Beneath the Palace

Darkness.

It was the first thing Killian knew.

Not silence.

Not peace.

Darkness.

It wrapped around him like chains, suffocating and endless.

For what felt like an eternity, he drifted through it.

Unable to move.

Unable to speak.

Unable to wake.

Yet he could hear.

Fragments of voices.

Distant sounds.

Whispers carried through the void.

The healers are discussing his condition.

The Queen Mother cried when she thought no one was listening.

The council is arguing over succession.

And beneath it all, another voice.

A voice he had not heard in five years.

Seraphina.

Even in darkness, he would know her voice.

He had heard it only briefly.

A whisper.

A name.

His name.

And somehow it had pulled him toward the surface.

Toward life.

Toward hope.

A sharp pain exploded through his chest.

Killian gasped.

Air flooded his lungs.

His eyes flew open.

Stone ceiling.

Torchlight.

Cold air.

Reality.

For several seconds, he stared upward.

Breathing.

Alive.

His entire body felt heavy.

Weak.

As though he had been buried beneath a mountain.

Then memory returned.

The curse.

The poison.

The betrayal.

Cassius.

Killian sat upright abruptly.

Pain immediately shot through him.

A groan escaped his lips.

"You should not move."

The unfamiliar voice came from the shadows.

Killian's eyes snapped toward it.

A hooded figure stepped into the torchlight.

An old woman.

Wrinkled.

Thin.

Yet her eyes burned with unusual intelligence.

Killian frowned.

"Who are you?"

The woman smiled faintly.

"The person who prevented your death."

His hand immediately reached for a weapon.

There wasn't one.

Of course not.

The old woman chuckled.

"Still suspicious."

"Answer the question."

The amusement vanished from her face.

"My name is Morwen."

The name stirred a distant memory.

Ancient stories.

Old legends.

A healer who allegedly lived beyond the normal human lifespan.

Impossible.

Yet the woman standing before him looked exactly as those stories described.

Killian's gaze narrowed.

"Why am I alive?"

Morwen's expression darkened.

"Because death was never the goal."

A chill ran down his spine.

"What does that mean?"

The old healer stepped closer.

"The curse placed upon you was designed to remove you from the throne."

Realization hit instantly.

Not assassination.

Not murder.

Something worse.

A political disappearance.

The kingdom believed he was dead.

Which meant—

"Cassius."

Morwen nodded.

"Your cousin has been preparing this for years."

Killian's jaw tightened.

Rage simmered beneath the surface.

He should have seen it sooner.

The ambition.

The manipulation.

The carefully hidden resentment.

Instead, he had dismissed the signs.

Trusted the wrong people.

And lost everything.

"What is happening above?"

Morwen hesitated.

Then smiled slightly.

"You may find one piece of news encouraging."

Killian stared at her.

"Speak."

"Seraphina returned."

The world stopped.

Every thought vanished.

Every concern disappeared.

For one brief moment, there was only her name.

Seraphina.

Returned.

Alive.

His throat tightened.

A strange mixture of relief and disbelief swept through him.

He had imagined seeing her again countless times.

Usually in regret.

Often in guilt.

Never in reality.

And yet she was here.

Under the same roof.

Close enough to touch.

Close enough to hear.

Close enough to lose all over again.

Killian closed his eyes briefly.

"She's alive."

Morwen studied him carefully.

"You didn't know?"

He laughed bitterly.

"No."

The sound was broken.

Human.

Nothing like the feared Alpha King the kingdom knew.

For five years he had believed she was dead.

For five years he had carried that guilt.

Now she was alive.

And he had no idea what to do with that knowledge.

Morwen folded her arms.

"There is more."

Something in her tone made him tense.

"What?"

The old woman seemed almost pleased.

"She has a son."

The words barely registered.

Killian frowned.

A son.

The information should not have mattered.

And yet something twisted painfully inside his chest.

Of course, she had moved on.

Five years was a long time.

Long enough to find happiness elsewhere.

Long enough to forget him.

The thought hurt more than he expected.

Morwen watched his reaction.

Then added quietly,

"The boy is five."

Killian froze.

The room went silent.

A strange feeling settled over him.

Cold.

Heavy.

Impossible.

Five years.

Exactly five years.

His heartbeat accelerated.

"No."

Morwen said nothing.

"The boy..."

His voice sounded distant.

Uncertain.

"The boy belongs to..."

The healer smiled.

"You tell me."

Memories flashed through his mind.

The night before Seraphina's exile.

The promises.

The love.

The future they had planned.

Then the accusations.

The lies.

The rejection.

The sentence he could never take back.

Killian stood.

Ignoring the pain.

Ignoring the weakness.

Ignoring everything except one possibility.

One impossible possibility.

"My son."

Morwen's smile widened.

"I believe so."

The Alpha King's knees nearly gave out.

Not from weakness.

From shock.

A son.

He had a son.

For five years.

Five years.

His child had existed.

Laughed.

Grown.

Taken his first steps.

Spoken his first words.

And Killian had missed all of it.

The weight of that realization hit harder than any wound.

A broken sound escaped his throat.

Regret.

Pure and devastating.

Morwen allowed him a moment.

Then her expression grew serious.

"There is something else."

Killian looked up.

"What now?"

The old healer's eyes darkened.

"The wolves have begun gathering."

His pulse quickened.

"Wolves?"

"Hundreds."

A familiar dread stirred.

Ancient stories.

Forgotten prophecies.

Legends dismissed as myths.

"The heir is awakening."

The words sent ice through his veins.

For years he had searched royal records.

Studied forbidden texts.

Investigated strange references hidden within kingdom history.

Always the same warning.

The true heir would awaken the bloodline.

And when he did—

The kingdom would either be saved.

Or destroyed.

Morwen stepped toward him.

"You need to reach the palace."

Killian nodded.

"Then let's go."

The old healer shook her head.

"You can't."

His eyes narrowed.

"Why?"

She pointed toward the ceiling.

Toward the kingdom above.

"Cassius controls the guards."

A curse escaped Killian's lips.

Of course he did.

The plan had been years in the making.

Every move calculated.

Every obstacle removed.

Including the King.

Morwen's voice softened.

"Your mother believes you're dead."

Pain flickered across his face.

"And Seraphina?"

The old woman smiled knowingly.

"She believes it too."

Something inside him shattered.

Because for the first time he imagined what she must have felt hearing the news.

The grief.

The confusion.

The unfinished words.

The closure neither of them would ever have.

Unless he changed that.

Killian straightened.

Determination hardened his features.

"No."

Morwen raised an eyebrow.

"No?"

He met her gaze.

"I am done letting other people decide my fate."

The Alpha King's eyes flashed gold.

Power surged beneath his skin.

Weak.

Unstable.

But growing stronger with every heartbeat.

Cassius believed him dead.

The kingdom mourned.

His enemies celebrated.

And above them all waited a woman he had loved enough to destroy.

A woman who had returned despite every reason not to.

This time he would not fail her.

This time he would not fail his son.

Killian looked toward the distant tunnels leading upward.

Toward the palace.

Toward Seraphina.

Toward war.

"Take me home."

And somewhere far above, in the royal palace, Aiden suddenly sat upright in bed.

His silver eyes glowed in the darkness.

"Mama?"

Seraphina woke instantly.

"What is it?"

The boy stared toward the floor.

Toward something buried deep beneath the palace.

Then smiled.

A smile that made chills race down her spine.

"He isn't dead."

The room fell silent.

And beneath the palace, the Alpha King began his journey back from the grave.