Chapter 3 - The Son Who Returned from the Dead

# Chapter 3 - The Son Who Returned from the Dead

Seraphine recognized her son's face immediately, but the voice that came from his mouth belonged to a stranger.

"Hello, Mother."

The young assassin stood beneath the flickering lantern, his black armor bearing the silver serpent of Queen Claudia's secret guard. A narrow scar crossed the skin beneath his right eye, and his dark hair was cut short against his skull.

He could not have been older than twenty.

Yet the coldness in his expression made him seem far older.

Seraphine took a trembling step forward.

"Kael?"

The young man smiled.

"At least you remember my name."

Garrick pressed a hand against the crossbow bolt lodged in his shoulder. Blood seeped between his fingers.

"Kael Valcrest died eleven years ago."

"That's what everyone keeps telling me."

Kael glanced toward the commander.

"Funny how often the dead turn out to be inconveniently alive in this family."

Toby stood behind the fireplace, clutching the Sunforged Arc.

His wrist throbbed.

The bow remained silent.

He looked at Seraphine, then at the armed men surrounding them.

"He's your son?"

Seraphine nodded without taking her eyes off Kael.

"I thought he was dead."

Kael laughed softly.

"You thought a great many things, Mother."

"Where have you been?"

"Learning."

"With Claudia?"

His smile widened.

"Among others."

Seraphine's expression crumpled.

"She told me you burned in the western nursery."

"She told me you abandoned me."

The words struck harder than any blade.

Seraphine stopped moving.

"Kael, I never—"

"Don't."

He raised one gloved hand.

"I spent eleven years hearing about the brave Lady Seraphine, who escaped the palace while her son screamed behind a locked door."

"That's not what happened."

"Then perhaps you'd like to explain why you survived and I was left behind."

Toby watched Seraphine's face.

For the first time, the mysterious woman seemed genuinely unable to defend herself.

"I went back for you," she whispered.

Kael's eyes hardened.

"Too late."

Behind him, the other assassins shifted their weapons.

Garrick took advantage of the distraction.

He moved toward Toby, keeping his wounded shoulder turned away from the soldiers.

"Listen carefully," he whispered. "There is a drainage passage beneath the fireplace. If I tell you to run, you run."

Toby glanced at the narrow opening behind the hearth.

"What about you?"

"Don't worry about me."

"That's what Master Edrin said."

Garrick looked at him.

The boy's expression was painfully serious.

"And then he died."

For a moment, the commander had no answer.

Kael extended his hand toward Seraphine.

"Come with me."

She stared at him.

"What?"

"Her Majesty wants the boy. She has no interest in killing you unless you make it necessary."

"Claudia ordered your men to shoot Garrick."

"Garrick interfered."

"He was protecting a child!"

Kael's face darkened.

"That child is the reason this kingdom has spent eleven years bleeding."

Toby felt the accusation like a slap.

"What did I do?"

Kael turned toward him.

"Nothing. That's the tragedy."

He took a slow step forward.

"You were born with a mark. Men murdered each other because of it. Villages burned. Families disappeared. And now you walk into the royal courtyard with an ancient weapon and expect everyone to kneel."

"I never asked anyone to kneel!"

"Then surrender the bow."

Toby hesitated.

Kael noticed.

"Exactly."

Seraphine moved between them.

"He's eleven years old."

"So was I when Claudia found me."

"You were nine when the palace burned," Seraphine said.

Kael's expression changed.

Only slightly.

But Toby noticed.

"Nine?" he repeated.

Kael looked away.

Seraphine stepped closer.

"You were nine years old, Kael. You were born two years before Tobias."

"Dates don't matter."

"They matter when someone has been lying to you."

Kael drew his sword.

"Enough."

The blade was black, with a thin silver line running along its edge.

Garrick recognized the weapon.

"Nightglass," he muttered.

Seraphine went pale.

"Where did you get that?"

Kael examined the sword with apparent indifference.

"A gift."

"From Claudia?"

"From someone who understands what our family truly is."

The black blade emitted a low hum.

Toby felt the Sunforged Arc tremble in his hands.

The two weapons seemed to recognize each other.

Kael noticed the movement.

His smile disappeared.

"Interesting."

He raised the sword.

"Perhaps the queen was right about you."

Far beneath High Valen, the imprisoned woman listened to hurried footsteps outside her cell.

The young guard Lucan returned carrying a lantern.

He was breathing hard.

"Something is happening in the eastern tower."

The prisoner lifted her head.

"What kind of something?"

"Armed men. The queen's private soldiers."

The woman closed her eyes.

"Then she has found him."

Lucan gripped the bars.

"You said the boy was the true heir."

"He is."

"How do you know?"

She looked at him.

"Because I was there when he was born."

Lucan stared.

"Who are you?"

The woman did not answer immediately.

Instead, she reached beneath her thin prison gown and removed a small bronze ring hanging from a cord around her neck.

