Chapter 192 CHAPTER 192
The council chamber slowly emptied after Ethan dismissed the elders.
One by one the members of the council stepped out into the corridor, their footsteps echoing against the stone walls until the sound faded into the distance. The tension of the day still lingered in the room like a storm that had not fully passed.
When the heavy doors finally closed, only four people remained in the chamber.
Ethan stood near the end of the table, his shoulders tense and his hands resting against the polished wood. The past few days had carved exhaustion into his expression, but his eyes were still alert, still searching for answers in a kingdom that seemed to be unraveling around him.
Lisa stood beside Liam a few steps away, her arms loosely folded as she studied her brother’s face. Since the revelation about their parents and the turmoil surrounding Vaughn’s death, Ethan seemed to carry a weight that no crown could have prepared him for.
Across from them stood Lora.
She had remained behind quietly when the others left, her expression thoughtful, almost hesitant, as if the words she carried were difficult to release after so many years.
Liam shifted slightly, glancing toward his mother before stepping forward.
“If this is something concerning the council or the kingdom,” he said carefully, “perhaps Lisa and I should give you some privacy.”
He began to step back, ready to excuse himself from the room, but Ethan raised a hand before he could move further.
“No,” Ethan said firmly.
Liam stopped.
Ethan looked at him, then at Lisa, and the firmness in his voice softened slightly.
“Stay.”
There was a quiet honesty in his tone that made both of them pause.
“In this moment,” Ethan continued slowly, “you two are the only people in this court I know I can trust with matters of the kingdom… and with my secrets.”
The words carried a quiet heaviness.
Liam glanced briefly toward his mother, unsure whether it was right for him to remain.
“Are you sure you want us here?” he asked gently.
Lora gave him a small reassuring nod.
“It’s alright,” she said softly. “You can stay, son.”
Liam relaxed slightly and moved back beside Lisa.
Ethan turned toward Lora again.
“You said there was something you needed to tell me,” he said. “Something you’ve kept hidden.”
Lora inhaled slowly, her gaze drifting briefly toward the tall windows before returning to Ethan.
“Yes,” she said quietly.
“There is something I never told anyone.”
Her voice grew softer.
“Not even Helena before she was taken.”
Lisa straightened slightly.
For a moment the chamber was completely silent.
“It began many years ago,” Lora continued, her voice steady though her eyes carried the weight of memory. “Back when Helena was pregnant with Lisa.”
Lisa instinctively touched the pendant resting against her collarbone.
“At that time Helena was traveling outside the palace with only one guard escorting her,” Lora said. “It was meant to be a simple stroll outside the gates, nothing dangerous.”
She paused before continuing.
“But they were attacked.”
Ethan’s brows tightened slightly.
“The attackers had been sent by Darius – your uncle.”
The name hung in the air like a shadow.
A cold silence filled the room.
Lora continued quietly.
“Darius believed that killing his brother’s wife and the child she carried would be revenge enough for losing the throne he believed was rightfully his.”
Ethan’s jaw tightened, but he said nothing.
“Helena’s guard fought them as best he could,” Lora continued. “But the attackers outnumbered them.”
Her gaze lowered slightly.
“It might have ended badly that day… if Seraphine had not appeared.”
Lisa felt her breath catch slightly.
“She stepped into the fight and helped Helena and the guard drive the attackers away,” Lora said.
The revelation seemed to linger between them.
“To Helena,” Lora added quietly, “Seraphine was a savior.”
Lora folded her hands slowly as she continued the story.
“After that day Helena trusted her completely. She welcomed Seraphine into the palace and gave her access to nearly every part of it.”
A faint shadow crossed Lora’s face.
“Your father never liked that.”
She paused before explaining further.
“From the beginning he believed something was wrong.”
Liam and Lisa exchanged a brief glance as Lora continued.
“He suspected Seraphine might be working with Darius,” she said. “That the whole rescue might have been staged so Seraphine can gained Helena’s trust in order to spy within the palace.”
Ethan’s expression grew darker.
“He didn’t want to stress Helena while she was pregnant, so he never confronted her about it,” Lora continued. “Instead, he had someone quietly investigate Seraphine.”
The room remained silent as the story unfolded.
“At first they found nothing,” Lora said. “Seraphine appeared harmless. She moved through the palace freely and behaved like any other guest under Helena’s protection.”
She paused.
“But eventually the truth surfaced.”
Her voice lowered slightly.
“Seraphine was not human.”
A faint chill seemed to pass through the room.
“And she was not a wolf either.”
Lora looked at Lisa.
“She was a witch. Living in the withes’ village in the mountains. The same village whose rumors said harbored dangerous evil witches.”
Lisa felt Liam’s fingers close gently around her hand.
Lora continued speaking, allowing the silence of the others to absorb the revelation.
“When your father discovered the truth, he chose not to reveal it immediately. Instead he took precautions.”
She looked at Lisa again.
“He wanted Helena and the child she carried to be protected.”
Lora’s gaze softened slightly as she explained the next part.
“He asked me to find help from the fae.”
Lisa listened carefully.
“I traveled far beyond Mooncrest and sought the help of a fae elder.” Lora said. “She was one of the few beings powerful enough to create the kind of protection your father wanted.”
Lora continued, her voice steady as she recalled the memory.
“She gave me a stone unlike anything I had seen before. She told me it was not ordinary. The stone had been taken from the Silver City itself.”
The reaction in the room was immediate.
Liam’s eyes flickered with recognition.
“That explains why it reacted when we were there,” he said quietly.
Lisa nodded slightly.
“She also placed a powerful spell upon that stone,” Lora continued. “One designed to protect Helena and the child she carried.”
Her voice softened as she finished the memory.
“When I returned with the necklace, your father gave it to Helena as a gift after Lisa was born.”
Lisa lowered her gaze to the pendant resting against her skin.
“I was sworn to secrecy,” Lora added quietly. “Your father feared Helena might believe he distrusted her judgment if she learned the truth about Seraphine.”
She paused before continuing.
“But the necklace was not only meant for protection.”
Ethan looked up sharply.
“What else does it do?”
Lora met his gaze.
“The spell bound it to Helena’s bloodline.”
Lisa felt her heart begin to beat faster.
“If Helena is still alive,” Lora said carefully, “the magic within that necklace will guide Lisa to her when the time is right.”
For a long moment no one spoke.
Then Liam broke the silence.
“There’s something else you should know.”
All three of them turned toward him.
“When Lisa and I went to the Silver City,” Liam said, “the necklace reacted strongly. It began glowing.”
Lisa nodded softly.
“The elder there said the pendant carried ancient magic that responds to blood and guardianship,” Liam continued. “He also said that when the moment comes… the Warden will understand what to do.”
Lora looked between them slowly, realization beginning to dawn.
“So the magic recognized where it came from.”
Lisa and Liam exchanged a quiet glance.
Neither of them said the thought aloud, but the understanding was clear between them.
The goddess had not brought them to the Silver City by accident.
Somewhere in the long weaving of fate, the bond between the Warden and the princess had already begun guiding them toward the truth.
Ethan looked at the necklace in Lisa’s hand.
For the first time in days, something fragile appeared in his expression.
Hope.