CHAPTER 8 – THE CHILD WHO SHOULD NOT EXIST
Elisa had traveled hundreds of miles by then, healing villagers in remote mountain settlements.
One rainy evening she arrived at a burned farmhouse.
Only one survivor remained.
A little girl.
Perhaps six years old.
She sat calmly among the ashes, hugging a wooden doll.
Everyone else in the family was gone.
"What happened?" Elisa asked gently.
The girl answered without emotion.
"A man took them."
"Did you see his face?"
"He doesn't have one."
Elisa froze.
The child slowly lifted her sleeve.
Burned onto her tiny wrist...
Was the same symbol.
A crown surrounded by thirteen thorns.
Impossible.
That mark should have disappeared forever.
The girl suddenly looked straight into Elisa's eyes.
"You broke the prison."
"Now he's looking for the key."
Elisa's heartbeat stopped.
"What key?"
The child smiled.
"You."
Before Elisa could speak again...
The girl fainted.
Inside the child's doll Elisa discovered something hidden.
A rolled piece of ancient parchment.
It contained a map older than any kingdom.
Drawn at the very center...
Was Valedorn Palace.
Beneath it was a single sentence written in faded ink.
"The First King's true heir still lives."
Elisa immediately rode back to the capital.
Someone had hidden an heir for centuries.
If that bloodline survived...
The curse might find a new body.
Meanwhile Adrian received another terrifying report.
The royal archives had been broken into.
Only one document had been stolen.
Not gold.
Not jewels.
May you like
A birth record.
His own.
