Chapter 5
Behind the Palace Walls
The palace suddenly felt different.
Guards followed Elara everywhere.
Doors that had once been open were now locked.
Servants stopped speaking whenever she entered a room.
Someone was watching her.
Kael noticed it too.
He secretly took her through an unused corridor beneath the palace.
At the end stood an enormous library.
"This place has been sealed for decades," Kael explained.
"Why bring me here?"
"Because the answers we're looking for may be inside."
They searched through old royal records.
Near midnight, Kael discovered a faded manuscript.
Its pages described an ancient alliance between two wolf bloodlines.
One belonged to the royal family.
The other had disappeared generations earlier.
At the bottom of the final page was the same silver symbol glowing on Elara's shoulder.
Kael looked at her.
"Your family wasn't ordinary."
Elara's hands trembled.
"Then why was I hidden?"
Before Kael could answer, footsteps echoed outside.
Someone had followed them.
The library door opened.
The king stood there.
His expression was colder than either of them had ever seen.
"Put the book down."
Kael stepped forward.
"Father, tell us the truth."
The king looked at Elara.
"Because if she learns who she really is, this kingdom may never be the same."