The dungeon walls dripped with moisture, the scent of rust and decay hanging in the air. Edward's wrists ached against the manacles. His once-pristine uniform was little more than rags, and the cold seeped deep into his bones.
He had lost track of time — days or weeks, it didn't matter anymore. Only the flicker of torchlight and the footsteps of his captor marked the hours.
Then came that voice again — calm, familiar, sharp as a blade beneath silk.
"You always were too noble for your own good," said Lord Harland, the royal advisor.
Edward raised his head weakly. "You… you betrayed me."
Harland smiled. "Not betrayal, Your Highness. Correction. You were leading the realm toward ruin. You would have chosen her over your duty. Over your blood."
Edward's eyes burned, not from tears but fury. "You call this duty? Selling our country to greed?"
Harland sighed. "History will remember me as the man who saved the crown. And you, Edward, will remain a ghost — a prince who disappeared for love."
He turned to leave, but paused at the door. "Sleep well, my prince. The world believes you're dead. Let's not disappoint them."
The door clanged shut.
Meanwhile, in Redmere
Evelyn's investigation had turned into something darker than she expected.
Every lead she followed ended in silence — witnesses gone, soldiers missing, trails wiped clean.
One night, as she sifted through reports in a candlelit tent, Rowan entered quietly.
"You should rest," he said.
"I can't," she muttered. "Someone in our ranks sent those coordinates to the crown. I'll find who."
Rowan hesitated. "And when you do?"
She looked up, her eyes shadowed by exhaustion and vengeance.
"Then they'll wish they hadn't."
Later that night, Evelyn found a sealed letter hidden beneath a supply crate — marked with a crest she hadn't seen in years: the royal seal of House Langford.
Her breath caught. The wax bore the same mark Edward once used on his private correspondence.
But the message inside… was unsigned.
He is alive. Do not trust Rowan Hale.
Her hand trembled. "What is this…?"
Outside, the night wind howled, carrying whispers that made her skin crawl.
Rowan was already approaching the tent.