CHAPTER 5 — "THE KING'S DARKEST SECRET WASN'T ABOUT THE HELMET... IT WAS ABOUT THE QUEEN."
That night the king summoned Richard and Elina to the ancient royal library.
Only three candles burned.
Dust covered shelves untouched for decades.
The king placed an old wooden chest onto the table.
Inside lay Queen Isabella's final letters.
"My children..."
"There is something you deserve to know."
King Aldren struggled to speak.
"Your mother wasn't killed by disease."
Elina's heart stopped.
Richard stared silently.
The king continued.
"She chose death."
The room froze.
Years earlier, Queen Isabella had discovered the terrifying nature of Elina's gift.
Whenever someone gazed directly into their daughter's eyes, every hidden emotion exploded into the open.
Most minds couldn't survive confronting every lie they had ever told.
The royal advisors demanded the impossible.
"The child must die."
"The curse will destroy the kingdom."
But Isabella refused.
Instead...
She begged the king to imprison her own daughter behind the helmet.
For years Isabella secretly researched ways to break the ancient power.
Every failed ritual slowly poisoned her body.
She sacrificed herself trying to save Elina.
With her dying breath she made the king promise one thing.
"Never let Elina believe she is a monster."
The king broke down crying.
"I couldn't save your mother..."
"But I could save you."
Elina embraced him for the first time since childhood.
"I never hated you."
Before anyone could speak again...
The palace doors exploded open.
A blood-covered messenger stumbled inside.
"Your Majesty..."
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"The Northern Kingdom has declared war."
"And they already know about the princess."
