The Shattered Realms

Chapter 10 — The Two Crowns

The rain began before dawn.

It fell quietly over the Wen estate, washing the stone paths and darkening the wooden roofs until the entire household seemed to disappear beneath a veil of silver.

Selerin stood beside the window.

She had not slept.

Again and again, the words from the royal records returned to her.

The child of two royal bloodlines.

And beneath them—

When the two bloods awaken within one vessel, the forgotten crown shall rise again.

She touched the place beneath her collar.

The mark was quiet now.

But she could still feel it.

Like something sleeping beneath her skin.

Something that had begun to wake.

A soft knock came at the door.

"Selerin?"

She quickly lowered her hand.

It was Wen Lianhua.

"You've been awake all night, haven't you?"

Selerin gave a small smile.

"I couldn't sleep."

Lianhua entered and closed the door behind her.

"You've been saying that a lot lately."

Selerin looked toward the rain.

"I've been having strange dreams."

"About the forest?"

Selerin hesitated.

"About a palace."

Lianhua's expression changed.

"What kind of palace?"

"I don't know."

Selerin's voice became quieter.

"But there were crowns."

"How many?"

"Two."

Lianhua stared at her.

"Two?"

Selerin nodded.

"And somehow... they felt like they belonged together."

Before Lianhua could answer, footsteps sounded from the corridor.

Feli.

Selerin immediately knew something was wrong.

He rarely walked that quickly.

The door opened.

Feli stood there, rainwater still clinging to his cloak.

"We need to leave."

Selerin frowned.

"Why?"

"The royal archive was searched last night."

Her stomach tightened.

"The missing page?"

Feli nodded.

"Someone took the page containing Princess Yi Xin's name."

Selerin went still.

For a moment, neither of them spoke.

Then Feli looked directly at her.

"And there's something else."

"What?"

"I found another record."

He reached beneath his cloak and pulled out a small piece of parchment.

It was old.

Older than the records they had seen the previous day.

At the center were two symbols.

Two crowns.

One gold.

One silver.

Selerin stared at them.

Her breathing stopped.

"I've seen those."

"Where?"

"In my dream."

Feli's eyes narrowed.

"Tell me everything."

Selerin described the palace.

The five crowns.

The woman holding a newborn.

The man kneeling before her.

The blood on the marble.

The burning doorway.

And finally—

the two crowns.

Feli listened without interrupting.

When she finished, his expression had become grim.

"Those aren't ordinary crowns."

Selerin looked at him.

"What are they?"

"I don't know."

"You do know something."

Feli looked away.

"I know enough to be afraid."

Selerin stepped closer.

"Feli."

He finally met her eyes.

"One crown belonged to the Royal Yi Family."

Selerin's heart skipped.

"And the other?"

Feli was silent.

"The second crown belonged to another royal bloodline."

Selerin stared at the parchment.

"Which one?"

"I don't know."

"You're lying."

"I'm protecting you."

"From what?"

Feli's jaw tightened.

"From a truth that could get you killed."

The words hung between them.

Selerin slowly reached for the parchment.

The moment her fingers touched it—

FLASH.

Gold erupted across the room.

Feli stepped backward.

The two crowns on the parchment began to glow.

The golden crown shone first.

Then the silver one.

And suddenly, Selerin heard a voice.

Not the same voice from the forest.

This one was softer.

Older.

Almost like a whisper carried across centuries.

"Two crowns were born."

Selerin's eyes widened.

"Two bloodlines were bound."

The room disappeared.

She was standing somewhere else.

A vast throne room.

Five crowns rested upon five pillars.

Four were dark.

But two stood beneath a shaft of light.

Gold.

Silver.

At the center stood a young girl.

She couldn't have been more than a few years old.

Someone was holding her hand.

Selerin couldn't see the person's face.

But she heard a woman's voice.

"If they find her, the realms will fall."

Another voice answered.

"Then she must forget."

The little girl began to cry.

The woman knelt.

She touched the girl's forehead.

And the world shattered.

Selerin gasped.

She returned to the room.

Feli caught her before she fell.

"Selerin!"

She gripped his sleeve, breathing hard.

"I saw her."

"Who?"

"The girl."

Feli's expression hardened.

"Who was she?"

Selerin looked at him.

"I think..."

She swallowed.

"I think she was me."

Silence.

Outside, thunder rolled across the sky.

Then Selerin noticed something.

The parchment was still glowing.

But now new writing had appeared beneath the two crowns.

Feli leaned closer.

There were only four words.

THE CROWNS REMEMBER THEIR HEIR.

Selerin's hand trembled.

"Feli..."

"I see it."

"No."

She looked toward the window.

"Someone else sees it too."

Across the courtyard, beneath the rain, a figure stood completely still.

Watching the house.

Watching her.

Feli immediately reached for his sword.

"Stay here."

But Selerin couldn't move.

Because the figure slowly raised one hand.

And beneath the sleeve—

a silver mark glowed.

Selerin's own mark answered.

Gold beneath her collar.

Silver beneath the stranger's hand.

For the first time, Selerin understood something terrifying.

The two crowns were not merely symbols of two kingdoms.

They were connected to two people.

And somehow...

one of them had already found the other.

The figure disappeared into the rain.

Feli rushed outside.

But there was no one there.

Only a single silver feather lay on the stone path.

Selerin watched from the window.

Her fingers slowly closed around the edge of her collar.

Somewhere beyond the walls of the Wen estate, something ancient had begun to move.

And somewhere in the world—

someone was looking for Princess Yi Xin.