CHAPTER 3 — THE SECRET HIDDEN IN THE FLAMES
The throne room erupted into chaos.
Soldiers rushed toward the elderly duke, but before they could reach him, he shoved two guards aside and sprinted toward the massive oak doors.
"Stop him!" the king roared.
The duke had nearly escaped into the corridor when Prince Adrian drew the ceremonial sword hanging beside the throne and stepped directly into his path.
The old noble froze.
"You have nowhere left to run," Adrian said quietly.
For a long moment, neither man moved.
Then the duke slowly raised his hands.
"I surrender."
The palace was immediately sealed. Every gate was locked, every carriage searched, and no guest was allowed to leave.
Inside the council chamber, the king demanded answers.
"Tell us everything."
The duke remained silent.
Only when Queen Helena placed Elara's silver pendant on the table did his composure finally crack.
"I never meant for this to happen," he whispered.
The king slammed his fist onto the table.
"You kidnapped my daughter!"
"No!" the duke shouted. "I saved her!"
Everyone stared.
Twenty-one years earlier, a terrible fire had broken out in the northern wing of the palace nursery.
The flames spread with terrifying speed.
Smoke filled every corridor.
Servants fled in panic.
The duke had rushed inside hoping to rescue the infant princess.
But before he reached her room, he saw something that haunted him for the rest of his life.
A hooded man had already taken the child.
The stranger carried the baby through a hidden passage known only to a handful of nobles.
"I followed him," the duke said.
"He wasn't trying to rescue her."
"He intended to kill her."
The room fell silent.
The duke explained that he had confronted the man near the palace stables. During the struggle, both men fell from a stone bridge into the river below.
The hooded kidnapper drowned.
The baby survived.
The duke carried the unconscious child away before returning to the palace.
"But why didn't you bring her back?" the queen cried.
Tears filled the old man's eyes.
"Because when I returned... everyone believed she was dead."
He looked toward the king.
"And I discovered who had ordered the kidnapping."
The king leaned forward.
"Who?"
The duke slowly lifted his trembling hand and pointed across the room.
Not toward a noble.
Not toward a servant.
Toward the Royal Chancellor.
The entire chamber gasped.
Chancellor Edmund had served the crown faithfully for nearly thirty years.
He had advised three generations of rulers.
No one had ever questioned his loyalty.
Edmund smiled calmly.
"You've become senile, Duke."
But the duke reached into his coat and placed a weathered leather journal on the table.
"I knew no one would believe me."
"So I wrote everything."
Inside were names.
Dates.
Payments.
Maps of the palace tunnels.
Even sketches of the hidden passage beneath the nursery.
The royal historian examined the pages.
His hands began to shake.
"Your Majesty..."
"The handwriting has been verified."
"The royal seal is authentic."
Before anyone could react, Chancellor Edmund suddenly pulled a dagger from beneath his robes.
He wasn't aiming at the king.
He wasn't aiming at the prince.
He lunged straight toward Elara.
"If she dies now," he shouted, "the truth dies with her!"
But Adrian intercepted him.
Steel clashed against steel.
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The chamber exploded into panic.
For the first time in decades, blood was spilled inside the royal palace.
