CHAPTER 7

Prince Rhett led me through a hidden passage behind the library walls. The narrow stone corridor smelled of dust and secrets. We moved quickly, our footsteps muffled by years of accumulated grime.

"Where are we going?" I whispered.

"My private study. Somewhere my mother's spies cannot reach." He pushed open a concealed door. "My brothers will meet us there."

The room beyond was small but warm. Books lined every wall from floor to ceiling. A fire crackled in the hearth, casting dancing shadows across two familiar figures waiting in leather chairs.

Prince Kael shot to his feet the moment he saw me. His gray eyes blazed with fury. "What is the meaning of this, Rhett? Why is this omega not in chains?"

Prince Darius rose more slowly, his amber eyes confused. "The guards said she escaped. How did you find her?"

"Sit down, both of you." Rhett's voice carried an authority I had never heard before. "What I am about to tell you will change everything."

"Nothing that omega says can be trusted," Kael snarled. "She has been lying to us from the moment she arrived."

"Yes, she has been lying. But not about what you think." Rhett moved to stand beside me. "Tell them who you really are."

My throat felt dry as sand. These men had every reason to hate me. Every reason to want me dead.

"I am Princess Lyra of House Moonspire."

Silence fell like a hammer blow. Prince Kael went white as death. Prince Darius staggered backward as if I had struck him.

"Impossible," Kael breathed. "The Moonspire line died out twenty years ago."

"No. One survived." I lifted my chin, letting them see the pride I had hidden for so long. "Me."

"You came here for revenge," Darius said quietly. "You wanted to kill us."

"Yes."

Kael's hand moved to his sword. "Then you will die for that threat."

"Wait." Rhett stepped between us. "There is more you need to know."

"More?" Kael's voice was deadly soft. "What more could there possibly be?"

"We did not kill her family."

The words hung in the air like poison. Both princes stared at their younger brother as if he had lost his mind.

"Of course we did," Darius said slowly. "Father led the attack himself."

"Father was already dead when the Moonspire massacre happened," Rhett replied. "And we were fighting bandits three hundred miles away."

"That is impossible."

"Is it? Think, Kael. Really think." Rhett began pacing. "Who sent us on that mission? Who insisted we take half the royal guard? Who was left in charge while we were gone?"

Understanding dawned in Kael's eyes like a horrible sunrise. "Mother."

"Mother killed them all. Men, women, children. She slaughtered an entire bloodline in one night and blamed it on us."

Darius sank into his chair as if his legs would not hold him. "No. She would not. She could not."

"She did. And she has been ruling in our name ever since, built on the bones of innocents."

Kael turned to stare at me with new eyes. "Your entire family. Dead because of our mother."

I nodded, not trusting my voice.

"And you have been planning revenge against us all these years."

"Until tonight. Until I learned the truth."

"What truth?" Darius asked hoarsely.

"That Queen Mother Isadora is the monster. Not you."

Kael began laughing, a sound like breaking glass. "Twenty years. Twenty years I have been proud of conquering the Moonspire rebels. Twenty years I have worn a crown bought with the blood of children."

"Kael—"

"Do not." He whirled on Rhett. "Do not try to comfort me. We are all damned. Every law we have passed, every judgment we have made, every person who has bowed to our authority... it was all built on lies and murder."

"What do we do now?" Darius whispered.

Before anyone could answer, the door burst open. Queen Mother Isadora swept into the room like a dark storm, her cold eyes taking in the scene instantly.

"Well, well. What a touching family reunion."

Behind her came six royal guards, their swords already drawn.

"Mother," Kael said carefully. "We were just—"

"Conspiring with the Moonspire heir? Yes, I can see that." Her smile was sharp as a blade. "Did you really think I would not know she was here? I have been watching this little princess since the day she was born."

"You knew she was alive?" Rhett demanded.

"Of course I knew. I let her live." Isadora moved closer, her silk dress rustling like snake scales. "A powerless omega posed no threat to my sons. I thought it would be amusing to let her grow up knowing her family was dead and her kingdom lost."

"You monster," I breathed.

"Monster?" She laughed. "I am a mother protecting her children. Everything I did was for them."

"By murdering innocents?" Darius stood up, his hands clenched into fists. "By lying to us for twenty years?"

"By securing your future. The Moonspire bloodline had power that could have challenged you. Magic that could have destroyed everything I built." Her eyes glittered with madness. "I did what needed to be done."

"And now?" Kael asked quietly.

"Now the game is over." She nodded to her guards. "Kill the princess. Arrest my sons for treason."

"Treason?" Rhett stepped forward. "Against who? You?"

"Against the crown. Against everything I sacrificed to give you." Her voice rose to a shriek. "You ungrateful children. You would throw away everything for this girl?"

"This girl is the rightful queen," Kael said quietly. "And we are the sons of a murderer."

"Then you have chosen your side." Isadora raised her hand. "Guards, take them all."

The soldiers moved forward, but something was wrong. They hesitated, looking uncertain.

"What are you waiting for?" Isadora screamed.

"My Queen," one guard said slowly. "If what they say is true..."

"It does not matter what is true! I am your queen!"

"No," a new voice said from the doorway. "You are not."

We all turned to see Marcus Vale standing in the entrance, bleeding but alive. Behind him came a dozen more guards, their swords pointed at Isadora.

"Marcus!" I cried.

"Princess. I told them everything." His eyes burned with twenty years of held anger. "Captain Reed and his men know the truth now."

Isadora backed toward the window, her face twisting with rage. "This changes nothing. I am still queen. I still rule here."

"Your rule is over, Mother," Kael said sadly.

"Is it?" She smiled, and I saw madness blazing in her eyes. "Then let us see how well you rule over ashes."

She pulled something from her dress. A small crystal bottle filled with dark liquid.

"Goodbye, my ungrateful sons."

She drank the poison before anyone could stop her.