CHAPTER 5
408 Words
The Dead Kingdom
Aurelia stared at the black ring in the guard's palm.
Smoke still filled the corridor, carrying the smell of ash and burning wood.
“The kingdom was destroyed?” she asked.
Kael nodded.
“Three hundred years ago. Queen Seraphine was its last ruler.”
He turned the ring over.
A silver crescent was carved inside.
Aurelia's pendant suddenly grew hot.
She pulled it from beneath her dress.
The crescent on it was glowing.
Kael's eyes narrowed.
“They match.”
“My mother gave me this.”
“Then your mother may have known about Seraphine.”
Before Aurelia could answer, the High Priestess appeared through the smoke.
Her eyes fell on the ring.
She went pale.
“Your Majesty, we need to talk.”
Kael stepped toward her.
“About the bloodline?”
The High Priestess nodded.
“Seraphine's bloodline was believed to have ended when her kingdom fell.”
Aurelia frowned.
“Then why are you looking at me?”
The High Priestess met her eyes.
“Because it didn't end.”
Aurelia's heart stopped.
“You think I'm related to her?”
“We don't know yet,” the High Priestess said. “But your reaction to the Moonstone, your mother's pendant, and the bond all point toward the same possibility.”
Kael looked at Aurelia.
“So someone from Seraphine's bloodline survived.”
“And that person may be you,” the High Priestess replied.
Aurelia shook her head.
“My mother would have told me.”
“Perhaps she was trying to protect you.”
The pendant suddenly burned against Aurelia's palm.
The Moonstone began to glow.
A whisper moved through the corridor.
“The blood has awakened.”
Aurelia's breath caught.
Kael stepped closer.
For once, he had no sarcastic answer.
The High Priestess looked toward the Moonstone.
“If Aurelia truly carries Seraphine's blood, the people who attacked tonight weren't trying to start a war.”
She looked at Aurelia.
“They were trying to find the heir.”
Aurelia's stomach dropped.
“Why?”
The High Priestess's voice lowered.
“Because whoever controls Seraphine's bloodline may control the ancient power she left behind.”
The palace fell silent.
Then a wolf howled beyond the walls.
Kael drew his sword.
Aurelia tightened her grip on the pendant.
Whatever her mother had hidden from her, Aurelia was beginning to understand one thing.
Her past had finally found her.
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