Chapter 111: A Day Beyond the Palace

By noon, the palace had settled into the easy rhythm of an ordinary day. The morning's lessons and duties were finished, the sun was high overhead, and nobody seemed particularly interested in returning to another round of reports. Sable leaned against the open doorway, watching the courtyard below. “We've been inside for too long.” Riven looked up from the fruit he was eating. “You say that as though someone chained you to the palace.” “It feels that way.” Selene laughed softly. “Then let's go out.” Orion looked at her. “Into the town?” “Why not?” He glanced toward the others. Theron and Quinlan were already gathering their things, while Evangeline smiled at the suggestion. Kaelen looked mildly amused. Riven stood immediately. “I'm coming.” Sable stared at him. “You didn't even ask where we're going.” “Does it matter?” “It probably does.” “It matters less than lunch.” Sable rolled her eyes. A short while later, they left the palace grounds with only a small group of g

Chapter 112: Quiet Hours

Night settled over the palace with the soft weight of a long, ordinary day. The market square had emptied hours ago. The training grounds stood quiet under the rising moon. Lanterns glowed along the corridors, and the distant sounds of the kingdom settling into rest drifted through open windows.Camille had been unusually content when they returned. After the excitement of the market and the training yard, she had fallen into a deep sleep against Orion’s shoulder. Evangeline had been waiting near the nursery when they arrived, already holding a folded blanket and a knowing smile.“I’ll take her,” she said quietly. “You two look like you need an evening that doesn’t involve tiny fists or wooden markers.”Selene hesitated for only a moment before carefully transferring Camille into Evangeline’s arms. The baby stirred, made a soft sound, then settled again without opening her eyes. Orion brushed a hand over Camille’s hair once before stepping back.“Thank you,” Selene murmured.Evangelin

Chapter 113: The Hidden Link

Another day had begun, and by the time the palace had finished settling into its usual rhythm, Selene found herself standing in the small room where some of her family's older belongings had been kept.She had not planned to come there.Evangeline had mentioned the box the previous evening while they were sorting through a few things from the western storage room. Selene had remembered it only because Camille had reached toward the wooden lid when they passed it.Now the box rested on a table.Orion stood beside her while Kaelen examined its contents. Theron and Quinlan had joined them, curious about what Selene had found.“Most of this belonged to my mother's family,” Selene said. “I've seen the box before, but I never had a reason to look through everything.”Kaelen lifted an old ribbon, then a small silver pendant.“Nothing unusual.”Selene moved aside a folded piece of cloth. Something metallic caught the light. She reached for it.A small key

Chapter 114: The Guardian’s Record

The hidden chamber was quieter without Camille in it.Evangeline had taken her to the nursery after she woke from her nap, leaving Orion, Selene, Kaelen, Theron, Quinlan, Sable, and Riven to continue examining the records they had uncovered.Selene stood beside the stone table, looking at the shelves.“We should go through everything,” she said. “If this room was kept for a reason, there may be more here than those records.”Kaelen nodded. “There usually is.”Riven glanced at the shelves. “How many books count as more?”“Enough that you should stop complaining before we begin.”Sable gave him a look, and he wisely said nothing.Orion hid a smile as Kaelen reached toward the lowest shelf.Several thin books had been stacked there, their covers worn smooth with age. Kaelen moved them aside one by one until his fingers stopped against something larger.He pulled. A heavy book slid from the darkness beneath the shelf. Dust fell from its cover..Sel

Chapter 115: The Last Secret

The hidden chamber was no longer unfamiliar when they returned. Selene carried Camille against her shoulder as Orion walked beside her. Elira and Evangeline had stayed behind in the nursery to prepare for the baby's bedtime, leaving Selene to bring Camille along when she refused to settle. Kaelen led the way, with Theron, Quinlan, Sable, Eli, and Riven following close behind.Riven glanced at her. “So she's coming with us?”“She wouldn't stay asleep,” Selene said.Camille answered with a small babble, one hand curled around the edge of Selene's cloak.Sable smiled. “I think she heard you complaining.”“I wasn't complaining.”“You were.”Orion looked back at them. “Keep your voices down.”Riven lowered his voice immediately. “I wasn't complaining.”Selene smiled as they reached the end of the corridor.The oldest foundation lay beyond a section of the palace that had not been used in generations. The walls were plain, the stones darker than tho

Epilogue

Three years later, the palace gardens had become Camille's favorite place in the kingdom.She ran between the trees with a wooden sword tucked beneath one arm, her dark curls bouncing as she tried to outrun Riven.“You're cheating!” Riven called after her.Camille turned around while still running.“I am not!”“You started before I did!”“Because you were slow!”Sable's laughter carried across the garden.Riven stopped and placed his hands on his hips. “Did everyone hear that?”“I did,” Sable said.“And?”“She wasn't wrong.”Riven stared at her. Camille burst into laughter and continued running.From beneath the shade of a large tree, Selene watched her daughter disappear behind a hedge.“She has your attitude,” Orion said beside her.Selene looked at him. “Excuse me?”“I said she has your confidence.”“That is not what you said.”Orion smiled.Selene tried to remain serious but failed.Camille had chang