Seraphina's POV - Wedding Day, Night
The Emperor ordered my father's death? I stare at Lyra. But why? My father was loyal!
That's exactly why. Lyra pulls me into a narrow doorway, out of sight. Your father discovered something. Something that could destroy the Emperor's reign.
My mind spins. What could possibly
Not here. Lyra glances around nervously. These streets have eyes. Come.
She leads me through twisting alleys, moving fast despite her age. We duck into a building that looks abandoned from outside.
Inside, it's anything but.
People crowd the small space. Men, women, even children. All watching me with wide eyes.
Who are they? I whisper.
Valerians. Lyra's voice is soft. The ones who escaped. The ones who've been waiting for you.
An old man steps forward. Lady Seraphina? Is it really you?
I recognize him. Thomas? You worked in our stables!
He nods, tears in his eyes. Your father saved my family the night before the siege. Told us to run. We thought you died with them.
I almost did. I look around at all these faces. People I knew. People my father protected. You've all been hiding here?
Waiting, a woman says. Waiting for the day we could fight back.
Fight back? My voice rises. Against the Emperor? That's impossible!
Not if we have proof of his crimes. Lyra touches my hand. The locket. May I?
I hand it over reluctantly.
She takes it to a table with tools and a magnifying glass. Her fingers work with practiced skill, prying at the edge of the paintings.
Your mother was brilliant, Lyra says as she works. She encoded everything in these portraits. But you need to know how to look.
The painting of Adrian peels back. Behind it, tiny writing covers every inch of the hidden surface.
My breath catches.
Lyra reads aloud: Emperor Tiberius embezzlement of war funds. Treasury records altered. Fifty million in gold diverted to personal accounts.
He's stealing from his own empire? I lean closer.
There's more. She peels back my portrait. More tiny writing. Assassination of Duke Meridian blamed on rebels but ordered by the Emperor. Poisoning of Lady Hartford covered as illness. Murder of General Kastusstaged as battlefield death.
The list goes on. And on.
Names. Dates. Crimes.
My mother documented years of the Emperor's secret murders and theft.
This is why he killed them; I breathe. Mother knew. She was going to expose him.
Lyra's revelation rocks my understanding of everything. The Emperor himself? I thought Blackwell was the mastermind, the spider at the center of the web. But he's just a fly caught in a bigger web, a tool used by someone far more powerful. How deep does this conspiracy go? How many people were involved in destroying my family?
Your father was going to present this evidence to the Noble Council, Lyra confirms. The Emperor found out. Couldn't risk it. So he manufactured treason charges and had your whole family eliminated.
Rage builds in my chest. Not the hot, chaotic anger from before. This is cold. Focused. Deadly.
Where's the rest? I demand. This can't be everything.
It's not. Lyra points to the final line of text: Full records hidden. Only the General knows where.
My heart stops. Kael?
Your mother trusted him. Lyra meets my eyes. Before the siege, she sent him a message. Gave him copies of everything. Asked him to protect it if anything happened to her.
Everything clicks into place.
Why Kael questioned the treason charges.
Why he tried to stop the siege.
Why the Emperor forced this marriage to control Kael and keep him from exposing the truth.
He's had the evidence all along, I whisper.
And now the Emperor has him. Thomas's voice is grim. If Blackwell makes him talk
He won't. I don't know how I know this, but I do. Kael would die before betraying my mother's trust.
Which means he's probably going to die.
Unless I save him first.
I need to get back to the palace, I say. Kael told me there's more evidence in his study. If I can get it before Blackwell
That's suicide, Lyra interrupts. The palace is crawling with guards looking for you.
I don't care. I stand straighter. Kael sacrificed himself so I could escape. I'm not letting him die while I hide.
You're not hiding. An old woman's voice comes from the corner. You're leading.
I turn. An ancient Valerian woman sits in a wheelchair, her eyes sharp despite her age.
