Chapter 4 : WOUNDED ENEMY

Sebastian Shadow didn''t die.

The healers patched him up. Stitched the wound I''d given him. Fed him herbs for pain. He lay in the prisoner''s tent, chained to a post. Weak but alive.

I stood outside for a long time. Watching the tent flap. Not going in.

The bond hummed.

Lionel.

*Adrian.* His thought came. Worried. *The battle?*

*We won. Stronghold taken. Sebastian captured.*

*Good.* Relief through the bond. Then: *Come home.*

*Not yet.* I paused. *Sebastian said something. About my parents.*

Silence through the bond. Long silence.

*What did he say?* Lionel''s thought was careful. Too careful.

*That you killed them. That it was execution, not battle.*

More silence. Then: *He''s lying.*

*Is he?*

*Adrian.* Pain through the bond. Real pain. *How can you ask that? After everything?*

*He said to check the archives. For the execution order. Signed by you.*

*There is no execution order.* Lionel''s thought was sharp now. Angry. *Your parents died in battle. Fighting Shadow Wolves. Sebastian''s people.*

*He said you had them killed because they were going to expose you. Your plans. Your ambitions.*

*And you believe him?* The hurt in that thought was physical. Through the bond, I felt it like a blow to the chest.

*I don''t know what to believe.*

*Come home,* he sent again. Desperate now. *Come home and I''ll show you the records. The battle reports. Everything.*

*I will.* I closed the connection. Not gently. Just shut it.

The bond screamed in protest. But I ignored it.

I went into the tent.

Sebastian lay on a cot. Chains around his wrists. Ankles. He opened his eyes when I entered.

"Back for more truth?" he asked. Voice weak but clear.

"Tell me everything," I said. "All of it."

He studied me. Black eyes seeing too much. "You talked to him."

"Yes."

"And he denied it."

"Yes."

"Of course he did." Sebastian shifted. Winced. The wound in his side was bandaged. Blood seeped through. "Kings are good at denial. Especially when it comes to their crimes."

"Tell me," I said again. "Or I''ll have the healers stop the pain herbs."

A threat. Empty. I wouldn''t do it. But he didn''t know that.

He smiled. Bitter. "Your father. Alistair. We were friends. Before the clan wars. Before Lionel took the throne."

He closed his eyes. Remembering.

"The Lunar Wolves and Shadow Wolves weren''t always enemies," he said. "We traded. Intermarried. Shared territory. Then Lionel''s father died. Lionel took the throne. Young. Ambitious. Wanted to expand Artemis. Take our lands."

"He was twenty," I said. "I know the history."

"Do you?" Sebastian opened his eyes. "Do you know he started the clan wars? Provoked the conflict? Made it look like we attacked first?"

I didn''t answer.

"Your father knew," Sebastian said. "Alistair was on the council. He saw the reports. The false reports Lionel created. Evidence of Shadow Wolf ''aggression'' that never happened."

"My father would have said something."

"He did." Sebastian''s voice hardened. "He confronted Lionel. In private first. Then, when Lionel didn''t listen, in council. Said the war was based on lies. Said we should negotiate peace."

"And?"

"And Lionel had him removed from the council. Disgraced. Then, a month later, your parents were sent on a ''diplomatic mission'' to the border. Where they were ''ambushed'' by Shadow Wolves."

He looked at me. Black eyes intense.

"There was no ambush," he said. "My people weren''t there. Lionel''s own men killed them. Made it look like us. Then used their deaths as excuse to escalate the war."

"No." The word was automatic. But weaker this time.

"Check the archives," Sebastian said. "If the records still exist. Look for the battle report. Then look for the troop movements that day. Lionel''s personal guard was in the area. Not on any official record. But people talk. Soldiers talk."

I sat on the stool by his cot. The tent felt small. Air thick.

"Why tell me this?" I asked. "Why now?"

"Because you deserve the truth." He coughed. Winced. "And because Lionel is doing it again. With the Western Duchy. Provoking conflict. Creating excuses for war. Your father tried to stop him last time. Maybe you can stop him this time."

I stood. Paced. Three steps. Turn. Three steps back.

The bond hummed. Lionel trying to reach me.

I ignored it.

"Proof," I said. "I need proof."

"The archives," Sebastian said. "And there''s something else."

"What?"

"Your parents'' personal effects. Lionel kept them. In the castle. He told you they were lost in the battle, right?"

I nodded. Slowly.

"They''re not lost," Sebastian said. "He has them. In his private chambers. I have a source in the castle. A servant who''s seen them. Letters. Journals. Your mother''s jewelry. Your father''s sword."

My father''s sword. I''d asked about it. Lionel said it was lost with the body.

"If you find those things," Sebastian said, "you''ll know I''m telling the truth."

I stared at him. "Why would you have a source in the castle?"

"Because I''ve been preparing for this a long time," he said. "Waiting for someone who could get close to Lionel. Someone he trusts. Someone he... loves."

The word hung between us. Heavy.

"You want me to betray him," I said.

"I want you to know the truth," Sebastian corrected. "What you do with it is your choice."

I left the tent. Needed air.

Outside, the camp was celebrating. Victory. Men drinking. Laughing. Telling stories of the battle.

I walked through them. Invisible.

Lucas found me by the edge of the clearing. "You look like you''ve seen a ghost."

"Maybe I have," I said.

He studied me. "Sebastian got to you."

"He says Lionel killed my parents."

Lucas went still. Very still.

"You knew," I said. Watching his face. "You knew and you didn''t tell me."

"I didn''t know for sure," Lucas said. Voice low. "Rumors. Whispers. But no proof."

"Why didn''t you tell me?"

