The bell continued to ring.
Once.
Twice.
Then a third time.
The sound rolled through the castle corridors, shaking the old windows and sending a flock of small black birds from the towers.
Ravenna was already moving.
"Come on."
Elara followed.
Blue flew after them, his tiny wings beating furiously.
Mira remained in the hidden room for a moment.
She looked down at the ancient book.
The final sentence had disappeared.
Only the silver rose remained.
Mira touched it with one trembling finger.
"Please," she whispered.
"Don't make the same mistake again."
Then she closed the book.
By the time Ravenna and Elara reached the main hall, several castle guards were already gathered around a young messenger.
The messenger was covered in dust.
His armor was torn.
One sleeve was stained with blood.
Ravenna immediately crossed the hall.
"What happened?"
The messenger dropped to one knee.
"Your Majesty."
"Forget the formalities."
Ravenna knelt in front of him.
"Tell me."
The young soldier looked exhausted.
"The northern watchtowers."
Ravenna's expression hardened.
"Are they under attack?"
"No."
The soldier swallowed.
"That's the problem."
Elara stepped closer.
"What happened?"
"They're still standing."
He looked at Ravenna.
"But no one is inside them."
Silence.
Ravenna stood.
"Explain."
"All three watchtowers are empty."
"How many soldiers?"
"Thirty-six."
"Casualties?"
"We don't know."
"Tracks?"
"None."
Ravenna's eyes narrowed.
"Blood?"
"None."
Elara felt cold.
"Then where did they go?"
The messenger shook his head.
"We found their weapons."
He reached into his satchel.
Three small objects fell onto the table.
A sword.
A helmet.
A silver military bell.
Elara recognized the symbol carved into the bell.
The Northern Kingdom.
Prince Adrian's crest.
Ravenna looked at it.
"When did this happen?"
"Last night."
"And the soldiers?"
"We found one."
The messenger hesitated.
"Alive."
Ravenna immediately turned.
"Where?"
"In the infirmary."
The soldier was unconscious when they arrived.
His face was pale.
His breathing was shallow.
Garin stood beside the bed with his arms crossed.
"He's alive."
Ravenna nodded.
"Can he speak?"
"Not yet."
Elara approached the bed.
There was something strange about the soldier's expression.
His eyes moved beneath his closed eyelids.
As if he were dreaming.
Elara placed her hand near his.
The silver rose on her palm warmed.
The soldier suddenly opened his eyes.
He grabbed her wrist.
"Don't..."
Elara froze.
"Don't what?"
The soldier stared at her.
His eyes were filled with terror.
"Don't open the door."
Ravenna stepped forward.
"What door?"
The soldier's gaze moved to her.
His face went white.
"The black one."
Ravenna's hand tightened around her sword.
"Where?"
The soldier's lips trembled.
"Beneath..."
He gasped.
"Beneath the old palace."
Then he collapsed again.
Garin checked his pulse.
"He's unconscious."
Elara looked at Ravenna.
Neither spoke.
The old palace.
Ravenna's father's palace.
The place they had just learned they needed to investigate.
Mira's warning suddenly felt much more urgent.
Ravenna turned to Garin.
"Take care of him."
"Of course."
Then she looked at Elara.
"We're going."
Elara nodded.
Prince Adrian was waiting in the castle courtyard.
He looked considerably less calm than usual.
When he saw Ravenna, he approached immediately.
"My soldiers."
"I know."
"They disappeared."
"Yes."
Adrian glanced at Elara.
"Did you find anything?"
Elara hesitated.
Ravenna answered.
"They heard something beneath the northern border."
Adrian's expression darkened.
"Voices?"
"Yes."
"Did they say anything?"
Ravenna looked at him.
"One soldier warned us not to open a black door."
Adrian went completely still.
"You heard that too?"
Elara frowned.
"You know something?"
Adrian looked toward the mountains.
"My father used to tell me stories."
Ravenna folded her arms.
"Stories about what?"
"The old palace."
Ravenna's expression changed.
"My father's palace?"
Adrian nodded.
"He told me never to go there."
"Why?"
"He said something was buried beneath it."
Ravenna stared at him.
"What?"
Adrian shook his head.
"I don't know."
"You've known this for years?"
"I knew it was dangerous."
His eyes met Ravenna's.
"I didn't know why."
Ravenna stepped closer.
"Tell me everything."
Adrian sighed.
"When I was a child, my father used to visit your father."
Ravenna nodded.
"I know."
"They would talk for hours."
"About the war?"
"Sometimes."
Adrian looked at Elara.
"Sometimes about the past."
Elara remembered the hidden library.
"The First Pact."
Adrian's eyes widened.
"You know about it?"
Ravenna answered.
"We found a library beneath the castle."
Adrian stared.
"You found it."
"Yes."
"Then the stories were true."
"What stories?"
Adrian looked toward the mountains.
