5

THE SECRET (Seraphina Pov)

Seraphina still didn’t understand why the entire room had suddenly become restless with people moving around, nobles whispering among themselves while the guards hurried towards the other side of the hall. She looked towards her father, but he wasn’t where he has been sitting before.

“Father?” She couldn’t see him.

Seraphina moved a little closer to where her family had been sitting, looking around the crowd. She saw some familiar faces but not her father. Then she noticed Adrian, He was standing a few feet away, speaking with one of the nobles as if nothing had happened. Seraphina frowned, of course adrian was always calm when something wasn’t directly affecting him.

She then walked towards him.

“Adrian.”

He turned when he heard her voice.

“Where have you been?”

Seraphina stared at him with anger. “I was looking for my father.”

“He is with the others.”

“Where?”

Adrian looked towards the crowd. “I don’t know.”

Seraphina sighed. “You don’t know?”

“Seraphina, the guards are handling whatever happened. You should stay here.”

She looked around the room. “Stay here and do what?”

“Wait.” She almost laughed. Adrian always has a way of making her feel like a child.

“I can find my own family.”

His expression hardened.

“You shouldn’t be walking around the palace alone.”

“And you shouldn’t be telling me where I can walk.”

Adrian’s jaw tightened. “I’m trying to protect you.”

“I didn’t ask you to.”

Before he could answer, someone pushed between them. Seraphina stepped aside, annoyed.

She looked around again, Her father was still nowhere in sight. Something about the disturbance made her uncomfortable. She didn’t know what had happened, but the guards were taking it seriously.

“I am going to find my father.”

“Seraphina—”

“Don’t touch me”. She ignored Adrian and walked away. She heard him calling her name behind her but she didn’t turn.She had already spent enough of the evening listening to people tell her what she should do. The palace was bigger than she expected as She walked through the hallway, looking around for someone who could direct her back to the main hall. She passed two guards who were speaking quietly.

“Did they find him?”

“Not yet.”

Seraphina slowed down. Find who? The guards noticed her and immediately stopped talking.

She bowed then continued walking. Maybe she was becoming too suspicious because Everything tonight felt very strange. First the stories about Kael, Then the way everyone moved away whenever he came near. Then the strange disturbance, and somehow she couldn’t stop thinking about the king. She didn’t understand why.

Kael Draven had barely spoken to her, Yet she had noticed him looking at her or had felt it. Even now, she could remember the way their eyes had met across the room.

There had been something strange about his expression. He didn’t look angry, He didn’t look interested either, rather He looked confused.

Seraphina shook her head. Why was she thinking about him? He was a king. A very dangerous one according to everyone, She should be more worried about finding her family.

She continued walking until the voices from the main hall became quieter behind her. The corridor ahead was almost empty. Seraphina stopped,She suddenly heard voices. There were people talking somewhere nearby. She looked around and The voices were coming from the next corridor. She knew ears dropping conversation was a bad manner but She wasn’t trying to listen, At least that was what she told herself. But something about their voices made her stop like They sounded serious.

Seraphina moved closer to the wall. She stayed behind one of the large pillars and listened.

“We can’t do it here.”

A man’s voice. Another man answered.

“The guards are everywhere now.”

“That wasn’t part of the plan.”

“What do you want us to do?”

There was silence for a moment, Then the first man spoke again.

“We wait until the ceremony is over.”

Seraphina frowned. What were they planning? She leaned closer.

“The girl?”

Her heart suddenly beat faster.

“What about her?”

“She is still inside the palace.”

Seraphina’s eyes widened. Who were they talking about? She looked behind her, Nobody was there. She turned back towards the voices.

“She cannot leave.”

“Then we need to find her before she does.”

Seraphina felt a strange feeling in her chest.

The girl.

Who was this girl they were talking about? Was someone in danger?

She should leave, She knew she should. But her curiosity made her stay. She leaned closer again.

“Do they know?”

“No.”

“And the family?”

“They know nothing.”

Seraphina’s eyebrows pulled together. What did the family know nothing about? She didn’t understand any of it. Then one of the men spoke again.

“We can’t allow her to reach the other kingdoms.”

Seraphina’s eyes widened.

Why? What was so important about this girl?

She took a small step backwards. Her shoe touched something, A small metal object rolled across the floor. The sound echoed through the quiet corridor then, The voices stopped.

Seraphina froze. Nobody spoke as She held her breath, Then she heard footsteps.

“Did you hear that?”

Her heart dropped. She slowly turned around suddenly A man appeared from the corridor, His eyes immediately landed on her. For a moment neither of them moved, Then his expression changed.

“You.”

Seraphina didn’t wait to hear anything else, She turned and ran.

“Stop!”

She held her dress with one hand as she ran down the corridor, She didn’t even know where she was going. She only knew she needed to get away. From the Footsteps following behind her.

Fast.

Getting closer.

“Stop running!”

Seraphina’s heart pounded. Why were they chasing her? She didn’t know who they were, She didn’t even know what they were planning. But if they only wanted to ask her questions, they wouldn’t be chasing her like this. She looked behind her. And saw Two men were running after her. Seraphina turned back and ran faster, Her shoes almost slipped against the smooth floor. She grabbed the side of the wall to steady herself.

“Someone help!” Her voice echoed through the corridor,But nobody answered. The palace suddenly felt too big, Too quiet. She turned another corner, She couldn’t  recognize this part of the palace.

“Where am I?” she whispered. She could still hear them behind her. She needed to find the main hall or her father or anyone. Seraphina ran down another corridor and saw a staircase ahead. She started going down, Then stopped. Footsteps? They were coming from behind her. Seraphina quickly turned around and ran back the other way, She didn’t know where she was going anymore.

Her breathing became heavier. She could feel her heart beating against her chest then She thought about Adrian. For the first time tonight, she wished he was nearby.

No. She immediately shook the thought away. She didn’t need Adrian. She could save herself, She just needed to find a way out. She reached another hallway and saw that there were people ahead. For a second relief filled her chest But then she realized they were guards. So She slowed down thinking maybe they could help her. She was about to call them when she heard the men behind her.

“They went this way!”

Seraphina panicked. If she stopped now, they would catch her. She turned quickly and ran in the opposite direction. She didn’t even notice the person standing ahead of her, She was too busy looking behind. Then she crashed into someone.

“Ah!”

Her body stumbled backwards, She nearly fell. A strong hand caught her by the arm.  Seraphina gasped as she looked up, everything inside her suddenly went still.

Black clothes.

Cold expression.

Black hair.

And those familiar eyes. The man standing in front of her was the one person everyone had warned her about since she arrived at the Obsidian Kingdom.

The Untouchable King.

Kael Draven.

Seraphina stared at him, trying to catch her breath. Kael looked down at her, For a moment, neither of them said anything. Then Seraphina heard the footsteps getting closer, The men were coming and she didn’t know what to do. She only knew she had nowhere else to run.