LOGINSCARLETT’S POVI stood outside Cassian's cell for several seconds before the guards opened the door. Jordan wanted to come with me, but I had refused. Cassian had asked to see me, and I needed to hear what he wanted without anyone speaking for me. Whatever truth he was holding had already involved my family, Rowan, Elaine, and now Charles.“Stay outside,” I instructed the guards, turning toward them before entering. “Do not open this door unless you hear me call for you.” They exchanged uncertain looks, but one of them nodded and locked the door behind me. I faced Cassian through the dim light of the cell, refusing to let his calm expression intimidate me.Cassian sat against the wall, looking far too comfortable for a prisoner. When his eyes met mine, a faint smile appeared on his face. “You finally came,” he remarked, leaning back against the stone as though he had been expecting me all along. “I was beginning to wonder whether you were brave enough to hear what I have to say.”“I d
JORDAN’S POVRowan's confession left us with more questions than answers, especially his claim that Cassian had someone inside Silverclaw. Scarlett and I returned to the records chamber immediately, determined to search through everything that had survived from those years. If someone had helped Cassian from inside the pack, there had to be a trace somewhere, even if it had been hidden carefully.“We need to find out who that person was,” Scarlett said, moving toward the shelves as she looked through the old records. “If Cassian had help inside Silverclaw, then someone must have been giving him information about my family.” Her voice remained steady, but I could see how deeply the discovery affected her.I opened several old records while Scarlett searched through another section. Most contained ordinary information about pack members, council decisions, territory boundaries, and old disputes. Nothing immediately connected to Cassian appeared. I continued searching until I found a col
ROWAN’S POVThe council chamber had gone silent after my confession, but I could feel Scarlett's eyes on me. I had already admitted that Elaine and I had fabricated part of the evidence against her, yet the truth I carried was much older and far more painful. I had kept it buried for years because speaking about it meant admitting how badly I had failed her.“Tell me what happened that night,” Scarlett demanded, standing across from me with anger written clearly across her face. “You said there is something you never told me, so stop hiding behind your silence and tell me what you saw.” Her voice shook slightly, but she did not look away from me.I lowered my eyes for a moment, remembering the night I had spent years trying to forget. I was young then, too young to understand the full danger surrounding the people I saw near Silverclaw territory. I only knew that something terrible had happened, and the men I saw that night were not supposed to be there.“I was near the edge of Silver
CHAPTER 114 — THE QUEEN ON TRIALSCARLETT’S POVThe council chamber went completely silent after the council leader questioned my right to remain on the throne. I stood beside Jordan, feeling every eye turn toward me. For years, I had lived with the consequences of accusations that had already taken so much from me. Now the same people who once believed those lies were preparing to place them before the kingdom again.“Then bring out everything,” I said, keeping my voice steady as I faced the council leader. “If you believe those old accusations still have power, let everyone hear them today. I will not allow another decision about my life to be made in secret.” My hands tightened slightly at my sides, but I refused to look away.The council leader nodded to an adviser, who immediately left the chamber. Minutes later, two guards returned carrying a heavy wooden box. They placed it before the council, and when the lid was opened, I recognized the documents almost immediately. They were
SCARLETT’S POVThe words of the captured warrior followed me all the way back to the palace. Charles was not simply being targeted because of some old scandal surrounding his birth. Someone wanted him alive because they believed he could be used to change who ruled the kingdom. I looked at my sleeping son in my arms and felt something inside me harden.“Charles is not a piece on anyone’s political board,” I said quietly, adjusting the blanket around him as Jordan walked beside me. “They are talking about taking my son and using him to remove you from the throne.” My voice remained calm, but the anger underneath it was impossible to hide.Jordan's expression darkened as he looked toward the palace gates. “Then they will have to come through both of us before they touch him,” he replied, keeping his voice low so Charles would not wake. “I will not allow anyone to turn our son into a weapon against this kingdom.”I looked at him carefully. “This is bigger than the attack,” I said, tighte
JORDAN’S POVI knew something was wrong the moment Scarlett entered my chamber with the document clutched tightly in her hand. Her face told me enough before she even spoke, and when she placed the paper in front of me, I read the message once before looking back at her. My chest tightened immediately because the threat was not against me or Scarlett. It was against our son.“Where is Charles?” I asked, already moving toward the door as I folded the document into my hand. Scarlett followed quickly, explaining that she had found the papers in a hidden room beneath the palace. She told me someone had been watching Charles for months, and the newest instruction had been written that morning.“He is with his nurse,” Scarlett answered, keeping close beside me as we hurried through the corridor. “I already sent someone to bring him here, but we cannot keep him inside the palace anymore.” Her voice remained steady, but I could hear the fear underneath it, and that frightened me more than the







