A Sacred Bond

Unraveling Secrets

Yet the voice that sounded after was clear-cold, commanding, and full of such promise of danger, for the figure in the door remained in darkness.

Elena's heart raced as her eyes fixed on the stranger. Her breath caught in her throat; for a moment, she thought screaming may be an option.

“Who are you, then?” Elena said, her voice shaking though she tried to sound forceful. “What do you desire?”

He stepped forward, and the man cast a sharp, threatening silhouette against the room's low light. Deliberate, flowing, his robe trailing behind him, his movement was almost photographic.

Elena's heart leaped at his entrance into brightness. Although she had never seen the face emerging from the shadows, something in his eyes was cold; a knowing gaze churned her stomach.

"I know the truth," said the stranger, lowering his voice yet bearing something steady, almost as if speaking directly into her thoughts.

Tensed in expectancy was Kaelen, who had automatically placed his hand on the hilt of his sword.

"Who sent you?" “ You do not belong here.”

Completely ignoring him, the stranger kept his eyes trained on Elena's.

"This alliance, this marriage you reference-" He hesitated, a sneer pulling at his lips. “Falsehood.” “And I have arrived to ensure you comprehend the underlying cause.”

She felt a chill far colder than the air seeping under her skin. Her heart was pounding in her chest, and she gradually backed away.

“What do you mean by that?” “What untruth?”

The man moved forward again, and the room's atmosphere thickened as if the walls were closing in. His eyes sparkled with wisdom that she was unsure she wanted to hear.

“Your father's marriage plan is not to save the kingdom.” “It's because of authority.” “Authority!” “House Morvannis plans to dominate the throne, not only in line with your family.”

“Elena, you see…” He leaned in a little, with his words laced with threat.

“You are the answer to everything.”

Elena's hands trembled as she tried to latch hold of his words, and a piercing scream escaped her lips. She stared at her father, wishing he could clarify or assure her that this man was lying, that he was just a dangerous fool. But her father's face was pale, and his eyes showed anxiety. Elena saw him first as a man caught in a net that was much more significant than he could handle rather than her protector.

“You," Elena put softly, incredulously shaking her head as if not believing what she just heard. “You have been fooling me?” “All this while?” “Roughly everything?”

The stranger interrupted her father before he could say anything.

“Elena lacks the whole narrative.” “None of them do, either.” “Marriage is not the key to a much darker game; it is not just a vessel for political benefit.”

“Your father lacks knowledge of everything.” “He was informed what the Morvannis family wanted him to believe and what he needed to know.”

"Stop!" her father shouted, his voice breaking.

“Simon, enough of this lunacy.” “Leave now, or I will have you booted out.”

Elena's head swung toward him at the utterance of the word. While she had never heard about him, Simon knew it from his presence in the room; the unmistakable tone of authority started filling it.

Ignoring the danger in Elena's father's voice, Simon said, "Father, you've been lying to her." "You all have been tricked by me.”

His face turned red with dangerous fury as he shouted, "You do not know what is left at stake here!” “To save this kingdom – our kingdom – I have done what has to be done." "Guard it?" Simon said, a faint chuckle escaping his mouth, though it did not sound amusing.

"You have been so contributing to its destruction. “You have been selling it off to the highest bidder."

Each one slicing more into Elena's soul, the words hung poisonously in the air then. She had always believed in his choices and trusted her dad. But now the reality was beginning to come apart in front of her, finally more than she could stand. Elena said softly, her voice almost undetectable, "Why?"

Why am I? Why this wedding? His face inches from hers, Simon moved closer.

Though his eyes were black, there was a glimmer of something else she couldn't precisely identify.

“Elena, you are the key since you have the key.” “You are the true heir to the throne.” “Your bloodline – your mother's bloodline – has a better claim than anyone knows to the throne.”

“The Morvannis do not want your power only in the coalition of your family.” “You are not just a pawn in their game. You are the game.”

The ground swirled, and Elena felt the fleeting glass beneath her feet. Simon's words pressed down on her so she could hardly convey her shock through closeness. It overwhelmed her, as she had been told to honor and obey one's family and serve the country, but everything she had ever known was crumbling around her.

Her father's face became ashen.

"That's impossible," he said, his voice quivering. "Her bloodline was never meant to--" He continued by saying, his voice stern: "Don't lie to her anymore.”

“It has been understood that the truth has eluded your daughter while the Morvannis' goals have been hidden.” “She is the last living heir to the Valerium throne, and you have hidden it from her.”

The air in the room seemed to be sucked away from Elena, and her legs buckled beneath her so that she dropped into the nearest chair. Looking at her father for any sign that it was all a lie, she found only worry on his face. Regret and anxiety.

Elena's voice cracked with the words, "You've been employing me." Haven't I been only a tool to you for your aspirations?”

Her father remained silent. He was unable to do so.

"Is this accurate?" Elena enquired of Kaelen, her voice frantic.

"Am I really the heir?"

Kaelen's quiet provided the answer she required. He gave no indication of agreeing or disagreeing. Her face expressed distress and alarm.

His face unreadable, Simon moved back.

“Elena, the reality is worse than you can believe.” “But you are not by yourself.” “You can select another route that does not make you a pawn for your father or the Morvannis.”

Elena's room felt like it was closing in, and the world was spinning around her.