Lady Seraphina, she says. Your father was our duke. Your mother was our duchess. You are the last of House Valence. These people have been waiting for you to claim your birth right.
I don't understand.
The Emperor can kill your body, she continues. But he can't kill your bloodline's claim. You are the rightful Duchess of Valeria. And we are your people.
Thomas drops to one knee. Then another person. Another.
In moments, every person in the room is kneeling.
To me.
We pledge ourselves to House Valence, Thomas says. To you, Lady Seraphina. Command us.
I look at all these faces. These survivors. These fighters.
The Valerians in hiding stare at me with hope I don't deserve. They see the daughter of their beloved Duke, the heir to House Valence. They don't see a frightened girl who's been running and hiding for two years. They don't see someone who doesn't know how to lead, how to fight, how to win. But maybe I can learn. Maybe Adrian's legacy can teach me.
My people.
Then here's my first command. My voice is steel. We're going to rescue General Thorne. We're going to get that evidence. And we're going to destroy the Emperor.
A cheer rises.
Lyra grins. Now you sound like your mother.
We plan quickly. The palace has guard rotations. Weak points. Secret passages that Lyra knows from her years serving there.
We can do this. We have to.
One problem, Thomas says. Even if we rescue the General, where do we go? The Emperor controls the army, the guard, the whole empire. We need allies.
We need proof first, I say. Once we have evidence, we can
A crash from outside. Shouting. Boots pounding.
They found us! someone screams.
The door explodes inward.
Imperial guards flood in, weapons drawn.
And leading them, smiling that oily smile, is Lord Blackwell.
My dear Lady Thorne, he purrs. Did you really think I wouldn't follow you?
Behind him, more guards drag someone forward.
My heart stops.
It's Kael.
Beaten. Bloodied. Barely conscious.
But alive.
Blackwell presses a knife to Kael's throat. Here's the situation. You give me every piece of evidence the locket, the documents in Thorne's study, everything or I open his throat right here.
Don't, Kael manages to say. His eyes meet mine. Don't give him anything.
Quiet. Blackwell presses the knife harder. A thin line of blood appears.
I look at the locket in my hand. The only proof of the Emperor's crimes.
Then at Kael. The man who protected my mother's secret. Who tried to save my family. Who married me to keep me safe.
The man I'm starting to realize I can't let die.
Well? Blackwell's smile widens. What's it worth to you? Justice or his life? You can't have both.
My hand tightens on the locket.
This is an impossible choice.
Mother's locket weighs heavy around my neck. All this time, she carried proof of the Emperor's crimes against her skin. Did she know she was going to die? Did she prepare this evidence expecting someone me, Kael, anyone to find it and use it? She was always smarter than people gave her credit for. Beautiful, graceful, perfect lady and underneath, a brilliant strategist planning for the worst.
But I've already made it.
Let him go, I say. The locket is yours.
NO! Kael struggles. Seraphina, don't
I'm sorry. I meet his eyes. But I'm not letting you die. Not for me.
I hold out the locket.
Blackwell reaches for it.
And Lyra whispers in my ear: Now.
Everything happens at once.
The guards behind Blackwell they're not guards at all. They're Valerians in stolen uniforms.
They attack.
Lyra yanks me backward.
Kael breaks free, grabbing Blackwell's knife hand.
Chaos erupts.
In the confusion, someone grabs me. I fight
It's me! A young man's voice. I'm helping!
I don't recognize him, but he's pulling me toward a back exit.
Who are you?
He grins. I'm Jason. Your brother's friend. And we need to run. Right now.
My brother's Hope and pain explode in my chest. You knew Adrian?
Later! RUN!
We burst out the back into an alley.
Behind us fighting, screaming, fire.
Where are we going?
Somewhere the Emperor will never find you. Jason's eyes are fierce. Your brother made me promise. If anything happened to him, I'd protect you. I'm keeping that promise.
We run through the dark streets.
And I realize my brother had friends I never knew about.
Plans I never knew existed.
How much more don't I know?