Chapter 6 - The Sister Who Was Stolen

# Chapter 6 - The Sister Who Was Stolen

Elara slapped Queen Seraphine across the face.

The sound echoed through the royal crypt.

Nobody moved.

Not Ser Kaelen, whose ancient sword had faced armies. Not High Inquisitor Malrec, who had condemned hundreds of heretics. Not even Brother Alden, who stood beside the daughter he had believed dead for twelve years.

Elara's hand trembled.

"Don't you dare," she whispered.

Queen Seraphine slowly turned her face back toward the girl.

A thin red mark appeared on her pale cheek.

"Elara—"

"Don't say my name."

Toby stood frozen beside the altar.

Only moments earlier, he had believed Elara was a stranger who had risked her life to save him.

Now his grandmother was claiming she was his sister.

His older sister.

The only family, apart from his mother, that he might have left.

Elara backed away.

"My mother was Lady Isabelle Voss. She died when I was six years old."

Seraphine's expression filled with sorrow.

"That is the story Cassian gave you."

"It's the truth!"

"Then why have you never seen her grave?"

Elara opened her mouth.

No answer came.

She had visited the family memorial hundreds of times. Her grandparents' names were carved into the marble. So were those of distant uncles, cousins, and ancestors whose portraits filled the halls of Voss Manor.

But her mother's name had never appeared there.

Cassian had always explained that Isabelle wished to be buried in the northern countryside.

Elara had never questioned him.

Until now.

"You're lying," she repeated, but her voice had lost its certainty.

Seraphine reached toward her.

"Your mother was Princess Lysandra Aurelian."

"Then why would Lord Cassian raise me as his daughter?"

The queen looked toward Kaelen.

The knight remained silent.

"Because he was ordered to," Seraphine answered.

"By whom?"

"King Edric."

Elara shook her head.

"King Edric died eleven years ago."

Seraphine's expression hardened.

"Death has become a very convenient explanation in this family."

Toby stepped between them.

"Stop."

Elara looked at him.

He was still clutching the small wooden box containing his mother's portrait.

"Maybe she's telling the truth," he said quietly.

Elara's eyes flashed.

"You believe her?"

"I don't know."

"Then don't pretend you do!"

Toby flinched.

Elara immediately regretted her words.

But the anger inside her was too strong to contain.

For seventeen years, she had believed herself to be the daughter of Lord Cassian Voss.

She had learned his family's history, memorized their traditions, and endured his impossible expectations because she wanted to make him proud.

Now a woman who had supposedly been dead for years was telling her that her entire life had been arranged around a lie.

And worse, the boy she had protected might be the reason.

"I'm sorry," Toby whispered.

Elara looked away.

"Don't be."

He hesitated.

"I didn't ask for any of this either."

For a moment, her expression softened.

Then footsteps sounded from the staircase.

A soldier appeared at the entrance to the crypt.

His black armor bore the silver wolf of House Voss.

He looked directly at Elara.

"My lady. Your father requests your immediate return."

Elara went rigid.

"How did you find us?"

The soldier ignored the question.

"Lord Cassian is waiting."

Kaelen stepped forward.

"Nobody leaves this chamber."

The soldier's hand moved toward his sword.

"By order of the Royal Intelligence Office—"

Kaelen raised his burning blade.

"Your office has no authority over the blood of Aurelian."

The soldier hesitated.

Then he looked at Elara again.

"My lady, your father said to remind you of the winter garden."

Elara's face changed.

Toby noticed.

"What does that mean?"

She did not answer.

The soldier continued.

"He said you would understand."

Elara lowered her eyes.

Then she whispered, "Tell him I'm coming."

Toby turned toward her.

"What?"

She avoided his gaze.

"I have to speak with him."

"He's trying to capture us!"

"He's my father."

Seraphine spoke softly.

"He is not your father."

Elara turned on her.

"He raised me!"

The queen fell silent.

Elara looked at the soldier.

"Wait outside."

He bowed and withdrew.

Toby caught her sleeve.

"Please don't go."

She looked down at his small hand.

Something painful moved across her face.

"I need answers, Toby."

"We can find them together."

Elara gently removed his fingers.

"Not all answers belong to both of us."

Then she walked toward the staircase.

Toby watched her disappear into the darkness.

