Chapter 4 - The Princess Who Betrayed Her Own Blood
Mira had just confessed to opening the door on the night Toby's mother was murdered.
But ten years ago, she had been only a baby.
Toby stared at his best friend, unable to make sense of the words coming from her mouth.
"What do you mean?"
Mira's fingers tightened painfully around his wrist.
"I remember the door," she whispered. "The golden lock. The soldiers waiting outside. And a woman screaming my name."
Her silver eyes flickered.
"She begged me not to open it."
Toby shook his head.
"That's impossible. You were a baby."
"I know."
"Then how could you—"
"I DON'T KNOW!"
Her scream sent a shockwave through the chamber.
The burning portraits burst from their frames. Stones cracked beneath her knees, and a column of silver light rose from her body toward the vaulted ceiling.
Toby was thrown backward.
He struck the floor hard enough to lose his breath.
Across the chamber, Commander Vane staggered behind a fallen pillar. Bishop Aldren dropped to his knees, shielding his face with his robes.
The woman in white remained motionless.
Her head was bowed.
Her golden eyes fixed upon Mira with something resembling worship.
Edrin struggled to stand.
"Seraphine," he whispered. "Listen to me. Those memories aren't yours."
Mira turned toward him.
"Then whose are they?"
The old captain opened his mouth.
Nothing came out.
Mira slowly rose to her feet.
Blood still stained her shoulder, but the wound beneath her torn dress had closed. Silver patterns crawled across her skin, forming symbols Toby had never seen.
"You know," she said to Edrin.
Her voice sounded almost normal now.
That made it worse.
"You know why I remember things that happened before I could walk."
Edrin looked toward the woman in white.
She smiled faintly.
"Tell her, Captain."
He lowered his head.
"Princess Seraphine was not born like other children."
The chamber fell silent.
Toby pushed himself upright.
"What does that mean?"
Edrin swallowed.
"Queen Elara could not have another child after Toby. The royal physicians said the birth had nearly killed her."
Mira looked at Toby.
For a fleeting moment, the old warmth returned to her face.
Then Edrin continued.
"Three years before Toby was born, the queen discovered something beneath the cathedral. An ancient vessel containing a fragment of the First Crown's power."
The woman in white tilted her head.
"Careful, Captain. You are approaching a truth your masters ordered you to bury."
Edrin ignored her.
"The vessel was intended to preserve the memories of the royal guardians. But someone used it to create a child."
Mira stepped backward.
"No."
"A child who could carry the memories of an entire bloodline."
"No!"
"The queen raised you as her daughter, Seraphine. She loved you. Whatever else happened, that much was true."
Mira's silver eyes filled with tears.
"Then why don't I remember her?"
Edrin looked away.
"Because your memories were sealed after the massacre."
Toby felt his chest tighten.
"If Mira was created three years before I was born, she'd be thirteen now."
"Her body was placed in enchanted sleep," Edrin answered. "When she awoke, she had the appearance and memories of a much younger child. The years she spent sleeping had been stolen from her."
Mira stared at him.
"So I'm not even the age I thought I was?"
Edrin's silence was confirmation.
The girl who had spent years washing dishes beside Toby, sharing his bread, and dreaming of a small house far beyond Sunspire suddenly looked like a stranger to herself.
Toby got to his feet.
"She's still Mira."
Everyone turned toward him.
He approached her cautiously.
"I don't care if she was born in a palace or made by magic. She's the person who saved me food when I was starving."
Mira's expression crumpled.
"Toby..."
"She's the one who stayed awake when I was sick. She's the one who taught me how to read the names on the old armory shields."
He reached for her hand.
"Whatever happened ten years ago, you didn't choose it."
Her silver eyes slowly faded to brown.
For one hopeful moment, the strange magic surrounding her weakened.
Then Commander Vane laughed.
"How touching."
He emerged from behind the pillar, holding another black crystal bolt.
"But unfortunately, the boy is wrong."
Vane pointed the crossbow at Edrin.
"The girl did choose."
The old captain stiffened.
"Commander, enough."
"Why? The truth is finally becoming interesting."
Bishop Aldren rose unsteadily.
"Vane, the royal council authorized the recovery of the sword, not the execution of children."
Vane glanced at him.
