THE PRINCE BENEATH THE BLACK CROWN

Chapter 15: The First Lie

The scream echoed through the palace again, I stood frozen in the corridor, Vespera's words repeating in my mind, who your mother really was, I wanted to chase after Riven, I wanted answers but my body refused to move.

"What happened to him?" I asked.

Vespera stood slowly. "He remembered something he had spent years trying to forget."

"What?"

"That's something you should ask your husband."

"He isn't my husband."

"Not yet." The way she said it made my stomach twist. "What do you mean?"

She stepped closer. "You still have a choice."

"A choice about what?"

"Whether you become his salvation…" She glanced toward the corridor where Riven had vanished. "…or his destruction."

Before I could ask what that meant, footsteps approached. Queen Mirelle appeared with several guards, her expression calm. Too calm.

"Seren."

"Your Majesty."

Her eyes went straight to the broken crown in my hands, and for the first time I saw real fear on her face. "Where did you get that?"

"Vespera gave it to me."

Her gaze snapped to Vespera. "You."

Vespera smiled. "You're still protecting them."

"I don't know what you're talking about."

"Of course you don't."

The queen turned to the guards. "Take Vespera to her chambers." They moved forward, and Vespera didn't resist but as she passed me, she whispered, "Remember what you saw." Then she was gone.

I looked at Queen Mirelle. "What was that crown?"

"A dangerous object."

"Why did it react to me?"

She paused. "It didn't."

"What?"

"The crown didn't react to you."

I looked down the black metal was still faintly glowing. "I saw it."

"You were frightened. Your imagination…."

"No." I cut her off. "I know what I saw."

Her expression hardened. "Seren, you have been through a great deal tonight."

"That doesn't mean I'm imagining things."

"I didn't say you were."

"You just did."

She looked away, and there it was a tiny hesitation a lie, I remembered Riven's warning. Don't trust anyone simply because they wear a crown.

I tightened my grip on it. "Where is Riven?"

"He went to his private wing."

"Why?"

"He needs to be alone."

"I want to see him."

"No." The answer came too quickly.

"Why?"

"Because he is unstable."

"Is that what you call him?"

Her face softened. "He can be dangerous when his power is uncontrolled."

"So Vespera was telling the truth."

"Vespera tells half-truths."

"Then tell me the other half."

She looked at me for a long moment, then sighed. "Riven has been cursed since childhood."

"I know."

"No. You don't." She stepped closer, "The curse isn't simply something inside him."

"Then what is it?"

"The Black Crown."

My heart beat faster. "What does it do?"

"It amplifies whatever is inside the person wearing it."

"And Riven?"

"He has spent years fighting it."

I thought of his black eyes, the blood on his clothes, his warning not to let him sleep. "What happens when he loses?"

She looked away. "People die."

I swallowed. "Did my mother know?"

"Yes." The answer came immediately, and I froze.

"You knew her?"

She nodded. "Your mother and I were friends."

"Then why did nobody tell me?"

"Because your mother asked us not to."

"Why?"

"She believed keeping you ignorant would keep you safe."

I laughed, bitter. "Safe?" I held up the crown. "I've been lied to my entire life."

Sadness filled her eyes. "We were trying to protect you."

"Everyone says that." I turned away. "My father said it, my brother said it, Riven says it, Now you say it." I looked back at her. "But no one tells me what they're protecting me from."

She said nothing.

"Tell me the truth."

"I can't."

"Why?"

"Because Riven hasn't told you his."

I frowned. "What does Riven have to do with my mother?"

Her face went pale. "More than you realize." She turned to leave.

"Wait." She stopped. "Did Riven know my mother?"

"Yes."

"How well?"

Silence.

"Your Majesty."

She turned back slowly. "Riven loved her."

My heart stopped. "What?"

"He was only twelve."

"You said they knew each other."

"I did."

"You said they were connected."

"I didn't say how."

My hands began trembling. "He loved my mother?"

"In the way a frightened child can love the only person who makes him feel safe."