He did not know that she had already made a decision that would place his life in terrible danger.

The winter garden had been Elara's favorite place as a child.

Even in the coldest months, its glass walls trapped enough sunlight to keep the white roses blooming.

When she was six, her mother had taken her there every morning.

They had fed the birds.

They had collected fallen petals.

And they had played a game in which Elara pretended to be a princess trapped inside an enchanted palace.

Her mother would always smile and say, "Then remember, little dove, not every prince comes to rescue you."

Elara had forgotten those words for years.

Now they returned with painful clarity.

She found Lord Cassian waiting in a private chamber above the basilica.

He stood beside a narrow window, looking toward the courtyard.

When she entered, he turned.

For a moment, relief crossed his face.

"Elara."

She remained near the door.

"Who am I?"

Cassian went still.

"What?"

"Who am I, Father?"

His expression hardened.

"You are my daughter."

"By blood?"

Silence.

Elara felt something inside her break.

"You knew."

Cassian approached.

"Listen to me."

"You knew all along."

"Elara—"

"Is my mother Princess Lysandra?"

Cassian stopped.

For several seconds, he said nothing.

Then he closed his eyes.

"Yes."

The single word struck her harder than any blow.

Elara stepped backward.

"Then Isabelle Voss..."

"Was the name she used while living under my protection."

"Protection?"

Cassian's voice became strained.

"Your mother was being hunted."

"By whom?"

"The crown."

Elara stared at him.

"Then why did you tell me she died?"

Cassian looked toward the window.

"Because the night she disappeared, I believed she had."

"You believed?"

"Her carriage was found burned outside Blackthorn Forest. Three bodies were recovered."

Elara swallowed.

"And you never told me?"

"I wanted you to have a life."

"A life built on lies."

"A life in which no one would drag you to an altar because of the blood in your veins!"

His shout silenced her.

Cassian lowered his voice.

"Do you understand what it means to be an Aurelian heir?"

Elara said nothing.

"It means every ambitious noble will see you as a weapon. Every priest will see you as a sacrifice. Every enemy of the throne will see you as a threat."

He stepped closer.

"I gave you my name because it was the only shield I had."

Elara's eyes filled with tears.

"Did you love my mother?"

Cassian's expression changed.

For the first time, he looked genuinely vulnerable.

"More than I should have."

Elara stared at him.

"Was she your wife?"

"No."

"Then what was she to you?"

Cassian hesitated.

"Someone I promised to protect."

Elara looked away.

"And Toby?"

The tenderness vanished from his face.

"What about him?"

"He's my brother."

Cassian's jaw tightened.

"That is what Seraphine told you."

"Is it true?"

"Yes."

Elara felt her knees weaken.

She gripped the edge of a table.

Cassian watched her carefully.

"Elara, listen to me. The boy must be brought under my protection."

She looked up.

"Protection?"

"The palace will send soldiers once news of the seal reaches the capital."

"Then help him escape."

"I cannot."

"Why?"

Cassian's expression hardened.

"Because if he leaves Saint Valerius, the kingdom may fall."

Elara stared at him.

"You sound exactly like the people who wanted to sacrifice him."

Cassian looked away.

"Sometimes the cruelest choices are the only ones left."

Elara remembered Toby standing in the crypt, frightened and desperate, asking her not to leave.

Her little brother.

A boy who had spent twelve years sleeping on cold floors while she lived among silk curtains and marble halls.

She swallowed.

"What do you want me to do?"

Cassian approached slowly.

"Bring him to me."

Elara's heart pounded.

"And then?"

"I will keep him alive."

"Promise me."

Cassian looked into her eyes.

"I promise."

She studied him.

For seventeen years, she had trusted that face.

For seventeen years, he had been the one person she believed would never betray her.

Finally, she nodded.

"All right."

Cassian exhaled.

Then he embraced her.

Elara stood stiffly in his arms.

Over her shoulder, his eyes moved toward the doorway.

A black-armored officer waited beyond it.

Cassian gave the smallest nod.

The officer disappeared.

Deep beneath the basilica, Mara Veyr sat beside her father.

Brother Alden had finally allowed her to examine the wound in his shoulder.

She worked silently, binding it with strips torn from an old ceremonial cloth.

