Sera's POV
"Step away from the prisoner!"
Commander Ash's sword points straight at Kade's throat. Twenty soldiers surround us, weapons drawn. My chains lie on the ground between us—proof of what Kade just did.
Proof of his treason.
"Ash." Kade's voice is deadly calm. "Lower your weapon."
"I can't do that, sir." Ash's face is stone. "You just freed a confirmed rebel. You lied to the king about her death. That's treason."
"I gave you an order, Commander."
"And I'm following a higher order." Ash pulls out a scroll sealed with red wax. The royal seal. "King Dorian himself commanded that any officer who shows sympathy to rebels be immediately arrested. That includes generals."
My heart drops. This was a trap. The king suspected Kade was wavering.
"How long have you been spying on me?" Kade asks quietly.
"Long enough." Ash won't meet his eyes. "You've been asking questions, sir. Investigating the coup. Reading old reports. His Majesty noticed."
"His Majesty is a murderer."
The soldiers gasp. You don't say things like that about the king. Not if you want to live.
"Careful, General," Ash warns. "You're making this worse."
"Worse?" Kade laughs bitterly. "I just discovered I've spent five years serving a usurper. How much worse can it get?"
Ash's sword doesn't waver. "You're under arrest. Both of you. The king wants you brought to the capital alive." He looks at me. "Especially her."
Ice floods my veins. Dorian wants me alive. Which means he suspects who I am.
And if he confirms it, he'll kill me slowly. Publicly. To prove the Ashcroft line is truly dead.
"I'm not going anywhere," Kade says. He reaches for his sword.
Twenty weapons rise to meet him.
"Don't," Ash pleads. "Don't make me kill you, Kade. Please. You're my friend."
"Friends don't betray each other."
"I'm not betraying you! I'm trying to save your life! If you surrender peacefully, maybe the king will show mercy—"
"Dorian doesn't show mercy." I step forward before I can stop myself. "He kills anyone who threatens him. If you take us to the capital, we're both dead."
Ash finally looks at me. Really looks. His eyes widen slightly.
He sees it. The violet eyes. The features I can't fully hide.
"You," he breathes. "You're..."
"Nobody," I say quickly. "Just a healer from the Dust Quarter."
But it's too late. Understanding spreads across his face like dawn.
"The princess." His sword lowers an inch. "You're Princess Seraphina. The one who supposedly died in the coup."
The soldiers start whispering. Pointing. One drops his weapon entirely.
"That's impossible," another soldier says. "The princess is dead. Everyone knows—"
"Look at her eyes!" Ash snaps. "Royal violet. Only the Ashcroft bloodline has them. She's the heir to the throne."
"The traitor's daughter," a soldier spits. "King Dorian said—"
"King Dorian LIED!" Kade's shout silences everyone. "He murdered his own brother to steal the crown. And we've all been helping him hunt down the rightful queen."
The rightful queen. No one's called me that in five years.
"You don't know that," Ash says, but his voice wavers. "The official reports say—"
"The official reports are lies written by the man who committed the murders." Kade takes a step toward him. "You've known me for ten years, Ash. Have I ever lied to you?"
"No, but—"
"Then believe me now. I've seen the evidence. There are holes in Dorian's story big enough to drive an army through. And this girl—" He gestures at me. "She survived because someone loyal to the true king helped her escape. She's been living in the Dust Quarter for five years, healing the people Dorian abandoned. Does that sound like a traitor to you?"
Ash is quiet. His sword wavers.
"She saved thirty-two of our soldiers today," Kade continues. "Men who serve the king she supposedly hates. Why would she do that if she's the enemy?"
"Because..." Ash looks at me. "Because you're a healer. That's what you do."
"No," I say softly. "I saved them because they're not my enemy. The soldiers aren't. The people aren't. Only Dorian is."
Several soldiers lower their weapons. Others look uncertain.
"This is treason talk," one mutters. "We should arrest them both and let the king decide—"
"The king will kill them!" Ash explodes. "Don't you understand? If we bring them to the capital, they're dead. And if she really is the princess..." He runs a hand through his hair. "If she's the rightful heir, then everything we've done for five years is wrong. Every rebel we killed was fighting for the true queen."
Silence falls over the tent.
I see the moment it breaks them. The realization. The guilt.
"What do we do?" a young soldier asks. He can't be more than eighteen. "If the king is illegitimate, who do we serve?"
