Lahat ng Kabanata ng Sold to My Enemy Alpha: Kabanata 131 - Kabanata 140

“Welcome back, my first servant.”The voice echoed through the nursery, and every window rattled in its frame.I stared at Kael.He stood motionless beside our son's bed, his face drained of color. The man who had faced armies without hesitation looked as though something far more terrible than death had just found him.My heart hammered against my ribs.“Kael,” I whispered. “What does that voice mean?”He didn't answer.I stepped between him and our son.“Look at me.”His silver eyes lifted to mine.“Did you know the Hollow King was alive when you opened that door?”“No.”“Did you know opening it could have caused all this?”“No, Aria. I swear to you.”“Then why did he call you his servant?”Kael looked away.That small movement hurt more than any answer could have.I had trusted him with my life. I had trusted him with our son's future. We had survived betrayal, war, and the ambitions of people who wanted to use our family for power.I had believed there were no secrets between us t

The words remained carved into the war room wall long after the light faded.THE QUEEN MUST ANSWER.Aria stood before them, her silver pendant cold against her chest. She had faced enemies who wanted her throne, wolves who questioned her bloodline, and a king who had once believed he could protect her by keeping secrets. None of those battles had prepared her for an enemy that could crawl inside the minds of the people she loved.Kael stood beside her, his hand resting against the strange mark on his wrist. Three silver lines crossed the dark symbol that had appeared there after he rejected the Hollow King's demand."Our son stays with Selene," he said."No."His eyes turned sharply toward her. "Aria.""If the Hollow King is targeting me, sending our son away will not make him safer. We have already learned that distance means nothing to something that can enter dreams and speak through shadows.""I'm not willing to gamble with his life.""Neither am I." She faced him fully. "But I wi

Kael reached the courtyard just as Aria's mother finished speaking.He had run from the palace with his sword drawn, followed by Elias and a squad of royal guards. The moment he saw Aria holding their son, he crossed the remaining distance and wrapped both of them in his arms.For several seconds, he said nothing.He simply held them.Aria felt the tremor in his hands and understood how close he had come to believing he might never see them again."Our son is safe," she whispered.Kael kissed the boy's forehead, then searched Aria's face. "Are you hurt?""No.""Tell me the truth.""I'm frightened, exhausted, and furious. But I'm not hurt."His shoulders lowered slightly. Then his gaze shifted to the woman standing a few steps away."Who is she?"Aria turned.Her mother looked smaller than she remembered. Time had carved lines around her eyes, and silver strands threaded her dark hair. Yet the shape of her face, the familiar curve of her mouth, and the tiny scar beneath her left eyebro

Kael did not speak for several seconds after the Hollow King's voice disappeared.He stood beneath the courtyard arch, the old wooden wolf clenched in his hand, staring toward the northern mountain. The silver mark on his wrist had dimmed, but the black eye at its center remained open.Aria knew that expression.It was the face he wore when he had discovered something dangerous and was already preparing to face it alone.She stepped in front of him."Whatever you're thinking, say it aloud."His gaze shifted to hers. "My father knew the first Severing Wolf.""That is what the Hollow King claims.""The message hidden inside the toy was written by my father. I recognize his handwriting."Aria looked at the folded paper again. The ink had faded, yet the final sentence remained clear.Ask him what he did to your father."Your father may have discovered the truth about the prison," she said. "That doesn't mean he betrayed you."Kael gave a humorless laugh. "You think I haven't considered th

The words followed Aria into the mountain.One of the prisoners has been waiting for your mate.She tightened her grip on Kael's hand, refusing to let the darkness separate them before they had even crossed the threshold."Who is waiting for me?" she called.No answer came.Only the faint sound of chains dragging across stone echoed through the passage.Kael raised his sword, and the silver blade illuminated the narrow walls. Strange symbols had been carved into the rock, each one crossed by a thin black line. Aria recognized the crown, the key, and the divided eye from the ancient records.But there was another symbol she had never seen before.A woman with her hands bound behind her back.Beneath the carving, someone had scratched a name into the stone.LYSANDRA.Aria stopped.Her mother had never mentioned that name. Neither had Selene. Yet something about the carving made the pendant beneath Aria's cloak grow warm."Do you recognize it?" Kael asked."No."She touched the carved le