The ring bore the symbol of a white rose.

"Take this to the eastern tower."

Lucan recoiled.

"Are you mad? The queen will have me executed."

"Then the boy will die without knowing why his mother vanished."

Lucan swallowed.

"His mother?"

The woman pressed the ring through the bars.

"Tell him the woman in the portrait was not the last person to hold him."

A heavy door opened at the far end of the corridor.

Both turned.

Two royal guards entered.

Behind them walked a thin man dressed in crimson robes.

His face was concealed beneath a hood.

Lucan immediately stepped away from the cell.

The newcomer stopped before the bars.

"Good evening, Lady Elara."

The prisoner froze.

Lucan felt the blood drain from his face.

Lady Elara.

The missing queen.

The woman slowly rose to her feet.

"I wondered when you would come."

The hooded man inclined his head.

"Her Majesty has decided that your usefulness has ended."

He withdrew a narrow glass vial containing black liquid.

Lucan looked at the ring still hidden in his palm.

Then at the guards blocking the corridor.

For the first time in his life, he understood that obeying an order could be more dangerous than breaking one.

In the eastern tower, Kael advanced toward Toby.

"Give me the bow."

Toby stepped backward.

"No."

"Don't make this difficult."

"You shot Garrick."

"He'll live if he stops interfering."

Garrick gave a humorless laugh.

"Generous."

Kael ignored him.

Seraphine moved forward.

"Kael, look at me."

He did not.

"Please."

His jaw tightened.

"Don't use that word."

"Your aunt has lied to you."

"She fed me. She protected me. She gave me a purpose."

"She turned you into a weapon."

Kael's sword flashed.

The tip stopped an inch from Seraphine's throat.

Toby gasped.

But Seraphine did not retreat.

"Go on," she whispered.

Kael's hand trembled.

"Move."

"If you truly believe I abandoned you, then do what you've come to do."

For several seconds, mother and son stared at each other.

Then Kael lowered his sword.

"Take the boy," he ordered.

The assassins rushed forward.

Garrick struck the first with the pommel of his sword, sending him crashing into the fireplace.

The second slashed at Garrick's injured shoulder.

He cried out but remained standing.

Seraphine seized a fallen dagger and drove it into the leather joint beneath an assassin's arm.

Toby stumbled backward.

A gloved hand closed around his collar.

"Got you."

The assassin dragged him toward the passage.

Toby kicked wildly.

The man tightened his grip.

"Stop struggling!"

The Sunforged Arc slipped from Toby's fingers.

It struck the stone floor.

A clear metallic note rang through the chamber.

The assassin froze.

Golden lines spread across the floor beneath his boots.

Toby stared.

The ancient bow had begun to glow.

Not with the fierce sunlight of the courtyard.

With something softer.

Something almost like moonlight.

A woman's voice whispered inside his mind.

The light does not belong to kings.

Toby stopped struggling.

The voice continued.

It belongs to those who refuse the darkness.

He reached toward the bow.

The golden mark on his wrist blazed.

The assassin screamed as the floor erupted beneath him.

A circle of light expanded across the chamber, throwing the soldiers backward.

Kael raised his black sword.

Its silver edge absorbed the radiance.

For a moment, darkness and sunlight collided between the two weapons.

Then the room shook.

A crack appeared across the ceiling.

Garrick grabbed Toby.

"The tower is collapsing!"

Seraphine seized Kael's arm.

"Come with us!"

He pulled away.

"Don't touch me!"

A stone block crashed between them.

Dust filled the chamber.

The assassins scrambled toward the secret passage.

Garrick dragged Toby toward the fireplace.

Seraphine remained where she stood, searching through the falling debris.

"Kael!"

A shadow moved beyond the dust.

Her son stood near the broken doorway.

For one brief moment, his expression softened.

"Mother."

Seraphine reached toward him.

Then Kael raised his sword.

A wave of darkness struck the ceiling above her.

Garrick pulled her backward just as the masonry collapsed.

When the dust cleared, Kael was gone.

The drainage passage was narrow, wet, and almost completely dark.

Toby crawled ahead while Garrick followed with one arm pressed against his bleeding shoulder.

Seraphine brought up the rear.

Behind them, the eastern tower groaned under the weight of its damaged walls.

They emerged into an abandoned storage chamber beneath the castle kitchens.

Garrick collapsed against a wooden barrel.

His breathing had become shallow.

Seraphine knelt beside him.

"The bolt has to come out."

"Not here," Garrick muttered.

"You're losing too much blood."

He looked toward Toby.

"There's a physician in the old market district. Her name is Mara Fen. She served the royal household before Claudia's coronation."

Seraphine nodded.

"I remember her."

"She owes me a favor."

Toby watched the blood spreading across Garrick's tunic.

"Is he going to die?"

Garrick managed a weak smile.

"Not today."

Seraphine tore a strip from her cloak and pressed it against the wound.

