I Didn't Know My Husband Is A Prince

The night I discovered that my husband was a prince, three armed royal guards came to my door to kill me. I was standing barefoot in my kitchen when the first explosion shook the windows. The glass rattled above my head, a plate fell from the shelf and shattered on the floor, and for three seconds, I couldn't move. Then the lights went out. “Zawadi?” My husband's voice came from the bedroom. “I’m here!” Another explosion sounded somewhere beyond our house. This one was closer. The floor trembled beneath my feet, and I grabbed the small emergency lamp from the counter before running toward the bedroom. “Zawadi, don't open the curtains!” I stopped. My husband, Kairo Ndlovu, was standing beside the window. His face looked different. Not frightened. Not confused. Different. There was something cold in his eyes that I had never seen before. “What is happening?” I whispered. He looked at me. “Get dressed.” “What?” “Now.” “Kairo, what is happening?” He crossed the room and grabbed my shoulders. For the first time since I had known him, his hands were shaking. “Zawadi, listen to me. Whatever you hear tonight, don't open the door.” My heart began beating faster. “Why?” He didn't answer. Instead, he pulled a black metal bracelet from his wrist and placed it around mine. The moment it touched my skin, a blue symbol appeared across my palm. I screamed. Kairo covered my mouth. “Quiet!” “What did you do to me?” “That bracelet will protect you.” “Protect me from what?” He stared at the glowing symbol. “From my family.” I thought he was joking. I almost laughed. But then I heard something outside. Footsteps. Many footsteps. Slow. Heavy. Coming toward our house. Kairo turned toward the window. “They found me.” “Who?” He looked at me. “The people I ran away from.” I stared at my husband. The man I had married two years ago. The man who told me he was an ordinary engineer from Makhanda City. The man who complained about electricity prices, hated waking up early, burned eggs every Sunday morning and always stole the blanket from me. The man who had told me his parents were dead. “You said you had no family.” “I lied.” My mouth went dry. “How much did you lie about?” He didn't answer. Someone knocked on the front door. Three times. Bang. Bang. Bang. Kairo grabbed my hand. “Come with me.” “Where?” “To the basement.” “We don't have a basement.” “Yes, we do.” I stared at him. “What?” He pushed the carpet away. Underneath it was a metal circle I had never noticed. Kairo pressed his palm against it. The floor opened. A staircase descended into darkness. I stepped backward. “What the hell is this?” “Something I hoped you would never see.” Another knock came from the front door. This time, the entire house shook. A man's voice came from outside. “Kairo Ndlovu!” My husband froze. The voice came again. “By order of the Kingdom of Azania, open the door.” My blood turned cold. Azania. I knew that name. Everybody did. Three hundred years earlier, most of southern Africa had been divided into cities, provinces and republics. Then came the Great Solar Collapse. The oceans rose. Cities disappeared. Governments fell. Millions died. And from the chaos came the kingdoms. Azania became the largest. Its cities floated above the ground. Its trains travelled without tracks. Its soldiers wore energy armour, and its royal family controlled the Sun Core, the most powerful energy source ever discovered. But Azania's royal family was supposed to be thousands of kilometres away. And my husband? He was supposed to be nobody. “Kairo,” I whispered. He looked at me. “Are you royalty?” He closed his eyes. That was my answer. I stepped backward. “No.” “Zawadi—” “No.” “I wanted to tell you.” “When?” “When I could keep you safe.” “You married me without telling me who you were?” “Yes.” “You lied about your family.” “Yes.” “You lied about your name?” “No.” I laughed bitterly. “So at least my husband is still called Kairo?” He looked away. “What is your full name?” Silence. “Kairo.” He swallowed. “Prince Kairo Amandla Ndlovu of Azania.” The room seemed to disappear around me. Prince. My husband was a prince. I stared at him as if I had never seen him before. “You're joking.” “I wish I was.” Another explosion shook the house. Dust fell from the ceiling. Kairo grabbed my arm. “We have to go.” I pulled away. “No.” “Zawadi.” “You expect me to climb into some secret underground tunnel because three people outside called you a prince?” “Not three people.” He looked toward the front door. “An entire royal execution unit.” My stomach dropped. “Execution?” “They aren't here to take me home.” He pulled a small device from his pocket. The screen displayed several red symbols. “They are here to erase me.” “And me?” He looked at me. “They will erase you too.” I couldn't breathe. A loud mechanical sound came from outside. Then the front wall of our house exploded. I screamed. Kairo threw himself over me. Pieces of glass flew across the room. Through the smoke, I saw three figures standing outside. They weren't ordinary soldiers. Their bodies were covered in black armour that seemed to absorb the light. Blue energy ran through lines on their shoulders. The tallest one stepped forward. A silver crown was engraved on his chest. He raised his weapon. “Kairo Amandla Ndlovu,” he said. “Your exile has ended.” Kairo stood. “Tell the king he can go to hell.” The soldier tilted his head. “The king is dead.” Kairo's face changed. “What?” The soldier smiled. “And you are now the heir.” My husband went completely still. I looked at him. The soldier pointed his weapon at Kairo. “Your coronation