Alden watched her hands.

"You always hated blood."

Mara did not look up.

"People change."

"I know."

"No, Father. You don't."

He lowered his gaze.

Mara tightened the bandage.

Alden winced.

"That hurts."

"Good."

For a moment, neither spoke.

Then Alden whispered, "I searched for you."

Mara stopped.

"Where?"

"Everywhere they allowed me."

She looked at him.

"Everywhere they allowed you?"

His face filled with shame.

"I was afraid."

"Of losing your position?"

"Of losing Toby."

Mara's expression changed.

Alden continued.

"After your disappearance, the council threatened to take him if I questioned the records."

Mara looked toward the boy standing near Seraphine.

"You chose him."

Alden closed his eyes.

"Yes."

The answer hung between them.

Mara's hands began trembling.

"Did you ever regret it?"

Alden opened his eyes.

"Every day."

She looked away.

For twelve years, she had imagined confronting her father.

She had imagined shouting at him, striking him, demanding to know why he abandoned her.

Now he sat before her, old and wounded, admitting that he had chosen another child.

And somehow, the truth hurt more than any lie.

"Do you love him?" she asked.

Alden looked toward Toby.

"Like my own son."

Mara nodded slowly.

"Then perhaps you should tell him what else you did."

Alden froze.

"Mara..."

She stood.

"No more secrets."

Toby was examining the silver ring when Mara approached.

The golden light had faded, leaving only the faint outline of intertwined dragons.

"Prince Tobias," she said.

He looked up.

"Please call me Toby."

Mara gave a sad smile.

"All right."

She knelt beside him.

"There's something you need to know about Brother Alden."

Toby glanced toward the old monk.

"What?"

Mara hesitated.

"He did not simply hide you after your mother disappeared."

Toby frowned.

"What do you mean?"

"He was ordered to take you to the execution chamber."

Toby's stomach tightened.

"I know."

"But he did something else first."

Mara looked toward Alden.

The monk lowered his head.

Toby felt dread rising.

"What did he do?"

Mara took a slow breath.

"He made a bargain with Queen Seraphine."

Seraphine turned sharply.

"That is enough."

Mara ignored her.

"The bargain required him to surrender one child to the royal covenant."

Toby stared.

"But he saved me."

"Yes."

Mara's voice broke.

"He gave them me instead."

Silence.

Toby looked at Brother Alden.

The old monk covered his face.

"No," Toby whispered.

Mara's eyes filled with tears.

"He told them I carried enough royal blood to satisfy the ritual."

Toby remembered the scar on her forehead.

The forbidden binding.

The twelve years she had spent trapped inside the coffin.

His hands began shaking.

"You did that?"

Alden looked up.

"Toby, I—"

"You gave them your daughter?"

"I thought the ritual would fail."

"You knew they would hurt her!"

Alden began crying.

"I thought I could save you both."

Toby stepped backward.

For twelve years, Brother Alden had been the kindest person in his world.

Now Toby could barely look at him.

"You told me good people don't abandon each other."

Alden lowered his head.

Toby's voice cracked.

"You taught me that."

The old monk whispered, "I know."

Toby turned away.

He could not bear to hear another word.

An hour later, Elara returned to the crypt.

Toby was sitting alone beside the central altar.

He looked up when he heard her footsteps.

"Elara?"

She smiled faintly.

"Hello, little brother."

The words made his chest tighten.

She sat beside him.

For a while, neither spoke.

Then she reached into her cloak and withdrew a small wrapped parcel.

"Here."

Toby opened it.

Inside was a warm honey cake.

He stared.

"Where did you get this?"

"The kitchens."

He looked at her.

"Why?"

Elara shrugged.

"You looked hungry."

Toby smiled for the first time since the seal awakened.

He broke the cake in half and offered her a piece.

She hesitated.

Then accepted it.

They ate in silence.

After a while, Toby whispered, "Do you believe we're really family?"

Elara looked at him.

"Yes."

"Does that make you angry?"

She swallowed.

"No."

"Then why do you look sad?"

Elara studied his face.

His messy hair.

His worn tunic.

The way he held the cake as though it were something precious.

She thought of the years he had spent alone.

And the years she had spent believing she was an only child.

"Because I wish I'd found you sooner."

