Chapter 11
"Dad." I reached the Royal box, still high on adrenaline. "What's wrong? I won."
He stood. Took my arm. Led me through the private corridor behind the box without a word to anyone.
His generals exchanged glances but didn't follow.
When we were alone — truly alone — in a stone chamber deep within the Council Hall, he turned to me.
His face was the face of a man carrying a weight that was finally about to crush him.
"Sit down, Aria."
I sat. My heart was hammering.
"Serena knows something," I said. "About Mom."
He was silent for a long time. He paced. Stopped. Ran his hand through his hair.
"Your mother didn't die of illness."
I'd suspected this for years. But hearing it confirmed still felt like a punch.
"How?" I whispered.
"She was killed." His voice was raw. "Assassinated. By members of my own Council."
The room tilted.
"What?"
"When you were two years old, there was a faction on the Council that opposed the royal bloodline. They believed our family held too much power. They tried to kill you first — you were the easier target."
His fists clenched at his sides.
"Your mother found out. She took you and ran. Hid you with Gerald Reed, a man so far beneath the political radar that no one would ever look twice. She gave you her maiden name. Cut all ties."
"And then they killed her," I breathed.
"She went back. To protect me." His voice broke on the last word. "She went back so the assassins would think she'd abandoned you. She made herself the target so they'd stop looking for you."
Tears were streaming down my face.
"She died drawing them away from you," he said. "And I spent the next twenty years hunting them down. One by one. Every member of that faction. Every person who had a hand in her death."
"Did you find them all?"
"All but one." He looked at me with heavy eyes. "The leader. The one who ordered it. I could never identify them."
"And Serena knows who it is?"
He was quiet.
"Dad. Does Serena know?"
"Serena's mother was on the Council," he said slowly. "She resigned two weeks ago when I threatened investigation. But I've been watching Councilwoman Vale for years."
"You think she's the one? The leader?"
"I don't know." His jaw tightened. "But if she is — if Serena has proof — then this goes far beyond a trial for assault. This becomes treason. War."
I stood. My whole body was shaking — not from fear, but from rage.
"Then we get the proof."
"Aria—"
"She killed my mother, Dad. If Councilwoman Vale is the one who killed Mom, I will burn her entire world to the ground."
My father studied me for a long moment. Then something shifted in his expression — a recognition that I was no longer a child to be protected.
"There might be a way," he said carefully. "Serena is in isolation. Desperate. Facing life in prison. If someone were to visit her — offer a deal—"
"I'll do it."
"It could be dangerous. If the Vale faction realizes we're investigating—"
"Dad." I met his gaze. "They took Mom from us. They took twenty years from us. I grew up without you because of them."
My voice hardened to steel.
"I'm done hiding."
He nodded slowly. "Tomorrow. I'll arrange the visit. But Aria—"
"Yes?"
"If this goes where I think it's going, there will be people on the Council who want you dead. The same people who wanted you dead twenty-one years ago."
"Let them come," I said.
"They almost succeeded once."
"I was a baby then." I let my eyes flash gold. "I'm not a baby anymore."
My father smiled — sad, proud, fierce all at once.
"No," he agreed. "You're not."
That night, I lay awake in the palace, staring at the ceiling.
Tomorrow I would face Serena again. Not as her victim. Not as a fighter. As an interrogator.
And if she had what I needed — the identity of the wolf who murdered my mother — then I would tear apart the power structure of the entire territory to get justice.
But a darker thought crept in: if Serena knew about the conspiracy, what else did she know?
And why had she chosen to reveal it publicly?
Unless she WANTED me to come to her.
Unless this was another trap.
He stood. Took my arm. Led me through the private corridor behind the box without a word to anyone.
His generals exchanged glances but didn't follow.
When we were alone — truly alone — in a stone chamber deep within the Council Hall, he turned to me.
His face was the face of a man carrying a weight that was finally about to crush him.
"Sit down, Aria."
I sat. My heart was hammering.
"Serena knows something," I said. "About Mom."
He was silent for a long time. He paced. Stopped. Ran his hand through his hair.
"Your mother didn't die of illness."
I'd suspected this for years. But hearing it confirmed still felt like a punch.
"How?" I whispered.
"She was killed." His voice was raw. "Assassinated. By members of my own Council."
The room tilted.
"What?"
"When you were two years old, there was a faction on the Council that opposed the royal bloodline. They believed our family held too much power. They tried to kill you first — you were the easier target."
His fists clenched at his sides.
"Your mother found out. She took you and ran. Hid you with Gerald Reed, a man so far beneath the political radar that no one would ever look twice. She gave you her maiden name. Cut all ties."
"And then they killed her," I breathed.
"She went back. To protect me." His voice broke on the last word. "She went back so the assassins would think she'd abandoned you. She made herself the target so they'd stop looking for you."
Tears were streaming down my face.
"She died drawing them away from you," he said. "And I spent the next twenty years hunting them down. One by one. Every member of that faction. Every person who had a hand in her death."
"Did you find them all?"
"All but one." He looked at me with heavy eyes. "The leader. The one who ordered it. I could never identify them."
"And Serena knows who it is?"
He was quiet.
"Dad. Does Serena know?"
"Serena's mother was on the Council," he said slowly. "She resigned two weeks ago when I threatened investigation. But I've been watching Councilwoman Vale for years."
"You think she's the one? The leader?"
"I don't know." His jaw tightened. "But if she is — if Serena has proof — then this goes far beyond a trial for assault. This becomes treason. War."
I stood. My whole body was shaking — not from fear, but from rage.
"Then we get the proof."
"Aria—"
"She killed my mother, Dad. If Councilwoman Vale is the one who killed Mom, I will burn her entire world to the ground."
My father studied me for a long moment. Then something shifted in his expression — a recognition that I was no longer a child to be protected.
"There might be a way," he said carefully. "Serena is in isolation. Desperate. Facing life in prison. If someone were to visit her — offer a deal—"
"I'll do it."
"It could be dangerous. If the Vale faction realizes we're investigating—"
"Dad." I met his gaze. "They took Mom from us. They took twenty years from us. I grew up without you because of them."
My voice hardened to steel.
"I'm done hiding."
He nodded slowly. "Tomorrow. I'll arrange the visit. But Aria—"
"Yes?"
"If this goes where I think it's going, there will be people on the Council who want you dead. The same people who wanted you dead twenty-one years ago."
"Let them come," I said.
"They almost succeeded once."
"I was a baby then." I let my eyes flash gold. "I'm not a baby anymore."
My father smiled — sad, proud, fierce all at once.
"No," he agreed. "You're not."
That night, I lay awake in the palace, staring at the ceiling.
Tomorrow I would face Serena again. Not as her victim. Not as a fighter. As an interrogator.
And if she had what I needed — the identity of the wolf who murdered my mother — then I would tear apart the power structure of the entire territory to get justice.
But a darker thought crept in: if Serena knew about the conspiracy, what else did she know?
And why had she chosen to reveal it publicly?
Unless she WANTED me to come to her.
Unless this was another trap.