Chapter 3 - The Monk's Betrayal

# Chapter 3 - The Monk's Betrayal

The man standing in the shattered doorway had Brother Alden's voice, but his eyes belonged to something that had never been human.

"Give me the letter, Prince Tobias."

Toby's fingers tightened around the wooden box.

The possessed guard stood motionless among the broken pieces of the chamber door. Blood soaked his uniform, and the silver dagger Lady Elara had driven into his shoulder remained embedded in the flesh.

Yet he showed no sign of pain.

His mouth moved again.

"Do not make this difficult, child."

Toby knew that voice.

He had heard it every morning for as long as he could remember.

It was the voice that woke him before sunrise, reminded him to wash his hands before meals, and told him stories when winter storms rattled the monastery windows.

"Brother Alden?" Toby whispered.

The guard smiled.

"Yes, my boy."

Elara stepped between them.

"That's not possible."

The guard tilted his head.

"Lady Elara Voss. Your father should have taught you not to interfere in matters beyond your understanding."

Elara went pale.

"How do you know my name?"

"Your family has been interfering with mine for generations."

Toby looked at the letter lying on the floor.

His mother's warning echoed in his thoughts.

Do not trust the voice that calls itself your mother.

But what about the voice of the man who had raised him?

"Where is Brother Alden?" Toby demanded.

The guard's smile disappeared.

"Safe, for now."

"You're lying."

"Am I?"

The guard raised his injured hand.

A faint crimson symbol appeared beneath the skin of his palm.

Toby recognized it immediately.

It was the same spiral design that had appeared around the second seal.

"Brother Alden has served the basilica for forty-three years," the guard said. "He knows every secret passage, every forbidden chamber, every name buried beneath its stones."

"Then why would he hurt me?"

The guard's expression became strangely sympathetic.

"Because sometimes the people who love us most are the ones who betray us."

He extended his hand.

"The letter."

Elara reached for a fallen iron candlestick.

The guard noticed.

"Do not."

She swung anyway.

The candlestick struck his temple with a sickening crack.

His head snapped sideways.

For one glorious second, Toby thought she had stopped him.

Then the guard slowly turned back.

"That," he said, "was unwise."

He seized Elara by the throat.

She gasped, dropping the candlestick.

"Let her go!" Toby shouted.

The guard lifted her from the floor.

Her boots kicked helplessly.

Toby looked around desperately.

The chamber contained broken furniture, dusty shelves, and a narrow window too high to reach.

There was nowhere to run.

He grabbed the silver ring from the wooden box.

It was small, engraved with the same intertwined dragons as his pendant.

Without understanding why, he slipped it onto his finger.

The ring tightened.

A sharp pain pierced his hand.

Toby cried out.

A thin line of blood appeared beneath the silver band.

Then the ring ignited.

Golden fire erupted around his fingers.

The guard screamed.

He released Elara and staggered backward, clutching his face.

Toby stared at his hand.

The flames did not burn him.

Instead, they twisted around his fingers like living ribbons.

The guard fell to his knees.

"No!" he shrieked in a voice that was no longer Alden's. "The blood cannot command the flame!"

The crimson symbol beneath his skin shattered into sparks.

His body collapsed.

Silence filled the chamber.

Elara crawled away, coughing violently.

Toby rushed to her side.

"Are you hurt?"

She touched her throat.

"I'll live."

Her eyes moved toward his burning hand.

"But what exactly are you?"

Toby stared at the golden flames.

"I don't know."

And that frightened him more than anything.

Beyond the western staircase, High Inquisitor Malrec watched Brother Alden struggle to remain conscious.

The elderly monk lay against a marble column, his shoulder wound bleeding through a hastily tied bandage.

Ser Kaelen stood several paces away, still restrained by the crimson chains.

The sanctuary had become a battlefield.

Several guards lay unconscious among the shattered pews. Nobles huddled beneath the galleries, while the ancient glyphs continued pulsing across the granite wall.

Malrec crouched beside Alden.

"You should have told me about the boy."

Alden gave a weak laugh.

"You would have killed him."

"I would have protected the kingdom."

"You have always confused those two things."

Malrec's expression hardened.

"Where did you hide the queen's letter?"

Alden closed his eyes.

Malrec seized his wounded shoulder.