begins at sunrise.” Kairo shook his head. “That is impossible.” “Why?” “Because my brother is alive.” The soldier lowered his weapon. For the first time, he looked afraid. “Your brother?” Kairo's voice became almost a whisper. “Prince Jabari.” The soldier looked at the other two, then back at Kairo. “Prince Jabari died six years ago.” “No.” “He was executed.” “No.” “I watched it.” Kairo's face went pale. “You watched my brother die?” “Yes.” “Then you watched the wrong man.” The soldier's expression changed. “What did you say?” Kairo grabbed my hand. “Run.” We descended the stairs. Behind us, the soldiers entered the house. Their boots hit the floor one after another as they followed. Kairo pressed his hand against the wall. A hidden door opened. We entered a narrow tunnel, and the door closed behind us. Darkness swallowed us. I could hear my own breathing. “Kairo.” “Keep moving.” “I need answers.” “You'll get them.” “When?” “When we're alive.” We ran. The tunnel wasn't ordinary. Blue lights appeared beneath our feet as we moved. The walls were covered in strange African symbols. Some looked ancient. Others looked like technology. I recognized one. It was the symbol of the sun. “Kairo, what is this place?” “An old royal escape route.” “You built this?” “My ancestors did.” “You've been here before?” “No.” “Then how do you know where you're going?” He stopped. I nearly crashed into him. He looked ahead. “I don't.” A cold wind moved through the tunnel. Then something growled in the darkness. I grabbed his arm. “What was that?” “I don't know.” Another growl. Closer. Kairo pulled a small silver blade from his jacket. “You have a sword?” “It isn't a sword.” “What is it?” “A royal weapon.” He pressed a button. The blade transformed into a glowing spear. I stared. “You've been hiding this in our bedroom?” “Yes.” “For two years?” “Yes.” “You are unbelievable.” A shadow moved at the end of the tunnel. Kairo raised the spear. “Stay behind me.” Two glowing eyes appeared. Then four. Then six. My legs became weak. “Kairo…” “Don't move.” The creatures stepped into the blue light. They looked like giant black panthers, but their bodies were made of smoke and metal. Their eyes glowed gold. Three of them. Kairo whispered something in a language I didn't understand. The creatures stopped. Then they lowered their heads. I stared. “They know you.” “They serve the royal bloodline.” “You never told me that your family had magical animals.” “Because I was trying to have a normal marriage.” One creature walked toward me. I stepped backward. It lowered its enormous head. The symbol on my palm suddenly glowed. The creature bowed. Kairo stared at my hand. “No.” “What?” He grabbed my wrist. The blue symbol had changed. It was no longer the symbol of Azania. It was a symbol I had never seen before. A circle surrounded by seven flames. Kairo's face drained of colour. “Zawadi…” “What?” “Where did you get this?” “I don't know.” He stared at me. Then he whispered, “That symbol hasn't appeared in Azania for four hundred years.” “What does it mean?” He didn't answer. “Kairo!” “It means…” He stopped. A distant horn echoed through the tunnel. The creatures suddenly turned toward the darkness. Kairo's expression hardened. “We have to move.” “Why?” “Because they aren't the only things down here.” We continued deeper. After twenty minutes, the tunnel opened into a massive underground chamber. I stopped. My mouth fell open. There was an entire city beneath us. Buildings made from black stone rose into the darkness. Golden lights floated in the air. Water flowed through glowing channels. At the centre stood a massive tree. Its roots were made of metal. Its leaves were made of light. And beneath it stood a throne. Kairo walked toward it. I followed slowly. “What is this?” “The first royal city.” “You said the kingdom was above ground.” “This is where the first kings lived.” I looked around. “How old is it?” “Older than Azania.” “Who built it?” “My ancestors.” “Human ancestors?” Kairo didn't answer. I looked at him. “Kairo.” He stared at the glowing tree. “My family isn't entirely human.” My heart stopped. “What?” He turned toward me. “The first rulers of Azania made a pact with the spirits of the land.” “You mean magic?” “Yes.” “Magic isn't real.” He smiled sadly. “You just watched a metal panther bow to you.” I had no answer. Kairo walked toward the throne. There was a small black box sitting on it. He opened it. Inside was a golden necklace. At the centre was a red stone. He picked it up. The moment his fingers touched it, the entire underground city came alive. Lights exploded across the walls. The tree began glowing. A voice echoed through the chamber. “The bloodline has returned.” I stepped backward. The voice continued. “The prince has returned.” Then another voice spoke. This one was softer. Female. “And the chosen queen has awakened.” I looked at Kairo. He didn't speak. “Kairo.” His eyes were fixed on me. “No.” “What?” He walked toward me slowly. He looked at the symbol glowing on my palm, then at the necklace, and finally back at me. “You aren't just my wife.” My heart began pounding. “What am I?” Before he could answer, the enormous tree behind us exploded with light. A woman's figure appeared inside it. She wore a golden crown. Her face was old, but her eyes were familiar. Very familiar. Kairo dropped to his knees. “Mother?” I stared at the woman. She smiled at us. Then she said the words that made my entire world collapse. “Kairo, my son… you were never supposed to marry her, because the woman standing beside you is the last surviving daughter of the kingdom your family destroyed.”