. But I knew the other version too. The one who let his guard down around me, who lingered a

Chapter LXVII : Morning and Mourning

Rebecca's POV I stood at the gates as dawn broke over the palace, the pale light casting long shadows across the assembled army. The knights lined up in perfect formation, their armor gleaming, their faces set with the particular expression men wore when they knew what was coming and had made peace with it. Behind them, the supply wagons waited, loaded with provisions and medical equipment that I hoped would be enough. The former Queen stood to my right, her posture rigid, her hands clasped in front of her. She had done this before, sent men to war, watched them leave and wondered which ones would return. I could see it in the way she held herself, the careful distance she maintained from anything that might crack her composure. Maddie was on my left, her face pale but determined. Kalali stood slightly behind us, her expression unreadable. She had offered to go with the army, to serve as their field alchemist, but I'd refused. I needed her here. I needed someone who understood pot

Chapter LXVIII : Kingdom and a Tiny Future

Rebecca's POV The first week after they left, I kept busy. The council met every morning to review supply chains and trade agreements that couldn't wait for the war to end. Nobles needed audiences, petitions needed reviewing, and the palace required a functioning government even with half its military gone. I threw myself into the work with a focus that surprised even me. Every decision, every signature, every judgment was a way to keep my mind from wandering to the border, to the fighting, to Gideon standing in the middle of it all with nothing but steel and strategy between him and a blade. But my body had other plans. The nausea started on the eighth day. I woke before dawn with my stomach churning, barely making it to the basin before everything came up. I knelt there on the cold floor, shaking, trying to convince myself it was stress or bad food or anything other than what I suspected. The next morning was the same. And the morning after that. On the eleventh day, I missed

Chapter LXIX : News and Return

Rebecca's POV The first reports from the border came two weeks after the army left. I was in the throne room reviewing petitions when a messenger arrived, mud-splattered and exhausted. He dropped to one knee and held out a sealed letter. I took it with hands that didn't shake only because I forced them to stay steady. The seal was Gideon's. The handwriting inside was his too, neat and controlled despite being written in what was probably a battlefield tent. "Your Majesty, The first engagement was successful. We broke through their defensive line and pushed them back to the valley. Casualties were minimal on our side. Theirs were significant. Karl Jasmere and his sister Vanessa have been recovered. Both are alive and unharmed. They're being escorted back to the palace under guard and should arrive within the week. We're advancing on their main camp. Resistance is heavy but manageable. The men are in good spirits. I'll write again when there's more to report. Commander Gideon

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