CHAPTER 11
THE LOST HEIR
The eastern fortress contained one survivor.
A young guard barely alive.
He carried a silver pendant.
Aldric recognized it immediately.
"My son."
The guard shook his head.
"No, Your Majesty."
He handed the pendant to Elena.
"Your son sent me."
Elena stared at him.
"Where is he?"
The guard pointed toward the mountains.
"He lives."
Aldric closed his eyes.
For twenty years, he had imagined hearing those words.
Now they had finally arrived.
"Who is he?" Elena asked.
The guard looked at her.
"You know him."
Elena frowned.
"I've never seen him."
"You have."
Aldric stepped forward.
"Enough riddles."
The guard whispered a name.
"Elyan."
Elena froze.
The name from the archive.
"Where?"
"The monastery beyond the Black Ridge."
They traveled before sunrise.
The journey took two days.
At the monastery, they found a young man standing beneath an ancient tree.
He was tall, quiet, and carried the unmistakable mark of the royal bloodline.
Aldric stopped.
The young man's eyes filled with tears.
"Father."
The king could not move.
Then he crossed the distance.
For the first time in twenty years, the Alpha King embraced his lost son.
Elena stood apart.
Elyan looked at her.
His expression changed.
"Sister."
Elena's eyes filled with tears.
They had spent their lives separated by a secret neither had chosen.
Now they stood together.
But the reunion lasted only minutes.
Elyan turned serious.
"Varian knows we're here."
Aldric's expression hardened.
"How?"
"Because he was the one who arranged my disappearance."
The truth finally had a face.
And it was coming for them.