Chapter SevenThe King Who Never Died
747 Words
Elara couldn’t breathe.
The man standing across the chamber was supposed to be dead.
Everyone knew that.
King Alaric had supposedly died twenty years ago during the fall of the Moon Kingdom.
Yet there he stood.
Alive.
Older.
And smiling at her like he’d been waiting his entire life for this moment.
Cassian stepped in front of Elara.
“You’re supposed to be dead.”
Alaric laughed softly.
“So were you.”
Cassian’s grip tightened around his sword.
“Why are you here?”
Alaric’s eyes moved past him.
“To reclaim what was stolen from me.”
His gaze settled on Elara.
“The crown.”
Elara stepped forward.
“You destroyed my memories.”
Alaric smiled.
“I saved you.”
“You attacked my village.”
“I needed you frightened enough to reveal yourself.”
Elara’s anger rose.
“You killed innocent people.”
“I killed no one.”
Cassian’s eyes narrowed.
“Liar.”
Alaric ignored him.
“Elara, you have been hidden from the kingdom for twenty years. Your mother sacrificed everything to keep you alive.”
“My mother?”
Alaric nodded.
“Lysandra.”
Elara froze.
“Lysandra is my mother?”
Cassian looked stunned.
Alaric smiled.
“Now you understand.”
Elara’s mind raced.
The portrait.
The memories.
The photograph.
Everything was beginning to connect.
“But why did everyone say she was your mate?”
Alaric’s smile disappeared.
“Because that was the lie that protected you.”
Cassian stared at him.
“You’re saying Lysandra was never my mate?”
“She was.”
Alaric looked at Cassian.
“But she was also the last Queen.”
Elara’s heart pounded.
“And my father?”
For the first time, Alaric hesitated.
“You were never told?”
“No.”
Alaric looked toward Cassian.
Then back at Elara.
“Your father is the reason the Moon Crown was destroyed.”
Cassian stepped forward.
“Enough.”
Alaric raised his hand.
The soldiers immediately surrounded them.
“You have spent years believing you were protecting the kingdom, Cassian.”
His eyes hardened.
“But you were protecting a lie.”
Cassian’s expression darkened.
“What lie?”
“That your mate died.”
Elara looked between them.
“What happened to her?”
Alaric smiled.
“You’re asking the wrong question.”
“What should I ask?”
He looked directly at her.
“You should ask why she chose to leave you with him.”
Elara’s stomach twisted.
“Why?”
“Because she knew Cassian would eventually be forced to kill you.”
Cassian went still.
Elara looked at him.
“Is that true?”
“No.”
Alaric laughed.
“Ask him.”
Elara stared into Cassian’s silver eyes.
“Cassian?”
His jaw tightened.
“I would never hurt you.”
“But did you know about me?”
He didn’t answer.
That silence was enough.
Elara stepped backward.
“You knew.”
“I suspected.”
“How long?”
“Since the night I saw you.”
“You knew something was wrong.”
“Yes.”
“And you still brought me here.”
“To protect you.”
“Or to use me?”
Cassian’s expression broke.
“Elara, no.”
A sudden explosion shook the chamber.
The soldiers stumbled.
The guardian roared.
Alaric looked toward the entrance.
“What have you done?”
A voice answered from the darkness.
“Finished what you started.”
A woman stepped into the chamber.
Elara’s breath caught.
She knew that face.
The face from the portrait.
The face from her memories.
The woman everyone believed was dead.
Lysandra.
Her mother.
Alive.
Lysandra’s eyes met Elara’s.
Tears filled them.
“Elara.”
Elara couldn’t move.
For twenty years, she had believed she had no family.
No past.
No identity.
And now the woman standing before her was the answer to everything.
Lysandra took one step forward.
“I’ve been looking for you.”
Elara’s voice trembled.
“Why did you leave me?”
Lysandra’s expression shattered.
“Because if I stayed…”
She looked at Cassian.
“…they would have used you to destroy him.”
Cassian stared at her.
“You’re alive.”
Lysandra nodded.
“And I came back because they found her.”
The former King suddenly smiled.
“No.”
His eyes moved toward Elara.
“They found me.”
Then the castle began to shake.
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