Chapter 42
Annalise
After the pity win Dane handed me, everything else blurred into a whirlwind of chaos. The congratulatory ceremony, the astonishment of the crowd at my unexpected victory, and the lavish celebration marking this season’s conclusion—it all felt distant, unreal.
I wasn’t even on the top ten list of anticipated winners. The surprise on people’s faces was quickly replaced by murmurs, speculation, and whispers that carried across the Kingdom like wildfire.
The news of my connection to the Princes, of my supposed role as their mate, spread faster than I could process. With it came a flood of new respect from those who barely noticed me before, but it was the hollow kind, dripping with shallow adulation.
She won because she’s the Princes’ mate. Of course, they put her firs