The monk cried out.

"Where?"

Alden struggled to breathe.

"Somewhere you will never reach."

Malrec leaned closer.

"Do you understand what will happen if the boy opens the second seal?"

"Better than you."

"Then why did you let him touch the first?"

Alden opened his eyes.

For a moment, something like shame crossed his face.

"I didn't know he would hear it."

Malrec froze.

"Hear what?"

"The call."

The inquisitor released him.

Alden looked toward the glowing wall.

"For years, he heard whispers in his sleep. I thought they were nightmares."

"And you told no one?"

"I was trying to protect him."

Malrec rose slowly.

"From the voice beneath the basilica?"

Alden did not answer.

Malrec stared at him.

Then realization dawned.

"By the Sacred Flame," he whispered. "You knew she was awake."

Alden's silence was answer enough.

The inquisitor stepped backward.

"How long?"

"Three years."

Malrec's face drained of color.

"Three years?"

"At first, she only whispered."

"And then?"

Alden looked away.

"She began asking questions about the boy."

Malrec drew a dagger from beneath his robes.

"You have endangered every soul in this kingdom."

Alden looked up.

"No. I endangered them the night I made my bargain."

The inquisitor stopped.

"What bargain?"

Before Alden could answer, a scream echoed from the western staircase.

Malrec turned.

The crimson light along the wall flickered.

Then, unexpectedly, several glyphs turned gold.

Ser Kaelen lifted his helmet.

"The prince."

Inside the ruined storage chamber, Toby's flames slowly faded.

The silver ring remained warm against his skin.

Elara picked up the fallen letter.

"We need to leave."

Toby looked toward the unconscious guard.

"What if he wakes up?"

"Then I would prefer to be somewhere else."

She approached the narrow window.

It overlooked a steep drop into the basilica's western courtyard.

Far below, soldiers were gathering around the outer gates.

Elara cursed softly.

"My father has sealed the grounds."

Toby joined her.

"Why would he do that?"

"Because he doesn't want anyone knowing you're alive."

The words struck him unexpectedly.

"Alive?"

Elara turned.

"You heard Malrec. The royal records say Prince Tobias was executed twelve years ago."

"But I'm not a prince."

She studied him.

"The seal thinks otherwise."

Toby looked down at the ring.

He wanted to throw it away.

He wanted to return to the kitchens, sweep the floors, and pretend the last hour had never happened.

But the woman in the portrait had his eyes.

And the letter had been written for him.

"Your father knew my mother," he said quietly.

Elara hesitated.

"Yes."

"Was he her friend?"

"I don't know."

"Did he hurt her?"

Elara's silence stretched too long.

Toby looked away.

"I'm sorry," she whispered.

He shook his head.

"You didn't do anything."

"That doesn't mean my family didn't."

For a moment, neither spoke.

Then Elara noticed something strange.

The silver ring on Toby's finger had begun turning.

Tiny engravings shifted across its surface.

A narrow golden beam emerged from the ring, striking the opposite wall.

There, hidden beneath centuries of dust, a faint outline appeared.

A doorway.

Elara stepped closer.

"That's impossible."

Toby approached the wall.

The golden light followed his hand.

He pressed his palm against the stone.

A concealed mechanism clicked.

The wall slid inward.

Cold air rushed from the darkness beyond.

A narrow staircase descended beneath the basilica.

Toby stared into the passage.

"Where does it go?"

Elara swallowed.

"There's only one place beneath the western wing."

"What place?"

"The royal crypt."

Toby hesitated.

Then a familiar voice drifted upward from the darkness.

"Little star..."

His heart clenched.

But this time, the voice did not sound like his mother.

It sounded like Brother Alden.

"Come down, Tobias."

Elara caught his sleeve.

"No."

Toby looked at her.

"That's him."

"You don't know that."

"He might need help."

"He might be trying to kill us!"

Toby remembered the possessed guard.

He remembered the old monk's warning.

And he remembered the pain in Alden's eyes when he spoke about his mother.

"I have to know," Toby whispered.

Before Elara could stop him, he stepped into the passage.

The staircase descended farther than either child expected.

The air grew colder with every step.

Ancient statues lined the walls, their faces worn smooth by time.

Some held swords.

Others carried crowns.

