Chapter 5 - The Truth About the Twins
The next morning, Mara made the most important decision of her life.
She would not hide.
She would not let Rowan define the story.
She would tell the kingdom exactly why she left.
The neutral court agreed to broadcast an emergency hearing.
No weapons.
No royal guard dominance.
No private negotiations.
Only evidence.
Mara sat at the center of the chamber.
Kale sat beside her.
Celestine sat across from them.
Rowan appeared through the legal crystal under formal council authority.
He looked composed.
“Lady Mara,” he began, “did you remove the heirs without the king's consent?”
“Yes.”
“Did you transport them across territory?”
“Yes.”
“Did you intentionally prevent the king from accessing them?”
“I prevented unauthorized seizure.”
Rowan frowned.
“Did you believe your husband was going to harm the children?”
“No.”
“Then why flee?”
Mara held up Annex 9.
“Because your office inserted a clause granting another woman authority over my children.”
The chamber erupted.
Rowan raised his voice.
“That clause was part of the treaty.”
“The original treaty says otherwise.”
Mara placed the older copy beside it.
The judges examined both.
One asked, “Where did this older version come from?”
“Moonbridge archives.”
Another judge looked at Rowan.
“Was the amendment requested by your office?”
“Yes.”
“On whose authorization?”
“Council authority.”
“Not the king's?”
Rowan's expression shifted.
“The king signed the treaty.”
“He signed the treaty,” Mara said. “Not the amendment.”
The room became silent.
Kale finally spoke.
“I never saw Annex 9 before tonight.”
Rowan looked at him.
“You trusted the council.”
“Yes.”
“Then your negligence caused this crisis.”
Kale did not argue.
He simply said, “Yes.”
The honesty made Rowan uncomfortable.
Mara looked at him.
“You wanted me to fight him publicly.”
Rowan's eyes narrowed.
“I wanted stability.”
“No.”
Mara leaned forward.
“You wanted us divided.”
Rowan's smile disappeared.
“You don't understand politics.”
“I understand my children's safety.”
The judge struck the table.
“Order.”
Then Celestine stood.
“My testimony.”
Every head turned.
She handed over the letters.
“Chancellor Rowan instructed me to stand beside the king during the announcement.”
Rowan interrupted.
“Lady Celestine is under an emotional strain.”
Celestine turned.
“No.”
Her voice was calm.
“I was financially desperate.”
She explained the debt.
The arrangement.
The promised ceremonial role.
The pressure.
The hidden documents.
Then she produced a recording.
Rowan's own voice filled the chamber.
Once the queen is out of the palace, the heirs will become manageable.
No one spoke.
Kale looked at Rowan.
“Did you say that?”
Rowan's face was expressionless.
“The recording is incomplete.”
“Then explain the missing context.”
“I refuse.”
The judge looked toward the guards.
“Chancellor Rowan Vale, you are ordered to surrender all council archives pending investigation.”
Rowan smiled.
Then everything went wrong.
The lights went out.
A scream echoed.
Guards rushed forward.
The crystal shattered.
Someone attacked the court.
Mara was pulled behind a table.
Kale grabbed her hand.
“Stay with me.”
“I'm here.”
The room filled with smoke.
A side door opened.
Three masked men entered.
They were not council guards.
The neutral court had been breached.
Kale shifted first.
His eyes flashed silver.
His wolf surged beneath his skin.
Mara followed.
Together they fought.
Not as king and queen.
As a pair.
Kale took the first attacker.
Mara disarmed the second.
Celestine slammed the door against the third.
The fight lasted less than a minute.
When the smoke cleared, one attacker was dead.
Two were captured.
One carried a council access badge.
Rowan was gone.
The judges stared at the empty chair.
Mara looked at Kale.
“He planned this.”
Kale nodded.
But before they could pursue, a message appeared on the remaining crystal.
Theo and Lyra's faces filled the screen.
They were not at Moonbridge.
They were in a dark room.
Mara's blood turned to ice.
A voice spoke.
“Withdraw the testimony.”
Kale's wolf erupted.
“Who are you?”
The voice laughed.
“Someone who already has the heirs.”
Mara couldn't breathe.
Then the screen showed Theo.
He was scared.
Lyra was holding his hand.
Mara forced herself to remain calm.
“Listen to me.”
The voice said, “You have one hour.”
Kale moved toward the crystal.
“Touch them and I will tear apart every stone between us.”
The voice laughed again.
“You still don't understand.”
A final sentence came through the speaker.
“The children were never the target.”
The screen went black.
Mara's heart pounded.
“What does that mean?”
Kale stared at the darkness.
Then he looked at the treaty.
The missing clause.
The custody transfer.
The succession records.
And suddenly he understood.
“They're not trying to control the twins.”
May you like
Mara looked at him.
“They're trying to use the twins to control the crown.”
