CHAPTER 10
THE SECRET BEHIND THE CROWN
The twins changed everything.
Aldric searched the royal records.
Two births.
One boy.
One girl.
The girl's record had been erased.
Elena could barely breathe.
"Your queen had two children."
"Yes."
"Then where is the other?"
Aldric looked toward the eastern mountains.
"The prophecy mentioned two bloodlines."
"What prophecy?"
He finally revealed it.
Long ago, the first Wolf King had united two ancient bloodlines.
One carried the authority of the crown.
The other carried the power to communicate with the Moon itself.
The royal family had feared the second bloodline.
So they hid it.
Elena understood.
"My power."
Aldric nodded.
"Your bloodline."
"But if I'm the daughter, where is your son?"
"We don't know."
Aldric looked broken.
"We've spent twenty years looking."
Elena touched his arm.
"We'll find him."
Aldric looked at her.
"You don't owe me that."
"I know."
She smiled faintly.
"But I want to know who I am too."
Aldric nodded.
For the first time, they stood together not as king and mystery, but as two people searching for the same truth.
Outside, the kingdom's bells began to ring.
A messenger rushed into the chamber.
"Your Majesty."
Aldric turned.
"What happened?"
"The eastern fortress has fallen."
Elena's blood ran cold.
The fortress guarded the old royal road.
Someone was moving toward Moonstone.
The war had begun.