Chapter 4 - The Girl Beneath the Palace
Liv had been taken beneath the palace.
The old tunnels.
Byron knew about them.
They ran beneath the castle like roots.
Forgotten escape routes.
Hidden chambers.
Prison cells from an older dynasty.
They entered through a sealed wall behind the chapel.
Mave carried a lantern.
Byron carried a sword.
“You shouldn't be here.”
“Neither should you.”
“You're still weak.”
“So are you.”
He smiled.
“Fair.”
They descended.
The deeper they went, the colder it became.
Then they heard voices.
Colin.
Petra.
Ainsley.
And another man.
Mave's blood froze.
Her father.
She had believed he died.
The man turned.
His eyes were familiar.
“Mave.”
She could not speak.
Byron stepped in front of her.
“You're supposed to be dead.”
Her father smiled sadly.
“I was.”
Mave's entire world shattered.
“You left us.”
“I thought I was protecting you.”
“You let Mother die.”
“I tried to save her.”
“You lied!”
Her Holloworn power erupted.
Every wolf in the tunnel began growling.
The guards dropped their weapons.
Byron grabbed Mave's hand.
“Control it.”
“I can't.”
“Yes, you can.”
His voice cut through the panic.
She focused on him.
One heartbeat.
Two.
The wolves calmed.
Her father stared.
“You learned.”
Mave turned.
“Where is Liv?”
“In the lower chamber.”
They found her chained to a stone wall.
She was conscious.
Weak.
But alive.
Mave ran to her.
Liv smiled.
“I knew you'd come.”
“Always.”
Byron confronted Colin.
“You killed my brother.”
Colin laughed.
“You don't understand.”
“I understand enough.”
“Your brother was weak.”
“He was king.”
“And that was the problem.”
Colin revealed the truth.
Riden had discovered the old prophecy.
A Holloworn would one day bond with an Alpha King.
Together, they would break the ancient system controlling the northern kingdoms.
Riden had wanted to end the council's secret rule.
Colin had killed him.
Byron had become the next obstacle.
Mave's father had once served Riden.
He had tried to expose the council.
They hunted him.
He disappeared.
But he never stopped protecting his daughters.
“Who poisoned Liv?” Mave demanded.
Petra stepped forward.
“I did.”
Mave stared.
“Why?”
“Because she was the easiest way to force you into the palace.”
“You used my sister.”
“Yes.”
Mave's face went blank.
Byron whispered her name.
But something inside her had changed.
Her fear was gone.
In its place was fury.
She raised her hand.
The wolves roared.
Every torch went out.
In darkness, Mave moved.
Byron fought beside her.
Her father freed Liv.
Ainsley turned against Colin.
The chamber became chaos.
Colin escaped.
Petra did not.
They captured her.
And before sunrise, the palace guards discovered evidence hidden inside her laboratory.
Orders signed by Colin.
Payments to assassins.
Records of poison.
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And one horrifying document.
A plan to kill the entire royal family.