"You still believe the council governs this kingdom?"
The bishop went pale.
The commander turned toward Toby.
"Do you know why I kept you in the armory, boy?"
Toby stared at him.
"To make me miserable?"
"That was merely convenient."
Vane smiled.
"I wanted you close to the sword."
"You said that already."
"Not close enough to touch it. Close enough to dream about it."
Toby frowned.
Vane continued.
"Children of the First Bloodline are drawn to ancient relics. The longer you remained near the Sunforged Blade, the stronger its call became."
Toby remembered the strange warmth beneath his ribs.
The heartbeat that did not belong to him.
It had begun long before the sacred trial.
Sometimes, while sleeping beside the forge, he had dreamed of enormous wings beating above a burning city.
He had thought those dreams were nightmares.
"They were never dreams, were they?"
Vane's smile widened.
"No."
The woman in white watched with growing interest.
Toby raised his chin.
"Then why wait five years?"
"Because the sword could not awaken until the second heir was near."
Everyone looked at Mira.
She stepped closer to Toby.
Vane nodded.
"Two children. Two pendants. One ancient weapon. The ceremony was never about choosing a king."
"What was it about?" Toby demanded.
"Opening the prison."
The woman in white stopped smiling.
For the first time, she looked genuinely alarmed.
"Vane," she said quietly, "you don't understand what you have done."
The commander laughed.
"Oh, I understand perfectly."
He pulled a small black object from beneath his cloak.
It resembled a broken piece of a crown.
Dark metal twisted into the shape of a thorn.
The moment Toby saw it, the Sunforged Blade began to vibrate.
The woman recoiled.
"Where did you get that?"
Vane looked pleased.
"From the king's private vault."
"You fool."
"Careful, Your Majesty. I have been called many things, but never a fool by someone chained to a wall."
He raised the fragment.
The golden seals around the woman's wrists flickered.
Edrin shouted, "Destroy it!"
Vane ignored him.
"You asked which child carries the King's Heart. I believe we are about to find out."
He drove the black fragment into a crack in the chamber floor.
The entire mountain shuddered.
Far above them, Vaelthar roared.
The sound rolled through the underground passages like thunder.
Toby's dragon-shaped mark began to burn.
He dropped to one knee, clutching his wrist.
Images flashed before his eyes.
A city surrounded by silver towers.
Thousands of people kneeling before a golden throne.
A crowned man holding the Sunforged Blade.
And behind that throne, a black dragon chained to a ring of fire.
Then the vision changed.
The same city was burning.
The crowned man lay dead.
A woman stood beside him, holding a crying child.
Toby recognized her immediately.
Queen Elara.
She was younger than the woman standing before them, but unmistakably the same.
Beside her stood a little girl with silver eyes.
Mira.
The queen pressed something into the girl's hands.
A copper pendant.
"Listen carefully, Seraphine," the queen whispered. "When the door opens, you must remember what I taught you."
The little girl nodded.
Toby tried to move closer.
But he was only watching a memory.
He could not speak.
He could not intervene.
Then someone knocked on the door.
Three slow knocks.
The same knocks they had heard from the staircase.
Queen Elara went rigid.
She looked toward the girl.
"Whatever happens, do not open it."
But the little girl was already walking toward the door.
Her silver eyes glowed.
A man's voice called from outside.
"Seraphine, it's your father."
The queen screamed.
"NO!"
The little girl reached for the golden lock.
And the memory vanished.
Toby gasped.
He was back in the underground chamber.
Mira was kneeling beside him.
"Toby? What happened?"
He stared at her.
"I saw it."
Her face drained of color.
"Saw what?"
"The night my mother died."
Mira's lips trembled.
"Was I there?"
He nodded.
"And you opened the door."
She covered her mouth.
Toby grabbed her shoulders.
"But someone was calling you. Someone pretending to be your father."
Mira looked toward Edrin.
The old man's expression confirmed everything.
"The king had already been dead for three days," he whispered.
A terrible silence followed.
Toby looked at Vane.
The commander was staring at the black crown fragment.
It had begun to sink into the stone.
Violet light seeped through the cracks.
The woman in white pulled desperately against her golden chains.
"Remove it!"
Vane frowned.
"Why?"
"Because that isn't part of the First Crown!"
