LNobody slept that night.
The parchment lay on the table.
Everyone kept staring at it.
Elisa wished it would disappear.
Unfortunately, it refused to cooperate.
“So…” Lily finally said.
Everyone looked at her.
“Does this mean Elisa is actually a princess?”
Rose sighed.
“That’s what you’re focused on?”
“I’m trying to understand the situation.”
“You asked if she gets a crown.”
“It was an important question.”
“No, it wasn’t.”
Adrian rubbed his forehead.
The sisters were giving him a headache.
That was impressive.
Few people could give a king a headache.
The messenger picked up the parchment.
“The royal archives were destroyed twenty years ago.”
He looked at Elisa.
“This document should not exist.”
“But it does,” Raphael said.
“Exactly.”
That was the problem.
Someone had preserved the record.
Someone had hidden the truth.
And now someone wanted Elisa dead.
The injured woman remained unconscious.
Rose had treated her wounds.
Thankfully, she would survive.
For now.
Elisa stared at the fire.
Questions filled her mind.
“Why didn’t my parents tell me?”
Nobody answered.
Because nobody knew.
She remembered her father.
A kind farmer.
A patient teacher.
A man who had never mentioned kings, queens, or royal blood.
And her mother…
Elisa’s heart tightened.
She barely remembered her.
She had died when Elisa was young.
Could she have known the truth?
Before anyone could speak again, the injured woman suddenly opened her eyes.
Everyone immediately moved closer.
The woman looked around weakly.
Then her gaze found Elisa.
“You’re alive.”
“I think so.”
The woman laughed softly.
“Good.”
Adrian stepped forward.
“Who are you?”
The woman hesitated.
“My name is Mira.”
“And how do you know about Elisa?”
Mira looked at the parchment.
“I was part of the Royal Keepers.”
Silence.
“The Keepers still exist?”
“A few of us.”
“What are the Royal Keepers?” Raphael asked.
Mira took a deep breath.
“We protected the royal family.”
“We preserved their history.”
“We guarded their secrets.”
Her eyes became sad.
“And we failed.”
The room fell silent.
Twenty years of guilt filled those words.
Mira continued.
“The night the king disappeared, the royal family was attacked.”
Elisa’s stomach tightened.
“Attacked by who?”
Mira slowly shook her head.
“We never discovered the leader.”
“But we knew the goal.”
“What goal?”
“To erase the bloodline forever.”
A chill swept through the room.
Mira pointed toward Elisa.
“One child survived.”
Elisa’s hands trembled.
“Me?”
Mira nodded.
“You were hidden.”
“You were taken away before the attackers arrived.”
The room seemed smaller.
The air felt heavier.
Everything Elisa believed about her life was changing.
Then suddenly—
CRACK!
A window shattered.
Everyone turned.
An arrow buried itself in the wall.
A note was attached to it.
Adrian removed the note.
His expression darkened.
“What is it?” Raphael asked.
The king handed him the message.
Raphael read the words aloud.
“Deliver the Silver Heir.”
“Or die.”
The message carried no signature.
It didn’t need one.
Everyone knew who sent it.
The First King.
Lord Darius.
Far away in the northern fortress of Blackspire, Darius sat upon a throne of iron.
He was the oldest of the Seven Kings of No Throne.
His dark armor reflected the firelight.
A giant map covered the wall before him.
Small markers represented armies.
And all of them were moving.
A general entered the room and bowed.
“My king.”
Darius didn’t look away from the map.
“The girl?”
“Still alive.”
The king’s eyes narrowed.
Adrian.
Darius had expected that.
The young king always interfered.
“Send General Varek.”
The general froze.
“My lord?”
Darius finally looked at him.
“Did I stutter?”
The messenger swallowed.
“No.”
General Varek was a legend.
A monster on the battlefield.
A man who had never lost a duel.
Sending him after Elisa was like sending a dragon after a rabbit.
Back at the inn, dawn arrived.
The group prepared to leave.
The capital was still several days away.
And every hour made them more vulnerable.
As everyone packed supplies, Raphael noticed something strange.
The silver pendant given to him by the messenger was glowing.
Faintly.
But definitely glowing.
His eyes widened.
“What now?”
The pendant grew warmer.
Then a tiny line of silver light appeared on its surface.
Words slowly formed.
Raphael stared in disbelief.
Only he could see them.
The message read:
THE SHIELDED ONE HAS AWAKENED.
Raphael blinked.
“The what?”
The words vanished instantly.
Nobody else noticed.
Everyone was busy preparing for the journey.
But Raphael’s heart raced.
The prophecy.
The hidden fate.
The Oracle’s warning.
Could it really involve him?
Before he could think further, a loud horn echoed from the distance.
BOOOOOOM!
Everyone froze.
Another horn followed.
Then another.
Adrian rushed outside.
His eyes scanned the horizon.
And immediately hardened.
“What is it?” Elisa asked.
The king’s answer made everyone’s blood run cold.
“An army.”
Far across the plains, thousands of soldiers marched toward them.
At the front rode a giant man clad in black steel armor.
A massive sword rested across his shoulder.
Even from miles away, his presence felt terrifying.
Adrian recognized him instantly.
General Varek.
The strongest warrior serving the First King.
And he was coming for Elisa.