The Empress, defeated by Elara's persistence and with the betrothal irrevocably sent, resigned to fate.
Casting a weary glance my way, she declared coldly,
"Phoebe, since this marriage is Elara's doing, show some gratitude. Descend with the prince, and persuade him against warring with the beast tribes. Remember, peace in the Three Realms is the divine mandate."
"Regarding the Chalice of True Love, if you must face trials, eschew the Elixir's aid. The beleaguered beast tribes have little support; reserve it for Elara's coming of age."
Were it not for the elixir's singular rule against simultaneous consumption disrupting their spiritual trials, the Empress would have had Elara drink it forthwith.
Elara feigned kindness as she helped me to my feet, whispering ominously in my ear,
"Do well to survive by the prince's side, sister. Live long enough to witness my coronation as the queen of immortals."
Her eyes sparkled with unabashed triumph.
Internally, I sneered.
Did she truly believe the Beast King to be a paragon of virtue? Little did she know, she was sending herself into a realm far more fearsome than any mortal prison—
The beast tribes were a formidable force, far more daunting than the humans...
In the Phoenix Clan, women set off at the century mark after choosing their sacred elixir, destined to face trials alongside their chosen mates.
The Empress lavished Elara with ten carriages of lavish attire and necessities and included rare palace herbs like the eternal frost lotus and millennium dragonroot—treasures mundane within the palace walls but miraculous to the impoverished beast tribes.
Each herb held the potential to heal scores of their people.
To exert her dominance, the Empress demanded the Beast King himself fetch Elara, a move meant to remind him of his fortunate fate in securing such a noble mate.
Elara was the jewel of her eye, the direct heiress of the Phoenix lineage. For the Beast King, being chosen by her was a fortune he could not have earned in many lifetimes.
My destiny was cast in far grimmer terms than in any past life.
Previously, the Empress, fearing boredom from my premature demise, had grudgingly granted me a fragment of herb to cling to life amidst the beasts.
Now, she handed me nothing but a worn sack and hastened my descent from the mountain.
Observing the Empress tearfully clinging to Elara, their reluctance to part palpable, I remained unmoved.