Mag-log inFor a long moment, Aria couldn't hear anything.Her mother's words kept repeating inside her head.Your mate bond is the final lock keeping the Crown alive.She looked at Kael.He looked just as shocked as she felt."Explain," he demanded.The Silver Queen stood from the stone throne."Your family was entrusted with protecting the Silver Bloodline. The first Blackwood guardian swore an oath to the first Silver Queen. That oath eventually became part of the bloodline's magic."Kael shook his head."How does that connect to our mate bond?""The Moon Goddess binds mates through their souls. But when two bloodlines carry ancient magic, the bond can become something greater."Aria's fingers curled."You're saying our bond is keeping the Crown alive?""Yes.""And if we break it?"The Queen looked at her daughter."The Crown may become vulnerable."Kael stepped "Then we'll break it."Aria turned sharply."Don't." He looked at her."If ending the bond is what saves you—""You don't get to off
Aria couldn't move. The woman standing before her was no longer a vision, a memory, or a voice trapped inside an ancient crystal. She was real. Her mother.The woman she had spent her entire life wondering about."Mother," Aria whispered.The Silver Queen took one step forward."My little star."Aria's eyes filled with tears. She had imagined this moment countless times. In some dreams, her mother held her and apologized for leaving. In others, she explained everything about the Silver Kingdom. But she had never imagined that the first thing her mother would do was look at Kael with hatred."Why did you say that?" Aria asked.The Queen didn't take her eyes off him."Because the Blackwood bloodline has brought nothing but destruction to our family."Kael straightened. "I don't know what happened between our families, but I had nothing to do with the destruction of your kingdom." The Queen laughed bitterly."That is what every Blackwood says.""Mother, please."The Queen finally turned
"Take it off."Darius looked at Aria."What?""The ring. Take it off."Kael immediately moved between them."Aria, what's happening?"She held out the parchment."Read the final sentence."Kael took it.His expression changed as he reached the end."Do not trust the man who wears the seventh ring."His gaze moved toward Darius.For a moment, the room became unbearably quiet.Darius slowly removed the silver ring from his finger."I can explain.""Then explain," Kael said coldly.Darius placed the ring on the table."My father gave this to me when I was a child. I didn't know it was connected to the Silver Kingdom until recently.""Recently?" Aria repeated.Darius looked at her."I discovered its true meaning after the attack on the estate. I recognized the symbol beneath the eastern tower.""Why didn't you tell us?""Because I wasn't sure what it meant."Kael's voice hardened."You're asking us to believe that you discovered you were connected to an ancient order of royal guardians an
"No!"Kael's roar echoed through the ruined courtyard.He tightened his arms around Aria as Elias stepped closer, examining the black symbol spreading across her palm."Remove it," Kael demanded. "Whatever magic created that mark, find a way to remove it."Elias looked troubled."Alpha, listen to me. The mark is older than the Silver Council. It is connected to the original laws of the Silver Crown. No ordinary healer can break it.""Then find someone who can!""Kael," Aria whispered.He looked down at her.She was pale, but her eyes remained fixed on Elias."Tell me exactly what the mark means."The old healer hesitated."It identifies you as the vessel through which the Crown's power will pass to the next heir. According to the oldest records, the Silver Crown requires a sacrifice whenever its power is transferred before the natural succession."Aria's stomach tightened."What kind of sacrifice?"Elias looked at her."The previous ruler."For a moment, nobody spoke.Kael's expressio
The child's cry followed Kael into his dreams.He heard it again and again.A small, frightened sound beneath the roar of flames.He stood in a corridor filled with smoke, unable to move. Somewhere beyond the burning doors, a woman was screaming his name.But he was no longer eighteen.He was a child.Small hands gripped his father's coat as the Alpha knelt before him."Listen to me, Kael."His father's face was covered in blood."Whatever happens tonight, you must remember one thing. A promise is only worth keeping if you are willing to pay its price."Young Kael began to cry."Where are we going?""Somewhere safe.""Is Mother coming?"His father looked away.Then the memory changed.Kael stood in the courtyard of an unfamiliar palace. Wolves in silver armor fought beneath a blood-red sky. A woman in a white gown ran toward him, carrying a baby.She knelt and placed the child in his arms."Protect her."Kael stared at the baby.The child's eyes opened.Silver.A voice shouted behind
The photograph lay on the table between them.Kael stared at it, searching for a detail that would explain what he was seeing.The prisoner had Darius's face.The same sharp jaw. The same dark eyes. The same scar near the left eyebrow.But Kael knew his Beta.He had fought beside Darius since they were boys. He knew the sound of his footsteps, the way he held his sword, and the expression he wore when he was hiding a bad joke.The man in the photograph was not Darius.Yet the resemblance was impossible to ignore."Could he be a brother?" Aria asked.Darius shook his head."My mother had one child.""Then a cousin?""I have no relatives who look like me."Kael lifted the photograph."Someone has gone to considerable trouble to make us believe this man is connected to you.""Or connected to the Silver Kingdom," Aria said.She pointed toward the symbol carved into the prisoner's chest."The Crown."Darius leaned closer."That isn't the royal insignia. It's an older symbol."Elias entered