Every statue had been deliberately damaged.

Their names had been chiseled away.

Elara followed closely behind Toby, holding a small lantern she had taken from the storage chamber.

"These are royal memorials," she whispered.

Toby studied a broken statue.

"Why would someone destroy them?"

"To make people forget."

They continued downward.

At the bottom of the staircase stood a circular chamber.

Seven stone coffins surrounded a central altar.

Above them, a faded mural depicted a woman wearing a golden crown.

Her hands were raised toward the sky.

Behind her stood a great black dragon.

Toby approached the mural.

The woman's face was strangely familiar.

Not because she resembled the portrait of his mother.

Because she resembled him.

The same eyes.

The same shape of the mouth.

The same narrow chin.

Elara lifted the lantern.

"Queen Aurelia the First," she whispered.

Toby looked at her.

"Who was she?"

"The founder of the First Dynasty. They say she united the seven kingdoms four hundred years ago."

"What happened to her?"

Elara hesitated.

"According to the histories, she died during the War of Ashes."

Toby remembered the letter.

She is still alive.

He stepped toward the central altar.

A small inscription had been carved into its surface.

Unlike the symbols in the basilica, these words were written in a language Elara could read.

She brushed away the dust.

Then her expression changed.

"What does it say?" Toby asked.

Elara read slowly.

"'Here lies the blood that betrayed the crown.'"

Toby frowned.

"Whose blood?"

Elara moved the lantern closer.

Beneath the inscription was a list of names.

Seven names.

The first six had been crossed out.

The seventh remained untouched.

Toby leaned closer.

The name was not his.

It was not his mother's.

It was not Ser Kaelen's.

It was:

Alden Veyr.

Elara stared.

"Veyr?"

Toby felt a chill.

"That's the knight's name."

"Yes."

"Then Brother Alden..."

Elara looked toward the staircase.

"He might be related to Ser Kaelen."

A soft voice answered from behind them.

"He is."

They spun around.

A woman stood at the entrance to the chamber.

She wore a dark traveling cloak, its hood concealing most of her face.

A slender sword rested at her hip.

Her silver hair was braided tightly behind her head.

She looked no older than thirty.

But her eyes carried an exhaustion that belonged to someone who had lived through far too many years.

"Who are you?" Elara demanded.

The woman ignored her.

Her gaze settled on Toby.

For several seconds, she simply stared.

Then her eyes filled with tears.

"You look so much like her."

Toby's throat tightened.

"My mother?"

The woman nodded.

"Yes."

"Did you know her?"

"Better than anyone."

Toby stepped forward.

"Then tell me what happened."

The woman looked toward the seven coffins.

"Your mother discovered something the royal family had hidden for centuries."

"What?"

"That the throne of Aurelian was never meant to be inherited."

Elara frowned.

"What are you talking about?"

The woman approached the central altar.

"Four hundred years ago, Queen Aurelia made a pact with a power beneath this kingdom. In exchange for victory, she promised that every generation of her descendants would surrender one child to the darkness."

Toby felt sick.

"One child?"

"Royal blood was the price of the kingdom's survival."

Elara shook her head.

"That's a legend."

"Legends are often the stories powerful families tell after murdering the witnesses."

The woman turned toward Toby.

"Your mother refused to surrender you."

His eyes widened.

"Me?"

"She discovered that the next sacrifice would be her own son."

Toby remembered the execution record.

The prince who had supposedly died twelve years ago.

"That's why they said I was dead."

The woman nodded.

"Your mother arranged your disappearance. She entrusted you to someone she believed would protect you."

"Brother Alden."

"Yes."

Toby looked toward the name carved into the altar.

"Then why is his name here?"

The woman's expression darkened.

"Because Alden was never simply a monk."

She reached into her cloak and withdrew an old silver medallion.

It bore the same dragon emblem as Toby's ring.

"He was once a member of the Order of the Seven Blades."

Elara stepped backward.

"The royal executioners?"

The woman nodded.

"And Ser Kaelen was their commander."

Toby's chest tightened.

"Did they kill my mother?"

The woman closed her eyes.

"Kaelen was ordered to arrest her. Alden was ordered to deliver you to the altar."

Toby felt the ground disappear beneath him.

"No."

"Alden refused the order."

