Chapter 5: The Locked Door

Aria’s POV

Kieran found me the following afternoon outside the old records corridor. I had gone there to look for the transfer register, but the office was closed for King Cassian's inspection scheduled that afternoon. Kieran was waiting near the stairs with two guards I recognized from the estate.

“Damon wants you to stop searching through official records,” he said. “Come with me, and we'll settle this before the king’s inspection party arrives.”

“Damon can speak to me himself.” I took a step back when one of the guards moved behind me. “I haven't entered any restricted room.”

Kieran caught my arm and steered me toward the archive beneath the west wing. I tried to pull away, but he tightened his grip over the bruises left at Blackstone, and the pain made it difficult to keep my balance.

“Please don't put me in there,” I said when I saw the narrow door. “I'll go back upstairs. I won't speak to the prince again today.”

“You should have thought of that before humiliating Serena.” Kieran opened the archive and pushed me inside. “You can stay here until you learn that your wishes don't matter more than hers.”

The door closed before I reached it. I heard the lock turn, followed by the sound of his footsteps going up the stairs. There was no window, and the single lamp near the shelves had been disconnected years ago.

I pressed both hands against the wood and tried to breathe slowly. At Blackstone, they had used a punishment cell without light. I knew this was the estate, not the prison, but my body would not accept the difference.

“Kieran, please open the door,” I called. “I won't tell anyone what happened. I just need you to let me out.”

No one answered. I knocked until my injured wrist gave way, then slid down beside the shelves, where the floor was cold through my dress. I tried reaching for Nyra, but there was only the familiar silence where her voice used to be.

Somewhere above me, the inspection party entered the west wing. I heard several sets of footsteps, then a man's voice asking why the corridor had been cleared when it appeared on the approved security route.

“The old archive isn't in use, Your Majesty,” Damon answered. “There's nothing here that requires your attention.”

Damon was close enough to hear me, and I could not bear the thought of being left behind while he told another man that the room was empty.

“Damon!” I shouted. “Please tell them I'm here. I can't open the door.”

The footsteps stopped. Another voice, deeper than Damon's, asked what he had just heard. I struck the door again and cried out when pain ran through my hand.

“There's someone inside,” the stranger said. “Open it immediately.”

Damon answered too quickly. “There shouldn't be anyone in that room, Your Majesty. I'll have the guards check.”

“I didn't ask who should be there.” The man's voice came closer. “I asked you to open the door.”

Metal scraped against the lock. When the door opened, light spilled across the floor, and I covered my eyes with my good arm. A man in a dark royal uniform stood beyond the threshold, with Damon and several guards behind him.

“I'm Cassian Draven,” he said, crouching far enough away that I could see him without lifting my head. “You're safe to come out. No one is going to close that door again.”

I tried to stand, but my legs would not hold me. Damon stepped forward, and I pressed myself against the shelves before he could reach me.

“Aria, it's me,” Damon said. “I'm not going to hurt you. Let me help you get up.”

“Please don't make me go back,” I whispered. “I didn't mean to make trouble. I won't ask about the papers again.”

Cassian turned toward Damon. “Who locked her in here?” he asked.

One of the guards near the stairs spoke before Damon could answer. “Beta Kieran brought her down, Your Majesty. I saw him turn the key. He told us it was a family disciplinary matter.”

Cassian stood. “Bring Kieran to the reception room and keep him there. Nobody is to question this woman until a physician has examined her.”

Damon looked stricken. “She's my sister. I didn't know he had done this.”

“Then you can explain why your household believed locking your sister in a cellar was an acceptable punishment,” Cassian replied. “For now, move away from her.”

Dr. Rowan Mercer arrived within the hour. He examined my wrist and knee in a guest room with a female attendant present. He asked before touching me and left the door open at my request.

“These bruises aren't all from today,” he said quietly. “I need to record what I find, but you can tell me when you need to stop.”

“Will the report go to Damon?” I asked. “I don't want to cause another argument. I only need someone to sign my transfer papers.”

“The report will go to the king's appointed investigator,” Dr. Rowan said. “Your brother may be asked questions, but he will not decide what I write.”

When the examination ended, I heard voices outside the room. Cassian was speaking to Damon, and Prince Lucian had joined them after being told why the inspection had stopped.

“Blackstone Prison,” Lucian said. “That's where Aria was held, isn't it? I want to see the evidence used to convict her, and I want to know why someone prepared a transfer document in my name.”

Damon replied that he could explain the conviction, but Cassian interrupted before he had finished.

“Then start with the records. Commander Vale has already requested the sentencing file.”

I sat upright when the door opened. Cassian remained on the threshold, and Lucian stood behind him.

“Dr. Rowan says you may have visitors if you choose,” Cassian said. “I came to tell you that Kieran will not be allowed near you while this is investigated.”

“Thank you, Your Majesty.” I held the blanket over my knees. “Does that mean I can leave the pack when the investigation is over?”

Lucian answered carefully. “Your transfer application can be reviewed without your family's approval if there is evidence of coercion. I can arrange for an independent official to explain the process, but the decision will remain yours.”

I looked at him, remembering what he had said in the greenhouse. I wanted to ask whether he would still help if he chose to marry Serena, but footsteps approached from the corridor before I could find the words.

A royal guard approached the open door, carrying a sealed folder. “Your Majesty, Commander Vale has sent the preliminary records from Blackstone,” he said.

Cassian stepped into the corridor to receive the folder. Damon moved closer, but Cassian opened it without inviting him to look.

“Your Majesty, those records concern a private family matter,” Damon said. “I can explain anything you need to know.”

Cassian turned a page. “Then perhaps you can explain why your sister was placed in solitary confinement seventeen times during her sentence.”

Damon looked at me. “Aria, you never told me about that.”

“I wrote to you,” I said. “Every time they let me send a letter.”

Cassian examined the next page, then looked directly at Damon.

“According to the prison's correspondence register, every letter Aria sent was intercepted before delivery. The person who ordered them withheld was you, Damon Blackthorne.”

Damon looked away. “Your Majesty, I can explain.”

Cassian stepped toward him. “Then explain why every order authorizing her solitary confinement bears your signature.”