Chapter 40

The Phoenix Protocol.

I stared into the flames of the fireplace, Lara’s report clenched in my fist.

The embers hissed, casting shadows across the room. Damian watched me from the far wall, silent. Unreadable.

Everything changed.

My crown was forged on a lie. My legacy….

Programmed in a lab. I am not Maria’s child. I am a phoenix project.

The one success in a line of violence, unstable creations that had destroyed themselves.

I was nothing but a weapon. And yet…I’ve been loved.

Raised. Taught. Trained. Chosen.

I turned to Lara. You knew.

She nodded. “I was there when the program was dismantled. Your mother burned most of the files…but she kept you.”

Why?

“She believed you were more than what they made you to be.”

I looked down at my hands. I don’t feel real anymore.

Damian crossed the room. “Rael isn’t blood, Claire. It’s the choices you make.”

Outside the palace, rumors had already begun. Gabriel Durate has already released a broadcast.

An old man, regal in tailored gray, stood in a dimly lit room surrounded by the old Duarte crest.

“Citizens of Edenfall,” he said, voice deep, calm, and dangerous. “For long, your throne has been ruled by lies. I come not as a conqueror. But as a rightful heir. Duarte Maria’s death left a void. That void has been filled by a fabrication. A child born not of flesh. But of science. A mistake. You deserve better. You deserve blood that is real. I am Gabriel Duarte. The last true line. And I have returned.”

The video ended with Edenfall’s symbol burning into ash.

And across the five territories, people began to question.

The war room was tense. Varek slammed a fist into the table. “He’ll start with the northern wall. The people there already resent the reform.”

Lara nodded. “We have two days to respond before his movement turns into an army.”

No, I replied. They all turned to me.

I need to speak to the people.

Lara frowned. “That’s too risky. If they find out you’re not….”

I’ll tell them. Silence.

Then, Varek. “Claire…”

I rose to full height, the fire behind me glowing like wings.

I was made in a lab. I know that now. But I was raised by Maria Duarte. She gave me her name, her love, and her legacy. And if the people want blood to lead them…

I drew my obsidian dagger from my hip.

I’ll show them that mine burns hotter than any they’ve seen.

The broadcast was live. Unfiltered.

I stood before the main hall, the crown on my head, no armor, no guards. Just me.

My name is Claire Duarte, I began. I was not born as most of you were. I was created in a lab, under a program meant to build perfect rulers. That program was destroyed…because it failed.

But I survived. Not because I was stronger, but because one woman believed I could be more. Maria Duarte raised me, loved me, and trained me not to rule with fear. But with fire and purpose.

I may not have her blood, but I have her will. And if Gabriel Duarte wants me to return the throne…he’ll have to kill me for it.

And even then, my ghost will burn the kingdom to the ground before I let a coward like him wear the crown.

The feed was cut off. But the spark was already ignited.

Across the territories, the tide turned again.

Not for blood. But for fire.

That night, Alec returned with intel. “Gabriel is building an army of exiled mercenaries, outlawed tech, and first court loyalists.” He said. “He’s days away from launching a siege on Edenfall.”

Where? I asked.

“He’s targeting the citadel vault.”

Varek’s eyes widened. “That’s where Maria hid the last of the phoenix research.”

“And possibly the key to controlling you,” Alec added, gaze sharp. “Or destroying you.”

I met his gaze. Then we get there first.

At dawn, I, Damian, Lara, and Varek led a covert unit toward the citadel.

It sat hidden behind the Eastern peaks. Untouched since Maria’s rebellion. Buried under stone and snow.

The wind was harsh. The terrain brutal. But the citadel still stood. A remnant of science and sin.

We broke inside using Lara’s old clearance code. Lights flickered to life, red and sterile.

I stepped inside first. The silence was suffocating.

Rows of glass tubes. Abandoned weapons. Files that haven’t been opened in twenty years.

And at the heart of it all. A sealed vault.

Damian tried the control panel. Locked.

Lara plugged into the old system. After minutes of work, she whispered, “It's voice locked. To Maria.”

I stepped forward. I can try. I spoke one word into the panel. Phoenix. The lock hissed open.

And the vault groaned wide. Inside was a single object.

A vial glowing red. And a data file labeled.

Phoenix protocol. Subject 1. Backup sequence for termination or enhancement.

I lifted the vial, and my hands were shaking. This wasn’t just my beginning. It might be my end.

As I turned to Damian, my voice went quiet.

If Gabriel gets this… “He won’t.”

If he does, he could use it to control me. Or activate something I don’t even know inside me.

“We’ll destroy it.”

No, I said. I looked at Lara. Can you decode it?

She nodded. “Give me time.”

I handed her the vial.

And as we left the vault, I whispered a quiet promise.

You don’t own me.

Not Gabriel. Not the program. Not even the blood in my veins.

I will win this war. Not as a creation.

But as a queen.