Toby lowered his eyes.

"I used to imagine having a sister."

Elara's throat tightened.

"Really?"

He nodded.

"I thought she'd be brave. And maybe she'd know how to fight."

Elara laughed softly.

"That sounds exhausting."

"And she'd share her food."

"Well, that part seems accurate."

Toby smiled.

Then he leaned against her shoulder.

Elara froze.

For a moment, she did not know what to do.

Finally, she placed one arm around him.

And for the first time in her life, she understood what it meant to have someone who needed her without expecting anything in return.

That realization made what she was about to do almost unbearable.

When Toby fell asleep, Elara carefully eased him away from her shoulder.

She stood.

Then she approached Seraphine.

"My grandmother."

The queen looked up.

Elara hesitated over the unfamiliar word.

"There's something you should know."

Seraphine studied her.

"What is it?"

"My father knows where we are."

Kaelen immediately turned.

"How?"

Elara swallowed.

"I told him."

Silence.

Toby stirred in his sleep.

Seraphine's face hardened.

"What have you done?"

Elara raised her chin.

"He promised to protect us."

Kaelen drew his sword.

"Foolish child."

Elara stepped backward.

"He raised me!"

Seraphine seized her arm.

"Did he ask you to bring Tobias to him?"

Elara froze.

The queen's expression changed.

"Oh, Elara..."

Before she could continue, a deep metallic crash echoed from the staircase.

Then another.

Boots thundered against stone.

Kaelen moved toward the entrance.

"Soldiers."

Malrec drew his dagger.

"How many?"

The answer came in the form of a black iron sphere rolling down the steps.

It stopped in the center of the chamber.

A crimson symbol ignited across its surface.

Kaelen's eyes widened.

"Everyone down!"

The sphere exploded.

A cloud of silver dust erupted through the crypt.

Toby woke coughing.

Golden fire flickered around his hand, then vanished.

He stared at the ring.

It had gone dark.

Kaelen staggered.

His sword lost its flame.

Seraphine collapsed to one knee.

Mara screamed as the old scar on her forehead began glowing.

Elara covered her mouth.

"What is happening?"

Malrec looked toward the staircase.

"Nullsilver."

Black-armored soldiers poured into the chamber.

Their weapons were tipped with the same dull silver metal.

Lord Cassian appeared behind them.

His expression was cold.

"Nobody move."

Toby scrambled backward.

"Elara?"

She stood frozen beside Seraphine.

Cassian looked at his daughter.

"You did well."

Toby turned toward her.

His face changed.

"You brought them here?"

Elara stepped forward.

"Toby, listen—"

"You told him?"

"I thought he would help us!"

Cassian raised one hand.

Two soldiers seized Toby.

He struggled desperately.

"Let me go!"

Elara rushed forward.

"Father, stop!"

Cassian caught her arm.

"Stay back."

"You promised he would be safe!"

"He will be."

"Then release him!"

Cassian looked at her.

For a moment, regret crossed his face.

Then he turned toward the soldiers.

"Take the prince to the upper sanctuary."

Toby stared at Elara.

His eyes filled with tears.

"You said you were my sister."

Elara's face crumpled.

"I am."

"Then why did you do this?"

She opened her mouth.

No words came.

The soldiers dragged him toward the staircase.

Toby stopped struggling.

He simply looked at her.

And whispered, "I trusted you."

Elara felt something inside her break.

In the upper sanctuary, the Seal of Kings had changed.

The golden symbols were gone.

Only crimson light remained.

At the center of the wall, the second circular seal pulsed like a living heart.

Toby was forced to his knees before it.

Cassian approached.

The boy looked up.

"Are you going to kill me?"

Cassian hesitated.

"No."

"Then what do you want?"

The nobleman looked toward the crimson wall.

"To save my daughter."

Toby frowned.

"Elara?"

Cassian shook his head.

"Not Elara."

A woman's voice whispered from the seal.

"Cassian..."

He lowered his head.

"Your Majesty."

The crimson symbols spread across the floor.

Toby tried to move, but the Nullsilver shackles around his wrists tightened.

The woman's voice became clearer.

"Have you brought me the heir?"

Cassian bowed.

"Yes."

"Then the bargain is complete."

Toby stared at him.

"What bargain?"

Cassian's