SPOILERS: Did you suspect ...
When the lottery started up again, after it was revealed that the dragon was still alive, did you have any suspicion that there was even the slightest chance that Elspeth's name would be drawn?
Also, was anyone else annoyed by Valerian's demands that "justice be done," during the final lottery scene, after Elspeth's name is drawn? I'm assuming that this "justice," she called out for had to do with the fact that the princess' name had been excluded from the lottery by her father. If that's the case, she's one to talk. Isn't she the one who disguised herself as a man, so there was no chance that her name would be drawn? Isn't she the one who hid, like a coward, behind the clothes of a man while other innocent women faced horrible, gruesome deaths?
I like Valerian. But she's a raging, stinking hypocrite in this moment. Who is she to complain about the fact that Elspeth's name was left out of the lottery, when she (Valerian) did what she could to ensure that her name would be left out of the lottery as well? Elspeth, at least, had no idea that she wasn't included in the lottery. Valerian, on the other hand, knew perfectly well what was going on.
Of course, she may have been slightly motivated by the fact that she thought Galen was in love with Elspeth. Maybe she resented the princess for that? Here's hoping that wasn't the case.