Dominic's POV
If Isabella had struck Aria down in that moment, no one in the room would've blamed her not me. Not the guards and maybe not even the boy but she didn't. She stood completely still, face unreadable, body vibrating with fury she hadn't yet released. It was the most terrifying thing I'd ever seen.
"What kind of sick game is this?" she finally asked. Aria's voice was calm. Too calm. "It's not a game, Your Majesty. He's yours." "I buried my child." "No," Aria said. "You buried a lie I gave you to survive." My hand reached instinctively toward my sword but Isabella raised hers to stop me.
"Explain," she said. Just that. One word, sharp as steel. Aria looked down at the boy, who clutched the edge of her skirt, confused but quiet. "They were going to kill him," she said. "The moment he was born, your enemies knew. The royal bloodline ends with you, they said. No loose ends. No threats."
She looked up again, and I saw it guilt, real and raw.
"I couldn't let him die. I switched the swaddles. Gave them a stillborn child born from a servant's womb. And ran."
My pulse pounded.
"And you never told her?" I growled. "You let her mourn" "She had no power then!" Aria snapped. "No army. No throne. No protection. If she knew the truth, she would've come looking and died for it." Isabella's hand trembled at her side. I reached for her. This time, she didn't push me away. "You should've trusted me," she said to Aria. Her voice cracked. "He should've known me."
Callum stared up at her.
"I don't want to live in a palace," he said quietly. "No one's asking you to," Isabella replied, kneeling before him. "But I will protect you. With every breath I have left." It was the first time I'd seen her eyes shine with something other than fire. It was grief, blooming backward into love but even as the moment softened…
A sound cut through the stillness. A click. A loaded crossbow.
From the shadows outside the cottage, a bolt flew fast and vicious. I shoved Isabella out of the way. The bolt grazed her shoulder, embedding in the stone wall behind us. Guards rushed forward. Too late. The assassin was already gone. They knew. Someone knew the child lived and they wouldn't stop at just one arrow.