The First Lady of the Eagle Clan was brought in under heavy guard.
The moment she crossed the threshold of the throne room, she dropped to her knees.
She did not hesitate. She did not look around.
She prostrated herself fully before the throne, forehead touching the cold marble as sobs tore from her chest.
"Your Majesty… thank you," she cried, bowing again and again. "Thank you for saving us. Thank you for keeping your word."
The sound stunned the room into stillness.
Vanella froze.
Her eyes widened in disbelief as the woman continued to weep—not in fear, not in defiance—but in gratitude.
Before Raven could speak, Vanella moved.
She rushed forward, her injuries forgotten, her heart pounding painfully in her chest. She knelt beside the First Lady and gently pulled her up.
"Please—please don't do this," Vanella said, her voice shaking. She wrapped her arms around the woman without thinking, holding her tightly. "I'm so sorry. This is my fault. I never wanted—"
The First Lady stiffened.
Then, slowly, she melted into Vanella's embrace.
The warmth coming from the young woman—pure, unguarded—calmed her shaking body in an instant. Her sobs softened, turning into broken breaths.
She pulled back just enough to look at Vanella properly.
"No," she said firmly, wiping her tears. "You are not the cause of this. You are the reason we are free."
Vanella stared at her, utterly confused.
"Free…?" she whispered.
The First Lady inhaled deeply, then turned her gaze briefly toward Raven before looking back at Vanella.
"Our men," she began, voice steadying, "have always been monsters."
The words fell heavy.
"In the Eagle Clan, they believe that a woman suffering under a man's hand is proof she is living well. That pain is discipline. That fear is loyalty." Her fingers curled into her sleeves. "We were never wives. Never daughters. Never mothers. Only bodies meant to endure."
Vanella's chest tightened painfully.
"My father," the woman continued, "was not like that. He was the true clan head. He ended those barbaric beliefs and protected women and children alike. But politics…" Her lips trembled bitterly. "Politics married me off to that man."
The dead man.
"From that day onward, I was no longer the daughter of a leader. I was reduced to a slave in my own clan. Beaten. Used. Silenced."
Vanella's arms tightened around her again.
"I came to this palace in secret," the First Lady said, lifting her eyes to Raven now. "I begged the king for help. Not for myself—but for every woman and child trapped under those men."
Her voice broke as she bowed her head toward Raven.
"He promised me he would save us. That the true nature of the Eagle Clan would be restored—even if the clan itself had to be destroyed to do it."
She looked back at Vanella, guilt flashing briefly across her face.
"I am sorry," she said softly. "You were used as bait to draw those wicked men out. But if I had not done so… we would never have survived."
Vanella's tears finally fell.
She turned slowly toward Raven, her eyes red, shining, filled with desperate resolve.
"Please," she said, stepping toward him. "Let my people go with them. All of them. I want them out of Acosta. Away from this palace. Away from what is coming."
The room held its breath.
Raven rose from his throne.
He approached her, his presence commanding yet controlled, his voice calm when he spoke.
"You need not ask," he said. "Your people have already been arranged to leave."
Vanella's breath hitched.
"They will join the Eagle women at the borders," Raven continued. "Quietly. Secretly. Before the Tiger Clan realizes what has happened."
He looked past her, eyes cold with strategy.
"They are still too stunned by what they witnessed today—by what I revealed. They will lower their guard, believing themselves safe."
A dangerous glint crossed his gaze.
"I will use that moment."
Vanella stared at him, awe and emotion crashing through her all at once.
Relief flooded her chest so suddenly her knees nearly gave out.
Raven reached out, steadying her without ceremony.
"Your people will be safe," he said firmly. "This, I swear."
And for the first time since her world burned, Vanella believed him completely.