"My father once told me that your father had discovered something beneath the old palace."
Ravenna's expression tightened.
"What?"
"A door."
Elara felt her stomach drop.
"The black door?"
Adrian nodded.
"He believed it was connected to the old war."
Ravenna's voice became quiet.
"Why didn't he tell me?"
"Perhaps he wanted to protect you."
Ravenna looked away.
For a moment, Elara saw the child hidden beneath the Queen.
A little girl who had lost her mother.
A little girl whose father had carried secrets.
A little girl who had grown up believing that being strong meant never asking why.
Elara reached for her hand.
Ravenna looked down.
Then she intertwined their fingers.
Adrian watched them.
Something softened in his expression.
"I suppose you really did choose this."
Elara looked at him.
"Choose what?"
"This."
He gestured toward their joined hands.
"Each other."
Elara smiled.
"Yes."
Ravenna squeezed her hand.
"Every day."
Adrian nodded.
"Then perhaps that is why the old magic woke."
Ravenna looked at him sharply.
"What do you mean?"
"My father used to say..."
He hesitated.
Then continued.
"The Silver Rose does not bloom because two kingdoms agree."
Elara remembered the ancient book.
"It blooms because two people do."
Adrian nodded.
"Exactly."
For several seconds, no one spoke.
Then Blue landed on Ravenna's head.
Adrian blinked.
"Is that the dragon?"
Ravenna sighed.
"Unfortunately."
Blue chirped.
Elara smiled.
"He likes you."
"He has poor judgment."
Blue bit a strand of Ravenna's hair.
Ravenna winced.
"Very poor judgment."
Adrian laughed.
It was the first time Elara had seen him genuinely relax since arriving at the castle.
For one brief moment, the tension broke.
Everyone looked up.
Nothing was there.
But Blue began growling.
Ravenna's expression changed.
"Inside."
The guards moved immediately.
A dark mark appeared in the stone beneath their feet.
A circle.
Then another.
Then another.
Black lines spread across the courtyard like cracks.
Elara's silver mark burned.
Ravenna grabbed her hand.
"Don't let go."
"I won't."
The mark stopped spreading.
The black lines recoiled.
A silver rose appeared at the center of the courtyard.
Then it vanished.
Adrian stared.
"That..."
Mira came running from the castle.
She stopped when she saw the courtyard.
Her face went pale.
"No."
Ravenna turned.
"What?"
Mira looked at the mountains.
"The palace."
Elara felt the answer before Mira spoke.
"The door has opened."
They left at sunset.
Ravenna wanted to wait until morning.
Elara knew why.
The old palace was dangerous.
The northern soldiers had disappeared.
The ancient seal was weakening.
And something beneath the castle was awake.
But waiting felt worse.
So Ravenna prepared a small group.
Adrian insisted on coming.
Mira stayed behind to protect the library.
Blue, naturally, refused to stay behind.
He climbed into Elara's travel bag and refused to leave.
Ravenna eventually gave up.
"You are impossible."
Blue poked his head out.
Elara smiled.
"He learned from you."
Ravenna stared.
"I am beginning to regret introducing you two."
They rode into the evening.
The road toward the old palace wound through the mountains.
The sky slowly darkened.
The castle disappeared behind them.
Elara rode beside Ravenna.
For a while, neither spoke.
Then Ravenna said,
"Are you afraid?"
"Yes."
"Me too."
Elara looked at her.
Ravenna smiled.
"At least we're honest."
Elara nodded.
They continued riding.
After a while, Elara's hand slipped from the reins.
Ravenna noticed.
She reached over.
Their fingers touched.
Neither moved away.
They rode like that for several minutes.
No declarations.
No promises.
Just warmth.
Then Elara spoke.
"Ravenna."
"Hm?"
"If we find something terrible down there..."
Ravenna looked at her.
"We face it together."
"And if there really is a price?"
Ravenna's expression became serious.
"We find another way."
"You sound very certain."
"I am."
"Even if there isn't one?"
Ravenna looked ahead.
"Then we keep looking."
Elara smiled.
"Until when?"
"Until we find one."
The mountains grew darker around them.
Ahead, between two cliffs, stood the ruins of an ancient palace.
Its towers were broken.
Its windows were black.
No lights burned within.
But beneath the ruins...
Something was glowing.
A faint red light.
Like an eye.
Ravenna stopped her horse.
Elara stared.
Adrian rode up behind them.
"What is that?"
No one answered.
Then the ground trembled.
Once.
Twice.
Three times.
A deep sound rose from beneath the palace.
A heartbeat.
Elara felt Ravenna's hand tighten around hers.
The silver mark on both their palms began to glow.
And from somewhere beneath the ruined palace, a voice whispered their names.
"Ravenna."
"Elara."
They looked at each other.
The voice whispered again.
"Come."
The old palace gates opened by themselves.
And beyond them, the darkness was waiting.