Chapter 10 Secrets in Blood 1
He turned to Lyra. "Gather evidence. I want everything on Lucian. His finances. His allies. His secrets. Everything." "That will take time." "You have three days."
His eyes had turned completely black. "After that, I am dragging him to the throne room and executing him in front of the entire court."
Lyra nodded and walked away.
Like a predator in a cage, Kael paced the room.
All that control from earlier was gone. Now he was pure violence waiting to be unleashed. "You cannot," I said. "Cannot what?" "Kill him without a trial. Without proof. It will make you look weak. Like you are executing political enemies to protect your human pet." I moved to stand in front of him. "We need to be smart about this." "I am done being smart. Someone tried to kill you. In my palace. Under my protection." He grabbed my face with both hands. "Do you understand what that means? It means I failed. It means you were seconds from dying, and I was not fast enough." "But you were. You saved me." "This time." His voice cracked. Just slightly. "What about next time? What if I am not there?
What happens if they cut your throat while you sleep, poison you, or—
I gave him a kiss. Hard and quick. The only thing I knew how to do was to silence him.
He froze. Then he wrapped his arms around me and gave me a desperate kiss in return.
Like fear. Like a king who had lost everything once before and could not survive losing again. We broke apart, breathing hard. "Do not die," he said against my lips. "That is an order." "Yes, Your Majesty." He made a sound that might have been a laugh, if it had not been so broken. "Since when do you follow orders?" "Since you asked instead of commanded." I pulled back to look at him.
"We will figure this out. Together. But you need to trust me." "I barely know you." "The bond knows me. That will have to be enough." He stared at me for a long moment. Then nodded once. The door burst open. Theron rushed in looking pale. "Your Majesty. We have a problem." "Another one?" "Marcus is dead. Found in his quarters an hour ago. Throat slit. And there was a message carved into the wall beside him." Theron's jaw clenched. "It said: The half-blood dies next."
The room went cold. Kael's eyes bled to black. "Lock down the palace. No one enters or leaves. Not servants. Not nobles. No one." "Already done." "Good." He turned to me. "You do not leave this room. For any reason. Understand?" I nodded. Because Marcus was dead. Kind Marcus, who raised me. Who protected me? Who knew about my parents and never told their secret. And they killed him to get to me. Rage burned through grief. They wanted war? They were going to get it.
Three days locked in his chambers felt like three years.
I paced. Sat. Paced again. Read books I could not focus on. Stared out windows at a courtyard I was not allowed to enter. The bond stretched thin with Kael gone most hours investigating Marcus's murder and building his case against Lucian.
When he did return, we circled each other like wary animals. Too aware. Too much want neither of us would act on after what almost happened.
The tension was suffocating.
Night fell on the third day and I was ready to claw through walls. My fingers found the chain around my neck. My mother's ring. The only thing I had left of her.
Silver. Simple. With a black stone that caught light wrong.
I had never tried to read it before. Too scared. Too worried about what I might see.
But Marcus was dead because of me. Because of what I was. And I needed answers more than I needed safety.
I pulled the ring off the chain. Held it in my palm. Took a breath.
Then touched my finger to the stone.
The vision hit like drowning.
My mother running through palace corridors. Not the Crimson Palace. Somewhere else. Older. Her belly swollen with me inside. Blood on her hands. Screaming behind her.
"Aria!" A woman's voice. "You cannot outrun them forever!"
"Watch me." My mother's voice. Younger. Desperate. "They will not take my daughter. I will die first."
She burst through doors into a throne room. Empty except for one figure sitting on a throne of white stone.
A woman. Regal. Powerful. With silver hair and eyes like starlight.
The former queen. Before Draeven took power.
"Please," my mother begged. "Sanctuary. For my child. Just my child."
"You ask much for a traitor, Aria Shadowborn." The queen's voice was ice. "You sided with the rebellion. You helped them try to overthrow my son. Why should I grant you anything?"
"Because she is innocent. Because she did not choose this. Because—" My mother's hand went to her belly. "Because she is the last of the Shadowborn line. The prophecy speaks of her."
The queen leaned forward. "What prophecy?"
"The half-blood heir will either save the vampire realm or destroy it. Only through bond with a Draeven king can balance be restored." My mother's voice broke. "Please. Keep her safe. When the time comes, she will matter."
"If she survives that long." The queen stood. "Very well. I grant sanctuary to the child. But you, Aria Shadowborn, are banished. Leave Nocterra. Never return. If you do, my son will execute you himself."
"Thank you." My mother collapsed to her knees. "Thank you."
The vision shifted.
Years later. My mother older. Weaker. Hiding in the human territories with a man who looked at her like she hung the moon.
My father.
"We should run further," he said. "The king's soldiers are getting closer."
"There is nowhere left to run." She touched his face. "But we had these years. We had love. We had her."
"Sera deserves better than hiding."
"Sera deserves to live. That is all that matters." She kissed him. "Whatever happens, promise me you will tell her the truth. About what she is. What she could become."
"I promise."
But they never got the chance. Because three days later soldiers came. My father died buying her time to run. She made it to the Crimson Palace gates before collapsing.
Before leaving me there with nothing but a ring and a pendant and hope that someone would protect me.
I came back gasping. Tears streaming. The ring hot in my palm.
My mother knew. Knew about the prophecy. Knew I would bond with a Draeven. Knew everything.
And she still chose to have me. To protect me. To die for me.
The door opened. Kael walked in looking exhausted. Blood on his clothes. Darkness in his eyes.
He saw my face and crossed the room in three strides. "What happened?"
"I saw her. My mother. She knew about the prophecy. About me bonding with you." I held up the ring. "She made a deal with your mother. Sanctuary for me in exchange for banishment."
Kael's face went blank. "My mother is dead."
"I know. But before. When she was still queen. My mother came to her. Begged her to protect me." I grabbed his shirt. "Your mother agreed. Which means she knew. Knew what I was. What I would become."
"That is impossible. My mother would have told me—"
"Would she? When you were already planning to purge House Shadowborn?" I pulled him closer. "She protected me by keeping me secret. Even from you."
Kael's jaw clenched. "If my mother knew and hid you, that changes everything. It means the prophecy was always meant to happen. It means—"
"It means we were always going to end up here. Bound. Together." I released his shirt. "Fate is cruel."