Chapter 11: THE POWER BENEATH MY BLOOD

The audience chamber doors burst open, revealing a line of royal guards led by Lord Varrick, the oldest member of the Royal Council. His silver hair was neatly combed, and his black uniform carried the insignia of the seven kingdoms. Unlike the guards behind him, he looked completely unafraid as he entered the room, his eyes moving from Cassian's drawn sword to the shattered crown on the table.

“By the authority of the Royal Council, Elias Vale and Kael Vale are hereby charged with treason, conspiracy against the throne, and the destruction of a sacred royal artifact,” Varrick announced. “They are to be detained immediately and held until the council determines their punishment.”

Cassian stepped in front of the twins. “You have no authority to issue that order without my approval.”

“Your Majesty, the ancient emergency law grants the council authority when the royal line is threatened.”

“The royal line is not threatened,” Cassian replied coldly. “It is being investigated, and I will not allow you to use an ancient law to cover up your own crimes.”

Varrick's expression barely changed, but Elias noticed the slight movement of his fingers. It was a small gesture, almost invisible, yet the guards behind him immediately spread out, surrounding the chamber.

“You should be careful with your accusations, Your Majesty,” Varrick said. “Your father understood the importance of keeping dangerous bloodlines buried. Perhaps you should learn from his example instead of risking the kingdom for a man who has already rejected your protection.”

Elias felt Cassian stiffen beside him. The councilman had deliberately brought up the rejection to humiliate him, hoping to weaken the bond between them. Elias refused to give him the satisfaction.

“If you believe I am guilty of destroying the crown, then present your evidence,” Elias said. “Do not hide behind laws you have chosen to interpret whenever they benefit you.”

Varrick turned toward him, studying him with unsettling interest. “You have your mother's courage, young man. Unfortunately, courage will not save you from the consequences of your birth.”

“You knew my mother?”

“I knew many people who should have remained forgotten.”

Before Elias could question him further, Varrick raised his hand. The guards advanced, but Cassian's growl shook the chamber.

“Take another step, and you will answer to your king.”

For a moment, no one moved. Then Varrick smiled.

“That title will not protect you for much longer.”

He lowered his hand, and the guards attacked.

Cassian moved first, striking the nearest soldier with the flat of his sword and forcing another backward with a powerful blow. Adrian rushed into the chamber from the eastern passage, followed by a handful of loyal guards, and immediately joined the fight. The room erupted into chaos as weapons clashed against marble pillars and soldiers shouted over one another.

Elias tried to stay out of the fighting, but two guards broke through the line and approached him with silver restraints. He stepped backward, raising his hands as the strange power beneath his skin began to stir.

“Don't make this difficult,” one guard warned. “Come quietly, and you may survive the night.”

“I am tired of people telling me what I must do.”

The guard lunged.

Elias felt the ancient power burst through him before the soldier could touch his arm. The man flew backward and crashed into a pillar, while the second guard dropped his weapon and fell to his knees. A silver glow spread across Elias's hands, and the air around him trembled as though the entire palace were responding to his anger.

Everyone nearby stopped fighting.

Even Varrick looked shaken.

“What have you awakened?” the councilman whispered.

Elias stared at his glowing hands, terrified by the strength surging through his body. The voice from his earlier vision returned to his mind, repeating the same words.

The crown was never the source of your power. It was the lock.

He looked at the broken crown on the table. Its pieces were still glowing faintly, and a thin stream of silver light connected them to the pendant around his neck.

“Alaric,” Elias called, turning toward the healer. “What did the crown lock away?”

The old man looked at him with an expression of deep sorrow. “Your true inheritance. The crown was created to contain the power of the First Bloodline after your ancestors discovered that their magic could destroy an entire pack with a single command. Without the crown, that power is no longer restrained.”

Elias's stomach dropped. “You mean I could lose control and hurt people?”

“You could do far worse than that if you allow your anger to guide you.”

Kael stepped closer, his face pale with disbelief. “You knew this would happen?”

“I suspected the crown might break if both heirs awakened their powers at once. I did not know it would happen so soon.”

“You brought us here and allowed this to happen!” Kael shouted.

“I brought the crown here because Varrick was already searching for it. If I had left it hidden, he would have found it first.”