I didn't know what to say, then another thought struck me. "What happened the night she disappeared?"

Her expression changed. "That's a question you should ask Riven."

"You know."

"Yes."

"Then tell me."

"I can't."

"Why?"

"Because I made a promise."

"To whom?"

She looked at the crown. "To your mother."

Tears stung my eyes. "She's dead."

"Yes."

"Then the promise doesn't matter anymore."

Her voice softened. "You're wrong." And she walked away.

I stood alone again, everyone had an answer. Everyone had a secret. And somehow I was always the last person to know.

I went back to my room, where Mira was waiting. The moment she saw my face, she stood. "What happened?"

I closed the door. "Did you know?"

"Know what?"

"That Riven knew my mother."

Her face changed only for a second, but I caught it. "You knew."

She swallowed. "I knew they had met."

"Don't lie to me."

"I wasn't…"

"You were."

She looked down. "I'm sorry."

I stepped back. "Who else knows?"

"I don't know."

"You're lying again."

She started crying. "I was told not to tell you."

"By whom?"

She didn't answer.

"Mira."

"Your brother."

My heart sank. "Elian?"

She nodded.

"Why would Elian know about Riven?"

"I don't know."

"What else did he tell you?"

She wiped her eyes. "He said the marriage wasn't supposed to happen."

"What?"

"He said your family was trying to get you close to the royal family for a reason."

"What reason?"

"I don't know."

I turned to the window, everything suddenly felt like a carefully constructed trap my family, the royal family, Riven, my mother's death, the Black Crown. And now me.

Then I remembered the first letter, the one my mother had written. I pulled it from beneath my pillow and read it again.

The Black Crown remembers, when it calls your name, do not answer.

I'd thought it was a warning about Riven. Now I wasn't so sure.

A knock sounded. I quickly hid the letter. "Who is it?"

A guard answered. "His Highness requests your presence."

My heart jumped. "Riven?"

"Yes."

I opened the door, and the guard stepped aside. "He is waiting in the east tower."

I followed him through the palace, the east tower was almost empty, and at the top I found Riven standing beside an open window, his back to me.

"Riven."

He turned. He looked exhausted no blood on him now, but his eyes were haunted. "You came."

"You asked me to."

"Yes."

I stepped closer. "What did you remember?"

He looked away. "My childhood."

"And my mother?"

His jaw tightened. "Yes."

"Tell me."

He said nothing.

"Riven."

"I can't."

My chest tightened. "Why?"

"Because if I tell you, you'll hate me."

"Maybe I already should."

His eyes met mine. "You don't know what you're asking."

"Then tell me."

He took a slow breath. "Your mother came to the palace eighteen years ago." I waited. "She came because she discovered what my father was planning."

"What was he planning?"

His expression darkened. "To use the Black Crown."

"For what?"

"To awaken something beneath the kingdom."

My blood went cold. "What?"

He looked directly at me. "And your mother tried to stop him."

I remembered the voice beneath the castle, the ancient thing calling my name. "What happened?"

He stepped closer. "She failed."

"Did my mother die?"

His eyes dropped. "I don't know."

I froze. "You don't know?"

"No."

"But Vespera said .."

"Vespera doesn't know everything."

"And the queen?"

"What did she tell you?"

"That you loved my mother."

His face went completely still. "She told you that?"

"Yes."

He looked away. "That isn't true."

I stared at him, and the words came slowly. "You're lying."

He didn't answer, I remembered the first warning, Don't trust anyone and now I understood why because even Riven, the one person who'd warned me about lies, had just told me one.

"You did love her," I whispered.

His eyes closed. "Yes."

My heart dropped, then he opened his eyes again. "But not the way you think."

Before I could ask what that meant, something slammed against the tower door,Riven turned, the door shook again, and a voice came through it.

"Prince Riven."

He reached for his sword. "Who are you?"

"The person who knows what Seren really is."

Riven looked at me, his face changing. "Stay behind me."

The door began to c***k, and from the other side the stranger whispered, "Tell her the truth, Riven."

A pause.

"Or I will.”