"Because what good would it do?" He met my eyes. "You''re Bloodsworn to him. The bond is for life. Knowing wouldn''t change that. Would only make you miserable."

"So you let me live a lie."

"I let you live," Lucas said. "If you''d confronted Lionel without proof, he might have... restrained you. For your own safety, of course."

The words were gentle. But the meaning wasn''t.

Lionel would lock me up. If I became a threat.

"He loves me," I said. The words sounded hollow.

"He does," Lucas agreed. "In his way. But love and power don''t always mix well. Especially for kings."

I looked at the moon. Not full anymore. Waning. Power fading.

"What do I do?" I asked. Not really expecting an answer.

"Get proof," Lucas said. "One way or the other. Then decide."

"How?"

"Go back to the castle. Check the archives. Look for your parents'' things. If Sebastian''s lying, you''ll know. If he''s telling the truth..." He trailed off.

"If he''s telling the truth, then the man I love killed my family."

"Yes."

The word hung in the air. Final.

"I leave at dawn," I said. "You''re in command here. Secure the stronghold. Keep Sebastian alive. I may need him again."

Lucas nodded. "Be careful, Adrian. If Lionel suspects..."

"I know."

I went to my tent. Packed minimal gear. The bond hummed. Louder now. Lionel trying to break through my barriers.

I didn''t let him.

For the first time since the blood oath, I shut him out completely.

It hurt. Like tearing out part of my own soul.

But I did it.

Dawn came too soon.

I rode out alone. Just me and Shadow. Back toward Artemis. Back toward Lionel.

The journey took two days. Two days of silence. Two days of the bond screaming in my head. Lionel''s thoughts battering against my walls.

*Adrian!*

*Talk to me!*

*Please!*

I didn''t answer.

By the time I reached the castle, my head was pounding. The bond, denied, was like a constant migraine.

The gates opened. Guards saluted. "Welcome back, Lord Adrian."

I didn''t stop. Rode straight to the castle. Dismounted. Handed Shadow to a stable boy.

"Where''s the king?" I asked a guard.

"Throne room, my lord. With the council."

Good. He''d be busy.

I went to the archives first.

The royal archives were in the lowest level of the castle. Cold. Dusty. Endless shelves of scrolls and ledgers.

The archivist, an old man named Thomas, looked up when I entered. "Lord Adrian. Back so soon?"

"I need to see the records from fifteen years ago," I said. "The battle at Silverpine Pass. Where my parents died."

Thomas''s face went carefully blank. "Those records are... restricted."

"By whose order?"

"The king''s."

Of course.

"I''m the king''s Bloodsworn," I said. "I have his authority."

Thomas hesitated. "My lord, without the king''s direct permission—"

"Now," I said. Voice hard. Alpha tone. Not my natural tone, but I''d learned from Lionel.

Thomas flinched. Nodded. "Yes, my lord."

He led me to a locked cabinet. Produced a key. Unlocked it. Pulled out a ledger. Thick with dust.

"The official record," he said. Placed it on a table. "I''ll be... at my desk if you need me."

He scurried away.

I opened the ledger.

The battle at Silverpine Pass. Fifteen years ago. My parents leading a diplomatic mission. Ambushed by Shadow Wolves. All killed.

The report was detailed. Too detailed. Lists of casualties. Descriptions of wounds. Maps of the ambush site.

But something was wrong.

I read it again. Then a third time.

The timeline didn''t make sense.

According to the report, the ambush happened at dawn. But the message requesting reinforcements was sent the night before. How did they know they''d be ambushed before it happened?

And the troop movements...

I flipped to the appendix. Lists of units in the area that day.

Lionel''s personal guard. The Silver Wolves. Elite. Only answer to the king.

According to the record, they were fifty miles away. On training exercises.

But I remembered something. From when I was a child. Four years old. Maybe five.

A soldier visiting the castle. One of the Silver Wolves. Bragging about a "special mission" near Silverpine. Around that time.

I''d thought nothing of it then. Just a child listening to soldiers talk.

Now...

I looked at the signature on the report.

Lionel''s signature. Clear and bold.

And below it, another signature. Witness.

General Marcus. The same General Marcus who served on the council now. Who''d been at the meeting when I volunteered for this mission.

I closed the ledger. Hands shaking.

Not proof. Not definitive.

But suspicious.

Very suspicious.

I left the archives. Went to Lionel''s private chambers.

He wasn''t there. Still in council.

I went to the hidden compartment. The one he thought I didn''t know about. Behind the tapestry in his bedroom. A small safe. Locked.

I didn''t have the key.

But I had something else.

Lunar Wolf strength. And desperation.

I pried it open. Metal screeched. Wood splintered.

Inside...

Letters. My mother''s handwriting. I''d know it anywhere.

Jewelry. My mother''s moonstone necklace. The one she always wore.

My father''s sword. Not the one he died with. His personal sword. The one he kept in his study.

And a journal. My father''s journal.

I took it. Opened it.

The last entry. Dated the day before they died.

*Met with Lionel today. Confronted him about the false reports. He denied everything. Threatened to remove me from council if I spoke publicly. Told Amelia we should leave Artemis. Go into exile. Better than living under a king who starts wars with lies. We leave tomorrow for the border. Hope to reach neutral territory before...*

The entry ended there.

Unfinished.

Because tomorrow never came for them.

I sank to the floor. Journal in hand.

The bond shattered my walls.

Lionel.

He knew. Felt what I felt. Saw what I saw through the bond.

*Adrian!* Panic. Real panic.

I looked up.

He stood in the doorway. Green eyes wide. Face pale.

"Adrian," he said. Voice rough. "Let me explain."