Then looked toward his hand.
Golden lines glowed faintly beneath his skin.
Her expression changed.
She lowered the knife.
“Oh, no.”
Elias sat.
“What?”
She backed away.
“You woke him.”
“You know?”
“Everyone within fifty miles heard stone screaming.”
“Who are you?”
The woman sheathed the blade.
“Captain Serah Venn.”
Elias frowned.
“Captain of what?”
“Nothing anymore.”
She had once commanded the eastern royal guard.
Fifteen years earlier, she disappeared after being accused of treason.
Elias had heard tavern stories.
Serah the Oathbreaker.
The captain who tried to murder the king.
She watched recognition form on his face.
“You know the songs.”
“They say you—”
“Songs say many things.”
Elias stood.
“The Guardian told me to go to Mount Arken.”
Serah’s expression became serious.
“Then we go.”
“You believe it?”
“No.”
She turned toward the trees.
“But I believe beings older than kingdoms usually have reasons.”
They walked east.
By morning, Serah gave Elias bread.
Real bread.
He ate too quickly.
She noticed.
“When did you last have a full meal?”
“The festival.”
“That was yesterday.”
He kept eating.
Serah realized the question had been misunderstood.
“When before that?”
Elias shrugged.
She looked away.
Something in her expression hardened toward a king who held festivals while children slept beneath shops.
“Tell me everything.”
Elias did.
The heartbeat.
The voice.
The awakening.
The kneeling.
The horned brother.
Lost prince.
Serah listened without interruption.
When he finished, she asked one question.
“What did Aldric do after hearing those words?”
“He sent guards.”
“To protect you?”
“I don’t think so.”
Serah nodded.
“Neither do I.”
“You hate him?”
“I served him.”
“That isn’t an answer.”
She almost smiled.
“You sound older than eleven.”
“Hunger helps.”
That smile disappeared.
Serah looked toward Mount Arken.
“Fifteen years ago, Queen Elara gave birth to a second son.”
Elias stopped.
“King Aldric’s wife?”
“His first wife.”
Elias knew the official history.
Queen Elara died during childbirth.
The infant died too.
Aldric later married Queen Selene and had Prince Corvin.
Serah continued.
“The child did not die.”
Elias’s breathing changed.
“How do you know?”
“I carried him.”
Silence.
Serah looked at Elias.
“For three days.”
His knees felt weak.
“No.”
“The queen discovered something shortly before the birth.”
“What?”
Serah resumed walking.
“Aldric was not the legitimate heir to the ancient throne.”
Elias followed.
“What does that mean?”
“The current royal line descends through conquest.”
“Everyone knows kings conquer.”
“Not this.”
Serah looked toward him.