Chapter 5

Aurelia’s POV

“Look at the bottom three symbols,” I said, pointing at the glowing blue ink on the parchment. “Those aren't high-elf words. They are numerical markers from the lunar calendar.”

Regaleon leaned in closer, his shoulder brushing against mine as he stared down at the tray Ryss was holding. “Numerical markers for what?”

“The alignment of the twin moons,” I explained, looking up at him as my thoughts raced. “It’s a countdown. In exactly three nights, the twin moons will cross paths directly over the mountain peak. If the protective seal isn't returned to the stone altar before that alignment happens, the ancestral barrier shielding High Lunar Keep will permanently shatter.”

Ryss swallowed hard, his face turning grave. “My Prince... if that barrier falls, the mountain territory will be completely exposed to the border factions.”

“Then we have three days to find whoever took it,” Regaleon said, his voice dropping into an icy tone. He looked down at me, his eyes filled with astonishment. “How do you know the lunar calendar, Aurelia?”

I swallowed, keeping my chin up as I adjusted my dress. “I... I read a lot. I can proudly say I have read every single historical text I could find on the wards.”

A slow, proud smile spread across Regaleon’s face. “Impressive! You aren't just brilliant, Aurelia. With that amount of knowledge, you might be the only person in this entire kingdom who can help us stop this.”

The next morning, the bright sunlight filtered through the curtains of the solar suite, bathing the furniture in a warm gold glow.

I smoothed down the front of a simple lavender dress the palace dressmakers had left for me. It was clean, modest, and comfortable.

I stepped out of my quarters and walked down the grand marble hallway toward the dining hall to meet Regaleon for breakfast. The palace was buzzing with activity. Guards in gleaming armor patrolled every corridor, and servants hurried past carrying silver trays.

As I approached the open archway of the main gallery, two noblewomen with heavy white face powder and elaborate auburn hair stood directly in the middle of the corridor, blocking my path.

“Well, look who decided to grace us with her presence,” the auburn-haired one sneered, folding her arms as her eyes slowly scanned me from head to toe. “I thought the rumors were false, but here you are, wandering around the royal wing like you belong.”

“Look at her dress,” the other woman whispered loudly behind a lacquered fan, her dark eyeliner winging cruelly against her pale cheeks. “She looks more like a funeral assistant than a future Queen. I give the Prince a week before he realizes what a mistake he made. You're not fit to be the queen of this palace. I'll suggest you don't get your hopes too high.”

In the past, those words would have made my throat tighten. I would have dropped my head, swallowed my tears, and quickly hurried back into the shadows to avoid making a scene.

But I remembered the feeling of standing up to Aunt Rosalind in the courtyard last night. I remembered the look of pure pride in Regaleon’s eyes when I said no.

My spine straightened. I took a calm step forward, looking both women dead in the eye.

“You might like to keep your suggestions to yourselves, young ladies. If you are concerned about the future Queen,” I spoke clearly, my voice ringing softly through the vaulted hall, “you should be pleased to know that the fate of High Lunar Keep rests on her intelligence, not on how elaborate you had expected her to look.”

The woman with the lacquered fan froze, her jaw dropping open beneath her thick powder. The auburn-haired woman gasped, her face flushing bright red beneath her makeup.

“You... how dare you speak to us like that!” she sputtered, taking an offended step back.

“Fortunately, the Queen’s body isn't a matter for the royal council,” I added calmly, keeping my expression entirely serene. “Now, if you will excuse me, I have important business to attend to in the archives.”

Without waiting for a response, I walked straight past them, keeping my chin lifted high. My heart was pounding wildly against my ribs, but a quiet wave of triumph washed over me. I had handled them on my own.

Instead of going straight to the dining hall, I took a turn down the quiet west wing, following the stone corridors until I reached the massive iron doors of the Royal Archives Regaleon had showed me the previous day.

I pushed the doors open. The room was breathtaking. Towers of shelves reached up to three-story-high vaulted ceilings, holding tens of thousands of books, scrolls, and historical maps.

I walked down the central aisle, tracing my fingers along the bottom shelves until I reached a quiet back corner marked Vault Wards & Moon Riddles.

I pulled out a thick, leather-bound ledger. As I opened the cover, a small, folded piece of parchment fell out from between the yellowed pages and fluttered to the stone floor.

I knelt down and picked it up.

The handwriting on the parchment was neat, elegant, and precise. But as my eyes scanned the lines, my blood ran ice-cold.

«“If anyone is reading this, the royal vault has been compromised, dated 8th day of the 2nd month of the 20th lunar year. The breach was not caused by an enemy outside our walls. I was forced to create a second key by someone within the royal court—someone holding the crest of Stanley. Signed, Lord Alistair Brandon.”»

My breath hitched in my throat. Lord Alistair? My father’s signature?

Before I could process the words, a quiet click echoed from the aisle directly behind me, followed by the soft sound of slow footsteps approaching the shelf.

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Regaleon’s POV

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I stood by the tall arched window in my private study, staring out over the mountain pass as the morning sun hit the stone walls of the Keep.

A knock echoed against the door frame. “Enter,” I commanded.

Ryss walked into the study, carrying a thick dossier sealed with the royal crest. He bowed before stepping up to my desk.

“My Prince, I have the full report on Lady Aurelia’s background, as you requested last night,” Ryss said, his voice unusually low and grave.

I turned around, leaning against the edge of the desk. “What did you find?”

“My Lord, Her aunt treated her like an unwanted shadow, but the shocking discovery is that Lady Aurelia reads High Runes like a common script. It is very rare to find someone who can read the old language.”

“I also found out she isn't just a girl from a distant branch of the Backwell family, My Prince,” Ryss said, handing me the parchment. “Lady Aurelia is the only daughter of the late Lord Alistair.”

My eyes narrowed as I scanned the official seal at the top of the record. “Lord Alistair? The former Master of Wards? The man who designed the protective spells over the royal vault twenty years ago?”

“The very same,” Ryss confirmed, nodding solemnly. “When Lord Alistair died unexpectedly six years ago, Lady Rosalind seized his estate, buried his title, and took legal guardianship of Lady Aurelia. She kept the girl hidden away, treating her like a servant while using Lord Alistair’s remaining wealth to fund her own family’s position in the city.”

I crushed the edge of the report in my hand, a deep anger rising in my chest.

She was the daughter of one of the greatest scholars our kingdom had ever known. She possessed a brilliant, incredible mind, yet those fools had spent years trying to convince her she was worthless just because she didn't fit their narrow ideas of beauty.

“Where is she now?” I asked, pushing off the desk.

“Master Benedict said she was heading toward the archives, My Prince.”

My heart suddenly gave a strange thud. Lord Alistair’s master ledgers were stored in the deep archives.

“Ryss,” I said, my voice dropping into a command. “Assemble four royal guards. We are going to the archives right now.”