Toby sat beside them, holding the Sunforged Arc across his knees.

He wanted to ask a hundred questions.

About Kael.

About his father.

About the warning hidden inside his mother's locket.

But one question mattered more than the others.

"Why did my mother say not to trust you?"

Seraphine stopped moving.

Garrick opened his eyes.

For several seconds, she stared at the blood on her hands.

Then she spoke.

"Because I betrayed her."

Toby felt his stomach twist.

"What did you do?"

Seraphine swallowed.

"Eleven years ago, Claudia came to me with evidence that King Aldric was planning to sacrifice someone to protect the seven seals."

"Who?"

"Your mother."

Toby went still.

"She told me Aldric intended to use Elara's blood to keep the ancient prison closed. I believed her."

Garrick stared at Seraphine.

"You helped Claudia?"

"I gave her access to the royal chambers."

The commander struggled upright.

"You opened the gates?"

Seraphine nodded.

"I thought I was saving Elara."

Her voice broke.

"Instead, I gave Claudia everything she needed to destroy the royal household."

Toby looked at her in horror.

"Master Edrin died because of what you did?"

"I don't know."

"You helped the queen!"

"Yes."

"Then why are you helping me now?"

Seraphine's eyes filled with tears.

"Because I have spent eleven years trying to undo one terrible mistake."

Toby stood.

"That doesn't bring anyone back."

"No," she whispered. "It doesn't."

He turned away.

For the first time, Seraphine did not try to stop him.

Above them, Queen Claudia entered the ruined eastern tower.

The chamber was empty.

Broken stones covered the floor.

The secret passage stood open.

Her captain knelt beside a fallen assassin.

"The prisoners escaped, Your Majesty."

Claudia looked at the damaged fireplace.

"Where is Kael?"

"He has not returned."

The queen's expression hardened.

"Find him."

The captain bowed.

"And the boy?"

Claudia walked toward the window.

Far beyond the castle walls, the city of High Valen stretched beneath the setting sun.

Six ancient sanctuaries had awakened.

The seventh remained hidden.

She knew what would happen if the boy reached it.

And she knew who had concealed its location.

"Prepare the lower prison," Claudia said.

The captain hesitated.

"Your Majesty?"

"Bring me the prisoner from Cell Seven."

"Lady Elara?"

Claudia turned sharply.

"Do not speak that name."

The captain lowered his head.

"Forgive me."

Claudia looked down at the cracked red gemstone hanging around her neck.

A faint whisper emerged from within it.

Midnight approaches.

She closed her eyes.

Then she gave an order that made even the captain hesitate.

"Tell the executioner to prepare two chains."

"Two, Your Majesty?"

"One for the mother."

Claudia opened her eyes.

"And one for the son."

In the storage chamber, Toby was examining the locket again when a faint sound came from the ventilation shaft above.

Three soft taps.

A pause.

Then two more.

Garrick immediately reached for his sword.

"Someone's coming."

Seraphine extinguished the lantern.

The room plunged into darkness.

A small figure dropped from the shaft.

Toby raised the bow.

"Don't move!"

"Wait!" a frightened voice whispered. "I'm not here to hurt you."

A young guard emerged from the shadows.

He wore the uniform of the underground prison.

His face was pale, and his hands were shaking.

"My name is Lucan."

Garrick frowned.

"How did you find us?"

"The old woman told me where the passage ended."

Seraphine stepped forward.

"What old woman?"

Lucan reached into his tunic.

He withdrew a bronze ring engraved with a white rose.

Seraphine made a strangled sound.

Toby stared at the ring.

Something inside him recognized it.

The same white rose appeared in his dreams.

Lucan held it toward him.

"She told me to give you this."

"Who did?"

The guard swallowed.

"Queen Elara."

The world seemed to stop.

Toby took one unsteady step forward.

"My mother?"

Lucan nodded.

"She's alive."

Toby's eyes filled with tears.

"Where is she?"

Lucan looked toward the ceiling.

"In the royal prison."

"Then we have to save her!"

Garrick tried to stand, but pain forced him back against the barrel.

Seraphine gripped Toby's shoulder.

"We will. But first we need to—"

Lucan interrupted.

"There's something else."

His voice trembled.

"The queen has ordered her execution."

Toby went cold.

"When?"

Lucan's answer was barely audible.

"At midnight."

Then he unfolded a second piece of parchment.

It bore Queen Claudia's personal seal.

"I stole this from the execution chamber."

Garrick reached for it.

Lucan shook his head.

"No. The boy needs to see it."

Toby took the document.

At the top was an official execution order.

Beneath Queen Elara's name appeared another prisoner.

The letters were written in dark red ink.

Toby read them once.

Then again.

His hands began to shake.

Because the second prisoner was not him.

It was someone whose death he had mourned only days earlier.

Master Edrin of the Dawn Sanctuary.

And beside his name, in Claudia's handwriting, were three chilling words:

"Execute him first."