Seraphina's POV
Dawn comes too fast.
I haven't slept. Neither has Kael.
We've spent the night arguing. Planning. Arguing some more.
There has to be another way, Kael says for the hundredth time.
There isn't.
We could send guards to Pier 17. Rescue Elena before you go to the broadcast
Marcus will kill her the second he sees guards. You know that.
Then I'll go. Alone. While you do the broadcast.
And if Marcus kills you instead? I grab his hand. I can't lose you. Not after just getting you back.
Then what? You go to that warehouse alone and let Marcus kill you both?
I won't let him kill anyone.
How? He has a knife. He has her hostage. What's your plan?
I don't have one. That's the problem.
The broadcast center opens in two hours. I need to be there. Need to tell the kingdom the truth before Celestia silences me forever.
But Elena is at Pier 17. Bleeding. Terrified. Waiting for me to save her.
I can't be in two places at once.
Maybe... I start.
Maybe what?
Maybe I go to Elena first. Save her. Then we both go to the broadcast center together.
There's not enough time. The warehouse is an hour away. By the time you rescue Elena and get back
The broadcast will be over. I know.
Kael pulls me close. Then you have to choose. Kingdom or Elena. I'm sorry, but that's reality.
Tears burn my eyes. I can't choose. They're both
I know.
We sit in silence.
Then Kael's phone buzzes again.
Another message. Another video.
This time, it's from Celestia.
I press play with shaking hands.
The screen shows the broadcast center. Guards everywhere. Celestia stands in the main studio, smiling at the camera.
Good morning, Princess, she says. I assume you're planning something dramatic. A grand reveal on the national broadcast perhaps? How predictable.
She walks closer to the camera.
Unfortunately for you, I've taken certain precautions. As you can see, the broadcast center is heavily guarded. Every entrance. Every exit. If you somehow make it inside which you won't you'll be arrested immediately.
She pauses. Smiles wider.
Oh, and one more thing. I've scheduled my own broadcast this morning. At eight o'clock. The entire kingdom will watch as I announce the tragic news: Princess Seraphina's body has finally been recovered from the ocean. After five years of searching, we can finally give her a proper burial.
My blood runs cold.
I'll show them remains, Celestia continues. DNA evidence. Everything they need to believe you're dead. Again. And permanently this time.
She leans close to the camera. Whispers.
So here's your choice, sister. You can waste time trying to reach a broadcast center you'll never access. Or you can go save your precious Elena. Either way, I win. The kingdom believes you're dead. And by noon, you actually will be.
The video ends.
I stare at the phone. Numb.
She's blocked the broadcast center, I whisper. Even if I go, I can't get inside.
Then we find another way
There is no other way! I stand. Pace. She's thought of everything. Every angle. Every plan.
What about your loyalists? Nikolai's network?
Being arrested as we speak. Remember?
Kael runs his hands through his hair. Okay. Okay. Think. There has to be something we're missing.
There's nothing. Celestia has already won. She'll broadcast fake evidence of my death. The kingdom will believe her. And I'll be hunted as an imposter for the rest of my very short life.
Unless...
I turn. Unless what?
Unless we prove you're alive before she can broadcast her lies.
How? She controls the broadcast center.
She controls the main broadcast center. But what about smaller ones? Local news stations. Radio stations. Internet streaming.
Hope flickers. You think they'd let me broadcast?
Maybe. If we can convince them. Kael pulls out his phone. Starts typing. I know someone. A journalist. She's been investigating Celestia for years. Trying to expose corruption. If anyone would help us, it's her.
Will she believe me?
I don't know. But it's worth a try.
He makes a call. Puts it on speaker.
A woman answers. Prince Kael? It's five in the morning. What
Marina, I need your help. It's urgent.
What's going on?
I need you to trust me. I'm with someone. Someone who has a story the kingdom needs to hear.
Who?
Kael looks at me. I nod.
Princess Seraphina.
Silence.
Then: That's not funny, Kael.
It's not a joke. She's alive. She's here. And Celestia is trying to kill her. Again.
More silence.
Meet me at my studio, Marina finally says. In one hour. And this better not be a prank or I'm hanging you both for treason.
She hangs up.
One hour, Kael says. That's not enough time to save Elena first.
I know.
So you have to choose.
I close my eyes. See Elena's face. Bleeding. Terrified. Waiting for me.
Then I see the kingdom. Millions of people. Living under Celestia's tyranny. Suffering because I ran away five years ago.
I choose the kingdom, I whisper.
Kael's arms come around me. I'm sorry.
So am I.
We'll save Elena after. I promise. Once the kingdom knows you're alive, once Celestia is exposed, we'll have resources. Power. We'll find Elena and rescue her.
What if we're too late?
We won't be.
But we both know that's a lie.
By the time I do the broadcast, by the time we mobilize resources, by the time we reach Pier 17
Elena will be dead.
I'm choosing to save millions of people.
And sacrificing the one person who saved me.
I need to see her, I say. Before I go to the broadcast. I need to try. Even if I can't save her, I need to say goodbye.
There's no time
I'll make time. Pier 17 is on the way to Marina's studio. Sort of. We can stop. Five minutes. Just five minutes to see her. To apologize. To
Kael cups my face. Okay. Five minutes. But that's all. If we're late to Marina's, we lose everything.
We leave the hidden room. Sneak through palace hallways. Out a side exit.
Kael has a car waiting. We drive through empty streets.
My phone buzzes. Elena's phone. The one Marcus took from her.
I read the message aloud: Running out of time, Princess. Dawn is here. Where are you?
I text back: Coming. Almost there.
Marcus responds immediately: Good. Come alone. Or she dies.
I look at Kael. When we get there, you stay in the car.
No.
Kael
I'm not letting you go in there alone.
He'll kill her if he sees you!
He's going to kill her anyway! This is a trap!
I know. But I have to try.
We pull up to Pier 17. An abandoned warehouse. Dark. Quiet.
Too quiet.
Something's wrong, Kael says.
I know.
Don't go in there.
I have to.
I open the car door.
Wait. Kael grabs my hand. Kisses me. Hard. Desperate. If this goes wrong. If I don't see you again. I need you to know
I know. I love you too.
I step out of the car.
Walk toward the warehouse.
The door is unlocked. I push it open.
Inside, it's dark. Empty.
No Elena. No Marcus. Nothing.
Then lights flood on. Blinding.
When my eyes adjust, I see them.
Not Elena.
Not Marcus.
Palace guards. Twenty of them. Surrounding me.
And standing in the center, smiling, is Celestia.
Hello, sister, she says. Did you really think I wouldn't track Kael's phone? Did you really think I'd let you reach a journalist?
Behind me, I hear car doors. Shouting. Kael yelling my name.
More guards drag him inside. He's fighting. Cursing.
They throw him to the ground next to me.
A touching rescue attempt, Celestia says. But ultimately pointless.
Where's Elena? I demand.
Oh, didn't Marcus tell you? Celestia laughs. There is no Elena. Not here anyway. The video was old. From when we first captured her days ago. She's been in our dungeon this whole time.
My legs nearly give out.
It was all a trap. The video. The deadline. The choice.
All designed to lure me out of hiding.
Take them both to the palace dungeons, Celestia orders. And this time, use the cells with no windows. No locks Kael can pick. No escape.
Guards grab us.
As they drag us away, Celestia calls out: Oh, and Seraphina? My broadcast starts in one hour. The kingdom will believe you're dead. Forever. And you'll spend the rest of your very short life locked in a cell, watching me rule the kingdom that should have been yours.
She smiles.
I win Again.