As the mask is removed from Valkyrie's head, Alexander surveys her with cold detachment. The people of Dradevows demand her death, their voices a roar of hatred. But Alexander, determined to use her for his own ends, declares to the crowd, "Princess Valkyrie of Narva will soon be my wife and rule beside me!" Valkyrie, already aware of this plan, remains stoic. Despite her family's murder and her own precarious position, she harbors thoughts of revenge. Rather than submitting to death, she sees the marriage as a chance to bide her time and avenge her fallen kingdom. This marriage, she realized, could be her greatest weapon-a means to infiltrate the heart of the Dradevows kingdom and exact her vengeance from within. The gods had not abandoned her; they had merely given her a new battlefield.