Varrick seized the distraction and reached for a silver dagger concealed beneath his uniform. His eyes fixed on Elias, and the hatred in his expression was no longer disguised.

“The First Bloodline should have been erased twenty-three years ago,” he said. “I will not allow the same mistake to destroy the kingdom now.”

He hurled the dagger toward Elias.

Cassian saw it at the last moment and threw himself between them.

The blade struck his shoulder.

“Cassian!” Elias screamed.

The king staggered, gripping the wound as blood spread across his uniform. Elias rushed toward him, but Varrick was already retreating behind his guards.

“Seize them!” the councilman shouted. “The king has been compromised. Anyone who protects the twins will be treated as a traitor!”

Elias dropped beside Cassian, pressing his hands against the wound. “Why did you do that? You could have been killed!”

Cassian struggled to remain upright. “Because I will not let anyone hurt you again.”

“You don't get to sacrifice yourself and expect that to fix everything between us!”

“I know.” His face tightened with pain, but he managed to meet Elias's eyes. “I am not asking you to forgive me. I am asking you to survive.”

The words pierced Elias more deeply than he expected. Despite everything that had happened between them, he could not bear the thought of losing Cassian. The mate bond pulsed painfully inside his chest, urging him to heal the man who had rejected him.

Elias placed both hands over Cassian's wound.

Silver light poured from his palms.

The blood stopped flowing, and the torn flesh began to close beneath his fingers. Cassian gasped as warmth spread through his body, while Elias felt a strange pulling sensation deep inside himself, as though the healing were taking something from him.

When the light faded, Cassian's wound had disappeared, leaving only a thin silver mark across his shoulder.

Elias swayed.

Cassian caught him before he collapsed. “Elias, look at me. Are you hurt?”

“I don't know.” Elias pressed a hand against his chest. “I felt something leave me when I healed you.”

Alaric approached them slowly, his expression troubled. “Your power is connected to the mate bond. When you healed Cassian, you shared a part of your life force with him.”

Cassian immediately released Elias's arm as if the touch itself might hurt him. “Then you must never do that again.”

Elias managed a weak smile. “You are not in a position to give me orders.”

Even through his fear, Cassian looked relieved to hear him speak.

Across the chamber, Varrick had reached the doors. Before leaving, he turned back and stared directly at Elias.

“You believe this makes you powerful,” he said. “But you have no idea what your parents sacrificed to keep you alive. Ask your father why he agreed to hide you, and ask your mother why she never told you the truth about your birth.”

Then he disappeared into the corridor with the remaining guards.

The silence that followed was broken by Adrian ordering the wounded soldiers to be treated. Kael stood near the shattered crown, staring at the silver fragments as though he wanted to destroy them himself.

Elias slowly rose to his feet. “My parents have already told me everything they know.”

Alaric shook his head. “No, Elias. They told you what they believed. There is a difference.”

Before Elias could demand an explanation, the palace bells began to ring. One after another, they echoed through the seven towers, signaling an emergency that had not been declared in generations.

Adrian rushed to the window and looked toward the city below.

“The wolves,” he whispered. “Look at them.”

Elias joined him.

Across the palace grounds, wolves were emerging from their human forms, howling toward the moon. Their eyes glowed silver, and one by one, they lowered their heads toward the royal palace.

The power inside Elias surged in response.

Alaric's face filled with dread. “The broken crown has released the ancient command. Every wolf in the seven kingdoms can feel your awakening now.”

Elias stared at the kneeling wolves, realizing that the power he had feared was already reaching far beyond his control.

Then a messenger stumbled into the chamber, carrying a bloodstained letter.

“Your Majesty,” he gasped. “The northern packs have declared their allegiance to Kael Vale.”

Kael lifted his head, a dangerous smile returning to his face.

But the messenger was not finished.

“And the western kingdoms have sworn loyalty to Elias. They are marching toward the capital to place him on the ancient throne.”

Elias felt the blood drain from his face.

He had never wanted to be king.

Yet without making a single choice, he had become the center of a war that could destroy everything.

And as the moon rose above the palace, the voice inside his mind whispered again.

Choose your throne, first heir. Before your brother chooses your grave.