CHAPTER FOUR- THE QUEEN IN THE HIDDEN ROOM
1777 Words
The words followed Olivia all the way up the stairs.
The child is your brother.
She couldn’t make sense of them.
Her brother?
She had grown up believing she was an only child.
Her mother had died when Olivia was six. Her father had never spoken about another child. There had never been another name at the family table, another room in their house, or even a photograph.
Yet the guard had sounded certain.
And Lucas…
Lucas looked as though someone had just struck him.
“Where is the queen?” he demanded.
The guard bowed.
“The old eastern wing, Your Majesty.”
Lucas started walking.
Olivia followed.
“Lucas.”
He didn’t stop.
“Lucas!”
This time he turned.
“You stay here.”
“I’m coming.”
“No.”
“You just heard that the woman who may be my mother is alive and holding a baby who may be my brother. I’m not staying behind.”
His expression hardened.
“You don’t know what is waiting for us.”
“Neither do you.”
For a moment, they stared at each other.
Then Lucas sighed.
“Stay beside me.”
Olivia nodded.
They hurried through the palace corridors.
The eastern wing had been abandoned for almost two decades.
Dust covered the windows.
Old portraits hung crookedly on the walls.
Several guards stood outside a pair of enormous wooden doors.
Lucas approached.
“Why haven’t you entered?”
“The queen ordered us not to.”
Lucas frowned.
“She knew I was coming?”
“Yes.”
Olivia exchanged a glance with Lucas.
Something wasn’t right.
Lucas pushed the doors open.
The room beyond was enormous.
An old fireplace stood against the far wall.
A large bed occupied the center.
And beside the window stood a woman holding a baby.
Olivia stopped.
She knew her immediately.
Not because of the portraits.
Not because Lucas had told her.
Because something inside Olivia recognized her.
The woman slowly turned.
Their eyes met.
Tears immediately filled the woman’s eyes.
“Olivia.”
Olivia’s breath caught.
Nobody had called her name like that before.
Not with that kind of love.
Not with that kind of pain.
She took one step forward.
“Mother?”
The woman covered her mouth.
Lucas stood completely still.
“Elena.”
The queen looked at him.
“My son.”
Lucas’s face tightened.
“How are you alive?”
Elena smiled sadly.
“That’s not the question you should be asking.”
Lucas stepped forward.
“You disappeared the night my family was murdered.”
“I was taken.”
“By whom?”
Elena looked at Olivia.
“Because of her.”
Olivia froze.
Lucas’s eyes narrowed.
“What does Olivia have to do with your disappearance?”
Elena looked down at the baby in her arms.
“Everything.”
She walked toward Olivia.
The baby stirred.
Olivia looked at the tiny face.
Something about him made her chest ache.
Elena gently placed the baby into Olivia’s arms.
Olivia instinctively held him.
The moment she did, the baby stopped crying.
Elena smiled.
“He remembers you.”
Olivia looked confused.
“How could he remember me?”
Elena didn’t answer.
Lucas stepped closer.
“Who is the child’s father?”
Elena’s expression became serious.
“That’s the question that could destroy this kingdom.”
Lucas stared at her.
“I asked you who his father is.”
Elena looked at him.
“You already know.”
“No.”
“Yes.”
Lucas’s face hardened.
“Don’t play games with me.”
“I’m not.”
Elena pointed toward the baby.
“That child carries the blood of two royal houses.”
Olivia looked down at the baby.
“Which houses?”
Elena took a deep breath.
“Valoria…”
She paused.
“And Elaria.”
Lucas’s eyes widened.
Elaria was Valoria’s greatest enemy.
The two kingdoms had been at war for generations.
A child carrying blood from both royal families could unite them.
Or destroy them.
“Who is his father?” Lucas demanded.
Elena remained silent.
Lucas stepped closer.
“Mother.”
“His father is dead.”
Lucas’s eyes narrowed.
“That’s not what I asked.”
Elena looked at Olivia.
“Your brother’s father was King Darius of Elaria.”
Olivia’s grip tightened around the baby.
Lucas stared at his mother.
“Impossible.”
“It happened.”
“My father would never have allowed—”
“Your father didn’t know.”
Lucas looked stunned.
“Then how?”
Elena’s eyes filled with tears.
“Because I loved him.”
Silence.
Olivia stared at the woman in front of her.
Her mother had loved the king of Valoria’s enemy.
And had a child with him.
That alone could have started a war.
But something still didn’t make sense.
“If he was born recently…” Olivia whispered, “why did my father say I was the reason you disappeared?”
Elena’s face changed.
She looked at Lucas.
Then at Olivia.
“Because the baby isn’t the only secret I’ve kept.”
Lucas’s expression hardened.
“What other secret?”
Elena walked toward a cabinet.
She opened a hidden compartment.
Inside was a bundle wrapped in old white cloth.
She brought it to them.
Olivia stared.
“What is that?”
Elena unfolded the cloth.
