For a long moment, no one spoke.
The wind rushed through the mountain pass, carrying the distant sound of the army still searching the valley below.
Aria stood frozen on the stone bridge.
Her mind was spinning.
"My father…" she whispered. "You said he was murdered."
Kael nodded slowly.
"Yes."
Rowan crossed his arms, his eyes still locked on the stranger.
"You're going to need to explain a lot more than that," he said coldly.Kael glanced at the circle of hooded figures around them.
"Not here."
He gestured toward a narrow path leading deeper into the mountains.
"We have a safe place nearby."
Rowan didn't move.
"And why should we trust you?"
Kael met his gaze calmly.
"Because if I wanted to capture the princess, I wouldn't have warned you."
Rowan narrowed his eyes.
"Warned us?"
Kael looked at Aria."The riders this morning."
Aria felt her heart skip.
"That was you?"
Kael nodded once.
"I sent them."
Rowan let out a short laugh.
"So you tried to arrest her as a warning?"
"Not arrest," Kael said quietly. "Push."
Aria frowned.
"Push us where?"
Kael looked toward the mountains behind them."To this bridge."
Rowan blinked.
"You planned this whole thing?"
Kael didn't answer directly.
Instead he turned and began walking toward the narrow mountain path.
"If you want the truth about your father… follow me."
Aria hesitated.
Rowan leaned closer to her.
"This could be a trap."
Aria looked at the valley below, where the army's torches still moved like fireflies in the darkness.Then she looked back at Kael.
"If he's lying," she said quietly, "we'll deal with it."
Rowan sighed.
"Fair enough."
They followed.The hidden path led them along the cliffside and through a narrow canyon.
After nearly twenty minutes of walking, they reached a concealed entrance in the rock wall.
It looked like nothing more than a crack in the mountain.
But inside…
a hidden cave opened up.
Torches lit the stone walls.
Weapons, maps, and supplies were carefully arranged around the space.
This wasn't just a hiding place.
It was a base.
Rowan's eyes scanned everything immediately."How many people work for you?" he asked.
Kael shrugged slightly.
"Enough."
Aria stepped deeper into the cave.
Her attention was drawn to something resting on a stone table.
An old wooden chest.
Carved with the same symbol as her pendant.
Her breath caught.
"That crest…"
Kael walked beside her.
"Yes."He placed a hand gently on the chest.
"Your family's true symbol."
Aria looked at him.
"But that's the royal crest."
Kael shook his head.
"No."
His voice lowered.
"The royal crest was copied from this one."
He slowly opened the chest.
Inside was an ancient book wrapped in dark cloth.
Kael lifted it carefully and placed it on the table.The leather cover was cracked with age.
But the symbol on the front was unmistakable.
The same one Aria carried around her neck.
Rowan stepped closer.
"What is that?"
Kael looked at Aria.
"The truth."
He opened the book.
Inside were drawings, old writings, and maps of kingdoms far beyond their own.
Aria leaned closer.
"These aren't just records…""No," Kael said quietly.
"They're histories."
Rowan frowned.
"Histories of what?"
Kael pointed to a page filled with old illustrations.
Kings.
Queens.
Battles.
Empires rising and falling.
All connected by the same crest.
"Your bloodline," Kael said, "is older than this kingdom."Aria felt a strange chill.
"How old?"
Kael turned a few pages.
Very old pages.
The ink was faded, but the words were still readable.
"Nearly a thousand years."
Rowan blinked.
"That's impossible."
Kael's eyes hardened.
"A thousand years ago, there were five great kingdoms."
He pointed to a map."Our kingdom was the smallest."
Aria looked carefully.
"And the others?"
"Destroyed."
Rowan crossed his arms.
"And somehow Aria's family ruled all of them?"
Kael shook his head.
"No."
His voice became serious.
"They protected them."
Aria looked confused.
"Protected them from what?"Kael closed the book slowly.
"From something the world has forgotten."
The cave fell silent.
Rowan leaned against the table.
"I'm starting to hate mysteries," he muttered.
Kael looked at Aria again.
"Your father knew the truth."
Aria's chest tightened.
"What truth?"
Kael hesitated.
Then he said the words carefully.
"The pendant you carry…"
Aria instinctively touched the metal symbolaround her neck.
"…is a key."
Rowan's head snapped up.
"A key to what?"
Kael looked toward the dark mountains outside the cave.
"Something buried deep in these mountains."
Aria's heartbeat grew louder in her ears.
"What kind of something?"
Kael's voice became quiet.
"Power."
Rowan groaned."Of course it's power."
Kael ignored him.
"For centuries your family guarded it."
Aria whispered,
"And the council?"
Kael's expression darkened.
"They discovered the truth."
Rowan straightened.
"And decided they wanted it."
Kael nodded.
"Yes."Aria slowly began to understand.
"That's why they killed my father."
"Yes."
The word echoed in the cave.
Aria clenched her fists.
"And now they're hunting me…"
Kael's eyes locked onto hers.
"Because without you…"
"…they can't unlock it."
Suddenly a loud sound echoed from outside the cave.
Everyone froze.A horn.
Long.
Loud.
Rowan rushed to the cave entrance and looked down toward the valley.
His expression darkened instantly.
"They found the trail."
Aria stepped beside him.
Dozens of torches were climbing the mountain now.
The army was closer than ever.
Rowan turned back toward the cave.
"Well," he said grimly."Looks like story time is over."
Kael grabbed the ancient book and shut the chest.
"Yes," he said quietly.
"It is."
He looked at Aria.
"If the council reaches this cave…"
"…everything your father died protecting will fall into their hands."
Aria took a slow breath.
Then she looked at Rowan.
"What do we do?"
Rowan gave a small smile."The only thing we can do."
He pulled out his dagger.
"We run."
But Kael shook his head.
"No."
Both of them looked at him.
Kael walked toward the cave entrance.
His voice was calm.
"We don't run."
He turned back toward them."This time…"
"…we fight."