Episode 10
1075 Words
Blood Oath
Steel collided with steel.
The forgotten chamber erupted into chaos.
The clash of swords echoed against the ancient stone walls as fifty assassins rushed forward like a tidal wave.
"Protect Lady Arzoo!" Captain Hamza roared.
The Imperial Guards commander charged first.
His sword swept through the air, forcing three attackers backward.
Emperor Zayan did not move.
Not immediately.
His silver eyes remained fixed on General Rashid.
The man he had trusted for nearly ten years.
The man who had fought beside him on countless battlefields.
The man who had betrayed him.
"So," Zayan said quietly, "you sold your loyalty."
General Rashid laughed.
"Loyalty?"
He slowly raised his sword.
"I served a dying empire while you sat on a stolen throne."
The words hung heavily in the air.
Arzoo looked from one man to the other.
"A stolen throne?"
Rashid's eyes found hers.
"Didn't His Majesty tell you?"
"He isn't the villain of your story..."
"...but he isn't the rightful emperor either."
Zayan's jaw tightened.
"Enough."
He stepped forward.
"I won't let you poison her mind."
Rashid smiled.
"The truth doesn't need poison."
Without another warning—
The two swordsmen attacked.
Their blades met with an explosive clash.
Neither yielded.
Neither stepped back.
General Rashid had once been the empire's greatest general.
Emperor Zayan had defeated kings before turning twenty-five.
Their battle shook the chamber.
Every strike sent sparks flying.
Captain Hamza fought desperately to keep the assassins away from Arzoo.
"There are too many!" one guard shouted.
"Fall back!"
"No one retreats!" Hamza barked.
"If Lady Arzoo dies..."
"...the empire dies with her!"
Arzoo refused to hide behind the guards.
She looked around the chamber.
There had to be another way.
This room had survived for twenty years.
The Falcon Queen would never have built a sanctuary with only one exit.
Her gaze landed on the ancient murals.
One painting looked different.
A falcon flying toward the rising sun.
Its eye was carved from emerald.
She walked closer.
"Lady Arzoo!" Hamza shouted.
"It's dangerous!"
She ignored him.
Her fingers brushed the emerald.
Click.
The wall trembled.
Everyone froze.
A hidden stone door slowly opened.
Cold air rushed into the chamber.
General Rashid's confident smile disappeared.
"No..."
"Impossible."
The old guardian looked toward Arzoo with amazement.
"Only the royal bloodline could open that passage."
Rashid's expression twisted with rage.
"Kill her!"
Five assassins broke through the Imperial Guards and sprinted toward Arzoo.
She backed away instinctively.
One assassin raised his sword.
Before it could fall—
An arrow pierced his shoulder.
Then another.
And another.
The attackers collapsed one after another.
Everyone turned toward the newly opened passage.
Footsteps echoed from the darkness.
Dozens of armed warriors emerged.
They wore deep green cloaks embroidered with golden falcons.
Their armor was unlike anything used in the Imperial Army.
The old guardian slowly smiled.
"They came..."
Captain Hamza frowned.
"Who are they?"
The leader removed his hood.
A woman.
Perhaps in her early thirties.
Tall.
Composed.
Her gaze was sharp as polished steel.
She dropped to one knee before Arzoo.
"Your Highness."
The chamber fell silent.
Arzoo stared at her.
"I think you've mistaken me for someone else."
The woman lowered her head.
"We have searched for you for twenty years."
"My name is Commander Safiya."
"I lead the Falcon Guard."
"The last army sworn to your mother."
General Rashid cursed under his breath.
"They should all be dead."
Commander Safiya rose gracefully.
"We nearly were."
She drew a long curved sword.
"But a promise is difficult to kill."
Behind her, nearly forty warriors entered the chamber.
Within moments, the balance of the battle changed.
Steel rang through the chamber once more.
The Falcon Guard clashed with the assassins.
Meanwhile...
Emperor Zayan and General Rashid continued their duel.
Rashid attacked with brutal strength.
Zayan answered with flawless precision.
"You've become stronger," Rashid admitted.
"I had no choice."
Zayan's sword flashed.
"You taught me that."
For the first time...
Rashid was forced backward.
His eyes narrowed.
"So the boy finally surpassed his master."
"The boy became emperor."
Rashid's smile faded.
"And tonight..."
"...he ends your rebellion."
Their swords collided again.
This time, Zayan twisted his blade.
Rashid's weapon flew from his hand.
It skidded across the stone floor.
The chamber fell silent.
The emperor's sword rested against Rashid's throat.
"It's over."
For a heartbeat...
No one moved.
Then Rashid laughed.
A slow, unsettling laugh.
"You still don't understand."
Zayan's eyes narrowed.
"What?"
"You think I'm the mastermind?"
Rashid's smile widened.
"I was only following orders."
A chill swept through the chamber.
Captain Hamza looked up sharply.
"Whose orders?"
Rashid turned his head toward Arzoo.
"The person who has been watching her..."
"...since the day she entered the palace."
Arzoo's heart skipped.
"What are you talking about?"
Before Rashid could answer—
A tiny silver needle shot through the air.
It struck his neck.
His body stiffened instantly.
The emperor caught him before he hit the ground.
"Rashid!"
Blood trickled from the corner of the general's mouth.
His breathing became shallow.
His eyes searched desperately for Zayan.
With his final strength, he whispered,
"Don't trust..."
He coughed violently.
"...the..."
His voice stopped.
His body went still.
Captain Hamza checked for a pulse.
After a long silence, he looked at the emperor.
"He's gone."
Another witness...
Another secret buried forever.
The chamber was eerily quiet.
Then Commander Safiya stepped toward the ancient throne at the center of the room.
She knelt before it and carefully lifted a small velvet cloth that had remained hidden beneath centuries of dust.
Underneath lay a magnificent golden signet ring engraved with a soaring falcon.
She turned to Arzoo.
"This belonged to Queen Aaliyah."
"It is passed only to the rightful heir."
Arzoo stared at the ring.
"I can't accept this."
"You must," Safiya replied softly.
"Because from this moment onward..."
"...the entire empire will begin hunting you."
The emperor stepped beside Arzoo.
His voice was calm, but unwavering.
"Then they will have to face me first."
Their eyes met.
For the first time since they had met, there was no accusation...
No suspicion...
Only silent understanding.
But hidden high above the chamber, behind a narrow stone vent, a pair of cold eyes watched everything.
A gloved hand quietly rolled up a map of the secret chamber.
A whisper escaped into the darkness.
"So..."
"The Falcon Guard has returned."
The unseen figure smiled.
"Let the second phase begin."
— End of Chapter 10 —
- Writer
