Chapter 4 - The Poisoned Decree
The Raven moved like smoke. Before Elena could even raise the small dagger Rowen had given her, the assassin lunged forward, his blade flashing in the moonlight.
Elena threw herself sideways, pulling Leo beneath a fallen marble pillar. The assassin’s blade sliced air, striking the stone with a shower of sparks.
"Run, Leo! Find the vault!" Elena screamed, swinging her dagger wildly to keep the assassin at bay.
"I won't leave you!" Leo cried, picking up a heavy piece of stone from the ground and throwing it with all his strength.
The rock struck The Raven right on the side of his mask. It didn't injure him, but it distracted him long enough for Elena to kick him squarely in the chest. The assassin stumbled backward into a decaying wooden scaffold, sending tons of rotting timber crashing down upon him.
"Now! Move!" Elena grabbed Leo’s hand, and they sprinted toward the entrance of the Sunken Archives hidden beneath the altar of the ruined cathedral.
They plunged down the spiral staircase, using the brass key to unlock the massive iron gate at the bottom. Inside, thousands of ancient scrolls and dusty tomestone books lined walls that stretched high into the darkness.
At the far end of the hall stood the Royal Vault—a massive safe forged from solid dark steel, bearing the seal of the weeping sword.
Elena stepped up to the vault, her heart beating wildly in her chest. "The key... Rowen said there was a key!"
"He gave you a brass key, but where is the lock?" Leo asked, looking at the smooth, seamless face of the iron vault. There was no keyhole. Only a small, circular indentation in the center, shaped like...
Elena’s eyes widened. She pulled out the tiny, broken silver hairpin.
She pressed the base of the hairpin into the indentation. It fit perfectly.
CLICK.
A series of heavy iron gears began to turn deep inside the stone walls. The heavy vault door slid open with a deafening groan, revealing a small velvet-lined chamber. Inside rested a single glass case holding a golden scroll tied with a crimson ribbon.
Elena reached inside and broke the seal.
As she unrolled the parchment, her eyes scanned the elegant handwriting of her late father, King Alden.
"Let it be known to all lords and ladies of the realm: Queen Margaret is guilty of high treason and treasonous alchemy. Should I perish unexpectedly, the crown shall pass solely to my son, Julian, and my daughter, Elena. Margaret shall be stripped of all titles and exiled to the Northern Wastes..."
Elena wept. "It’s real. It’s all real."
"A very touching family reunion," a cold, harsh voice echoed from the entrance of the archives.
Elena whipped around.
Standing at the top of the stairs wasn't just The Raven—he was dead, his bloody body dragged behind the person who now entered the room.
Queen Margaret walked down the stone steps, wearing her full royal crown, flanked by twenty elite heavy guards armed with crossbows.
May you like
"Hand over the scroll, Elena," Margaret commanded, her voice dropping to a terrifying register. "Or I will have them riddle that bastard child with twenty bolts before you can blink."
CHAPTER 4 HOOK: Cornered deep underground, Elena held the proof of her mother's treason—but twenty crossbows were aimed directly at her nephew's chest!
