CHAPTER 4 — THE MAN BEHIND THE CROWN
The duel lasted less than a minute.
Although Chancellor Edmund was older, he fought with terrifying precision.
He was no politician.
He had been trained as an assassin.
Each strike came closer to Prince Adrian's heart.
Then Elara noticed something.
"The chandelier!" she shouted.
Adrian looked up just in time.
A hidden crossbow bolt shot from the ceiling.
He rolled aside as the arrow shattered the marble floor where he had been standing only a heartbeat before.
"There are more!" Elara cried.
Secret panels opened high above the throne room.
Masked archers appeared from concealed galleries.
The assassination had been planned long before this day.
Royal guards raised their shields while guests scrambled for cover.
The battle spread across the hall.
Edmund laughed.
"You still don't understand."
"You've already lost."
"What do you mean?" the king demanded.
The chancellor slowly removed the heavy gold chain from around his neck.
Beneath it was another crest.
Not the royal emblem.
A black crown surrounded by flames.
The queen gasped.
"It can't be..."
The royal historian turned pale.
"I've seen that symbol before."
He hurried to the ancient archives and returned carrying a dusty manuscript.
"The Order of the Black Crown."
The secret society had been declared extinct nearly fifty years earlier.
Its goal had been simple.
Destroy the royal bloodline and seize the kingdom from within.
"They never disappeared," the historian whispered.
"They simply hid behind positions of power."
Edmund smiled.
"For twenty-five years I stood beside the throne."
"I advised your wars."
"I approved your treaties."
"I selected your generals."
"And none of you ever suspected me."
The king realized the horrifying truth.
The palace fire...
The kidnapping...
The attempted murder...
Even recent border conflicts...
Everything had been orchestrated by the same hidden organization.
Edmund stepped backward toward a secret doorway.
"You may have found the lost princess."
"But you'll never stop what's already begun."
He disappeared into the darkness.
By the time the guards reached the passage, it was empty.
Only one object remained on the stone floor.
A sealed black envelope.
Prince Adrian opened it carefully.
Inside was a single sheet of parchment.
Written in crimson ink were only nine chilling words:
"The true heir has not yet been revealed. Prepare yourselves."
Silence filled the chamber.
Everyone slowly turned toward Elara.
If she was truly the long-lost princess...
Then who was the "true heir" mentioned in the message?
And why had the Order waited twenty-one years to reveal its next move?
Outside the palace, hidden among the forest overlooking the capital, dozens of riders wearing black cloaks mounted their horses.
Their leader lowered his hood.
A faint scar crossed his face.
He looked toward the royal castle and smiled.
May you like
"Phase Two begins tonight."
The riders disappeared into the darkness as thunder rolled across the sky.