The commander hesitated.
The woman screamed.
"IT BELONGS TO THE HOLLOW KING!"
Edrin stumbled backward.
"No..."
Toby turned toward him.
"Who's the Hollow King?"
The old captain looked as though he might faint.
"The ruler who existed before the First Dynasty. The one the dragons were created to imprison."
Vane stared at the fragment.
For the first time, uncertainty crossed his face.
But it was too late.
The black metal disappeared beneath the floor.
A deep heartbeat echoed through the chamber.
Once.
Twice.
Three times.
Then the entire mountain answered.
The blue flames went out.
Darkness swallowed the chamber.
Toby could hear Mira breathing beside him.
Someone was crying.
Perhaps the bishop.
Perhaps Edrin.
Then a faint golden light appeared.
The Sunforged Blade lay near the sealed doorway.
Toby crawled toward it.
The moment his fingers closed around the hilt, the runes ignited.
Warmth spread through his body.
Vaelthar's voice filled his mind.
Little master. Listen carefully.
"Vaelthar!"
The prison is opening. You must leave the mountain.
"What about Mira?"
Bring her.
"And the others?"
The dragon hesitated.
Not everyone in that chamber is what they appear to be.
Toby glanced toward the woman in white.
She was standing motionless, her head lowered.
For a moment, he thought she had fallen asleep.
Then she raised her face.
Her golden eyes were gone.
They were hazel again.
And her expression had changed completely.
She looked frightened.
"Run," she whispered.
Toby stared at her.
"Mother?"
The woman flinched.
"Please, Toby. Don't call me that yet."
His heart twisted.
She looked toward Mira.
"Seraphine, the memory seal has broken. You know what you must do."
Mira shook her head.
"I don't remember."
"You will."
The woman lifted one trembling hand.
Her silver rings began to crack.
"I have been holding it back for ten years."
Toby stepped closer.
"Holding what back?"
Before she could answer, a voice emerged from beneath the floor.
Deep.
Patient.
Almost amused.
"My beloved Elara."
The woman went rigid.
The voice continued.
"You've kept our children waiting long enough."
Edrin collapsed to his knees.
Bishop Aldren began reciting a prayer.
Vane staggered backward, staring at the glowing cracks.
Toby felt a coldness greater than any winter he had experienced.
The voice sounded exactly like the man from his vision.
The dead king.
His father.
"Come closer, Toby," it whispered. "Let me see the son I have waited so long to meet."
The floor split.
A black staircase appeared beneath the broken stones, descending into a darkness so complete that even the Sunforged Blade could not illuminate it.
Mira grabbed Toby's arm.
"Don't listen."
The voice laughed softly.
"Ah, Seraphine. My faithful little princess."
Mira began shaking.
"No..."
"You opened the door for me once."
Toby turned toward her.
Her eyes widened with horror.
The voice continued.
"And now you will open the last one."
Mira stumbled backward.
"I won't!"
A silver symbol ignited on her forehead.
She screamed.
Her hands rose against her will.
The two copper pendants lifted from beneath the children's clothes, floating between them.
Golden and silver light intertwined.
A huge circular seal appeared beneath their feet.
The woman in white cried out.
"Edrin! Stop them!"
The old captain rushed forward.
But a wall of black fire erupted from the floor, separating the children from everyone else.
Toby tried to pull Mira away.
His feet would not move.
The ancient voice whispered inside his mind.
Your sister carries the key.
Toby looked at Mira.
She was crying.
And you, my son...
The Sunforged Blade turned black.
You carry the lock.
The symbols beneath them blazed.
Then the darkness below opened like an enormous eye.
And from its depths, a colossal hand reached upward.
It was made of black stone, wrapped in broken chains, with fingers longer than cathedral towers.
Toby screamed as the hand closed around the golden seal.
The entire underground chamber tilted.
Mira's feet lifted from the ground.
Her eyes blazed silver.
She turned toward Toby with an expression of unbearable sorrow.
"I'm sorry," she whispered.
"For what?" Toby cried.
"For what they made me promise."
Then she raised her hand toward his chest.
A blade of silver light appeared between her fingers.
And the voice of the Hollow King commanded:
"Kill your brother, Seraphine. The prison opens only when the last true heir dies."