"The kingdom," Kade says firmly. "We serve Ashenvale. Not the man who stole the throne."
"That's treason," Ash says again, but weaker now.
"Then I'm a traitor." Kade looks at each soldier. "And so is anyone who stands with me. But if you want to serve the real Ashenvale—the kingdom of justice and honor that King Matthias built—then help me expose Dorian's lies."
"How?" Ash asks.
Before Kade can answer, a soldier bursts into the tent.
"Commander! The capital sent reinforcements! Two hundred royal guards are marching toward the camp. They'll be here within the hour!"
My blood freezes.
"They know," I whisper. "Dorian knows Kade lied about me being dead."
"How?" Kade demands.
The soldier looks terrified. "They have a witness, sir. Someone who saw you free the prisoner. Someone who sent word to the king immediately."
"Who?" Ash's voice is ice.
"Lady Celeste Ravencourt, sir. She was visiting the camp earlier. She must have been watching."
Celeste. The noblewoman who wants Kade for herself.
She just signed our death warrants out of jealousy.
"Two hundred guards," Ash says quietly. "We only have eighty men here, and half are wounded. We can't fight them."
"Then we run," Kade says.
"Run where? They'll chase us across the kingdom—"
"To the rebellion." I step forward. "I know where they are. They'll hide us. Protect us. And they have the evidence we need to expose Dorian."
"You want us to join the rebellion?" A soldier looks horrified. "That's—"
"Our only choice," Kade finishes. "Unless you want to die serving a false king."
Ash stares at him for a long moment. Then, slowly, he sheathes his sword.
"I can't believe I'm doing this." He looks at his soldiers. "Anyone who wants to leave can go now. No judgment. But if you stay, you're committing treason against King Dorian. You'll be hunted. Branded as rebels. Possibly executed."
Ten soldiers leave immediately.
The rest stay.
"Seventy men," Ash says. "Against the entire kingdom. We're going to die."
"Probably," Kade agrees. "But at least we'll die for the right side."
He looks at me. "Your Highness, lead the way."
Your Highness. Said out loud. In front of witnesses.
There's no going back now.
"Follow me," I say. "And stay close. The rebellion doesn't trust strangers."
We're about to leave when a scout runs in, gasping.
"Sir! The royal guards—they're not marching. They're riding hard. They'll be here in twenty minutes, not an hour!"
Twenty minutes.
We'll never escape in time.
"There's a supply tunnel," I say quickly. "Under the east wall. It leads to the river. If we move now—"
An explosion rocks the camp. Then another. Screams erupt outside.
"They're here already!" Ash shouts. "They're attacking from the south!"
Impossible. They were supposed to be an hour away.
Unless it was another lie. Unless Dorian planned this perfectly.
Kade grabs my hand. "Run. Now."
We burst out of the tent into chaos. The camp is burning. Royal guards are everywhere, cutting down anyone who resists.
And standing at the main gate, watching the massacre with cold eyes, is a woman in a noble's dress.
Lady Celeste. She sees us and smiles.
"There!" she screams, pointing. "The general and the princess! Ten thousand gold to whoever captures them alive!"
Every guard turns toward us.
"The tunnel!" I yell. "East wall!"
We run. Soldiers covering us. Guards chasing us. Fire and blood everywhere.
We're almost to the wall when I see him.
Master Theron. My mentor. Standing at the tunnel entrance, waving frantically.
"Hurry!" he shouts. "I'll seal it behind you!"
We dive into the tunnel. Ash and seventy soldiers right behind us. The last man is barely through when Theron starts collapsing the entrance.
"Wait!" I grab his arm. "Come with us!"
"No time, child." He's smiling through tears. "I'm too old to run. But this—" He presses something into my hand. A small locked box. "This is what you need. Proof of everything. Keep it safe. Take back your throne."
"Master Theron—"
"Go! NOW!"
He shoves me deeper into the tunnel. Behind him, I hear guards shouting. Coming closer.
Then the tunnel collapses entirely, sealing us in darkness.
And sealing Master Theron outside with the guards.
I hear his scream. Then silence.
"No," I whisper. "No, no, no—"
Kade pulls me forward. "We have to move. He bought us time. Don't waste it."
Tears stream down my face as we run through the dark.
Master Theron is dead.
And I'm holding the proof that might save a kingdom.
Or destroy us all.