"The Alpha King's Forbidden Mate"

Secret In Royal Archive

EPISODE 7: SECRETS IN THE ROYAL ARCHIVE

ARIA'S POV

Alexander was waiting outside my room when morning came.

He wore a dark coat, his hair still damp from a shower.

For one embarrassing second, I forgot why I was angry with him.

Then he spoke.

"Did you sleep?"

"Not much."

"Neither did I."

I almost asked why.

Instead, I followed him down the corridor.

The royal archive occupied an entire floor beneath the palace library.

Its heavy doors opened only after Alexander pressed his palm against a silver seal.

Inside, shelves stretched into the darkness.

"Everything here belongs to the crown," he explained.

"Even the truth about my mother?"

He glanced at me.

"Especially that."

We searched for nearly an hour.

Alexander found a collection of reports written during his father's reign.

I discovered a leather-bound book containing names, dates, and drawings of strange symbols.

Then I saw it.

SERAPHINA MOONCREST.

My mother's name.

I pulled the book closer.

"Alexander."

He came to my side.

The entry was dated nineteen years earlier.

I read aloud.

"Subject gave birth to a daughter. Child believed to possess the Guardian inheritance. Immediate containment recommended."

My stomach turned.

"Containment?"

Alexander's expression hardened.

"Keep reading."

I turned the page.

"Operation Hollow Moon approved by royal council. Guardian Queen to be apprehended. Child to be secured alive."

I looked at him.

"Your father ordered this."

He didn't deny it.

"I knew he had sent soldiers," he said quietly. "I didn't know about this order."

"Do you expect me to believe that?"

"No. I expect you to decide after you've seen everything."

I hated that he sounded sincere.

A folded report slipped from the book.

Alexander picked it up.

As he read, the color drained from his face.

"What is it?"

He hesitated.

"Alexander."

He handed me the page.

At the bottom was a list of officers assigned to the operation.

One name had been circled.

GENERAL MARCUS VALE.

Below it, someone had written:

MISSION FAILED. QUEEN ESCAPED. CHILD UNACCOUNTED FOR.

I looked up.

"She escaped?"

Alexander nodded slowly.

"According to this, yes."

My hands shook.

Then I noticed a second note.

GENERAL VALE REPORTED DEAD THREE DAYS LATER.

A rough sketch accompanied the report.

It showed a man with a long scar running from his temple to his jaw.

I stopped breathing.

"The stranger from last night."

Alexander took the page.

His eyes narrowed.

"Marcus Vale."

"But this says he's dead."

"Someone wanted the kingdom to believe that."

I thought about the masked man's smile.

The way he had spoken about my mother.

The ring he had carried.

"Then he's been lying to me."

Alexander looked at me.

"About some things, certainly."

"And my mother?"

He didn't answer.

I turned another page.

There was a final entry, written in a different hand.

THE GUARDIAN QUEEN WAS LAST SEEN ENTERING HOLLOW MOON WITH THE CHILD'S PROTECTIVE SEAL.

I looked at Alexander.

"She went back."

His face was grim.

"Yes."

"Then that's where I'm going."

He stared at me.

"Aria, Hollow Moon is forbidden territory."

I closed the book.

"Then I suppose we'll find out why."