A small silver crown lay inside.
Lucas recognized it immediately.
“The crown of the first heir.”
Olivia looked at him.
“What does that mean?”
Lucas didn’t answer.
Elena did.
“Twenty-four years ago, I gave birth to a daughter.”
Olivia’s heart stopped.
She looked at the baby in her arms.
Then at Elena.
“You?”
Elena nodded.
“You were my first child.”
Lucas looked at Olivia.
Something in his expression changed.
“Then…”
Elena’s voice broke.
“Yes.”
Olivia stepped backward.
“No.”
“You are the lost princess of Valoria.”
Olivia shook her head.
“No.”
Elena reached for her.
“Olivia—”
“No!”
Olivia backed away.
“You can’t just tell me I’m a princess after twenty-four years of believing I was someone else.”
Tears rolled down Elena’s cheeks.
“I had no choice.”
“You always had a choice!”
Olivia’s voice echoed through the room.
“You could have come for me.”
“I tried.”
“Then why didn’t you?”
“Because the council found me.”
Elena’s expression became haunted.
“They wanted you dead.”
Lucas stepped closer.
“Who?”
“The men who killed your father.”
Lucas’s eyes turned cold.
“Name them.”
Elena shook her head.
“I can’t.”
“Mother.”
“They’re still in the palace.”
Everyone went silent.
Lucas slowly turned toward the door.
“Who?”
Elena whispered:
“The men sitting on your council.”
Lucas’s face became expressionless.
Olivia watched him.
He suddenly looked more dangerous than she had ever seen him.
“How many?”
“Four.”
“Names.”
Elena hesitated.
Then she whispered four names.
Lucas memorized every one.
Before he could respond, the palace bells began ringing.
Once.
Twice.
Then continuously.
A guard burst through the doors.
“Your Majesty!”
Lucas turned.
“What?”
“The northern gate has been attacked.”
“By whom?”
The guard looked terrified.
“We don’t know.”
“How many?”
“Too many to count.”
Lucas immediately drew his sword.
“Seal the palace.”
The guard hesitated.
“Your Majesty…”
“What?”
“The attackers aren’t trying to enter.”
Lucas frowned.
“What are they doing?”
“They’re trying to burn it.”
Olivia looked toward the window.
Black smoke was beginning to rise above the palace walls.
Lucas turned to Elena.
“Take the child and stay here.”
Elena shook her head.
“No.”
“You will stay.”
“They’re coming for Olivia.”
Lucas froze.
“What?”
Elena looked at Olivia.
“They know she’s alive.”
Olivia’s blood ran cold.
“Who?”
“The people who have been searching for you.”
A loud explosion shook the palace.
The windows rattled.
The baby began crying.
Lucas immediately moved toward Olivia.
“Give him to me.”
Olivia handed the baby to Elena.
Another explosion.
Closer.
Then screams erupted outside.
Lucas opened the door.
A soldier ran toward him.
“Your Majesty!”
“What happened?”
“The western wing has been breached.”
Lucas’s eyes narrowed.
“How?”
The soldier’s face was pale.
“Someone opened the gates from inside.”
Lucas looked back at Elena.
She whispered:
“One of the four.”
Lucas understood.
There was a traitor inside the palace.
Then a second guard came running.
“Your Majesty!”
Lucas turned.
“What now?”
“The royal vault has been opened.”
Lucas’s face changed.
“What’s missing?”
The guard swallowed.
“The Crown of Valoria.”
Silence.
Lucas looked at Olivia.
Then at Elena.
Someone wasn’t attacking the palace to kill them.
They were searching for something.
Something connected to Olivia.
Suddenly, the baby stopped crying.
His tiny hand reached toward Olivia.
Elena looked down.
A small red mark had appeared on the baby’s wrist.
A crown surrounded by roses.
Olivia’s eyes widened.
She slowly pulled down the collar of her dress.
The same mark was on her shoulder.
Lucas saw it.
His expression changed completely.
“Mother…”
Elena looked at him.
Lucas’s voice was barely audible.
“Why do they have the same mark?”
Elena closed her eyes.
“Because they were born together.”
Olivia stared at her.
“Born together?”
Elena nodded.
“You weren’t supposed to have a brother.”
Lucas’s eyes narrowed.
“Then what are you saying?”
Elena looked directly at Olivia.
“The baby isn’t your brother.”
Olivia’s blood ran cold.
Elena’s voice trembled.
“He’s your twin.”
Before anyone could speak, a deafening crash came from the corridor.
The doors flew open.
A masked soldier stood outside.
He pointed his sword directly at Olivia.
“Take the princess.”
Lucas stepped in front of her.
The soldier smiled.
“Too late, Your Majesty.”
He removed his mask.
Olivia’s breath caught.
She knew that face.
It belonged to one of Lucas’s most trusted royal guards.
He smiled.
“The council sends its regards.”
Then he raised his sword.
“And they want their princess back.”
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