"Then he saved me."

"Yes."

Toby breathed shakily.

"Then why did he lie?"

The woman opened her eyes.

"Because he was the one who told the crown where your mother was hiding."

Silence swallowed the chamber.

Toby stared at her.

Brother Alden.

The man who had fed him, sheltered him, and taught him to trust kindness.

The man who had promised his mother he would protect her child.

Had betrayed her.

"Why?" Toby whispered.

The woman looked away.

"Because the crown had taken his daughter."

Elara's expression changed.

"His daughter?"

The woman nodded.

"They promised to release her if he surrendered your mother."

Toby's voice trembled.

"Did they?"

"No."

The woman slowly removed her hood.

A pale scar crossed her forehead.

Around her neck hung a broken silver chain.

"They killed her anyway."

Toby stared at her.

"But you said—"

"I said they killed Alden's daughter."

She stepped closer.

"I did not say they succeeded."

Elara raised her lantern.

The woman's face was illuminated fully.

She looked directly at Toby.

"My name is Mara Veyr."

Her voice broke.

"And Brother Alden is my father."

Far above them, inside the basilica, Brother Alden suddenly opened his eyes.

The crimson symbols along the walls had begun moving again.

Malrec stood nearby, studying the changing patterns.

Ser Kaelen remained trapped beneath the magical chains.

Alden struggled to rise.

Something was wrong.

He could feel it.

A presence he had not sensed in twelve years.

A presence he had believed lost forever.

"Mara," he whispered.

Malrec turned.

"What did you say?"

Alden stared toward the western staircase.

His expression transformed from disbelief into terror.

"No..."

He seized Malrec's sleeve.

"Listen to me. You have to find the boy."

The inquisitor pulled away.

"Why?"

Alden's voice shook.

"Because she's found him."

"Who?"

"My daughter."

Malrec went still.

For a moment, neither man spoke.

Then the inquisitor whispered, "Your daughter died twelve years ago."

Alden shook his head.

"That was what they wanted me to believe."

Malrec's expression darkened.

"Then who has been wearing her face?"

Alden looked toward the crimson seal.

His eyes widened in horror.

"The same thing that has been wearing the queen's voice."

In the royal crypt, Mara extended her hand toward Toby.

"Come with me. I can take you somewhere safe."

Toby hesitated.

"How do I know you're telling the truth?"

Mara smiled sadly.

"You don't."

She glanced at Elara.

"That's something you'll have to learn quickly, Prince Tobias."

Elara stepped closer to Toby.

"Don't go with her."

Mara's eyes narrowed.

"Your father serves the men who ordered his mother's death."

"And you serve whom?" Elara challenged.

Mara did not answer.

Instead, she reached for the silver ring on Toby's finger.

The moment her skin touched it, the ring erupted with golden fire.

Mara screamed.

She stumbled backward, clutching her hand.

Her flesh blackened where the flames had touched her.

Toby stared in horror.

"What happened?"

Mara looked at her burned palm.

Then, slowly, she began laughing.

It was not a human laugh.

Her eyes darkened until no white remained.

Elara drew her dagger.

"Toby, get behind me!"

Mara lifted her head.

The scar across her forehead split open, revealing a thin line of crimson light.

"Such a clever little prince," she whispered.

Her voice changed.

It became deeper.

Older.

The same voice that had spoken through the possessed guard.

"You found the ring before I could take it."

Toby backed toward the altar.

"You're not Mara."

The creature smiled.

"Oh, child. Mara is real."

It stepped closer.

"And she is still alive."

Toby froze.

"Where?"

The creature raised one blackened finger toward the central coffin.

"Inside."

Elara turned.

A terrible scraping sound emerged from beneath the stone lid.

The coffin began to move.

Toby's ring burned brighter.

The creature whispered:

"Your mother's greatest secret was not that she saved you from the sacrifice."

The lid slid aside.

Inside lay a young woman, pale and motionless, bound by seven silver chains.

Her face was identical to the creature standing before them.

The real Mara Veyr.

The creature leaned close to Toby.

"Her greatest secret was that she chose another child to take your place."

The woman inside the coffin suddenly opened her eyes.

And with her first desperate breath in twelve years, she screamed:

"Tobias! Your mother is alive—and she's the one who put me here!"