SERA'S POV
We hit the water hard.
The icy cold slammed into me like a fist, driving the air from my lungs. Memories crashed over me the first time I'd fallen, the bullet burning in my shoulder, the certainty that I was dying.
But this time was different.
This time I was prepared. This time I had Kael beside me. This time I knew the current patterns, knew where it would take us, knew how to survive.
The current grabbed us immediately, dragging us downstream just like it had five years ago. Arrows hissed into the water around usI saw them cutting through the water like deadly fish.
One grazed my shoulder. The same shoulder. Of course.
Pain flared, bright and sharp, but I didn't stop. Couldn't stop.
I kicked hard, pulled Kael with me toward the opposite bank. The one I'd crawled out on before. The one with the overhanging rocks that would shield us from archer fire.
We surfaced under a stone bridge, gasping and choking.
Are you insane? Kael coughed out water, his face pale in the darkness.
You're welcome for saving your life. I was breathing hard, adrenaline making everything too bright, too sharp.
Above us, I heard Casimir shouting orders. Find them! Search the river! I want bodies!
His voice echoed off the bridge, distorted by water and stone.
We had minutes. Maybe less.
I pulled Kael through a drainage tunnel I'd memorized during my weeks of planning. The same one I'd marked on my maps as a potential escape route. Always have an escape route. Always plan for the worst.
We emerged three blocks away from the palace, soaking wet and bleeding.
My safe house, I whispered. Two streets over. Can you make it?
He nodded, already moving. Even injured, even shocked, his training kicked in. We ran through dark streets, avoiding the main roads where palace guards would be searching.
Mira met us at the door before we could knock. Took one look at our condition and cursed violently in three languages.
What happened?
Casimir. I peeled off my wet jacket, wincing as it pulled at my arrow wound. He was waiting at the execution yard. He knows everything.
Mira's face went white. Then we run. Now. Before
No. I grabbed clean clothes from my emergency bag I'd prepared multiple safe houses, multiple escape routes, multiple contingencies. Running proves I'm Sera. Proves I'm guilty. We stick to the plan.
The plan is dead! Mira grabbed my shoulders, fingers digging in desperately. He has proof you're alive. He'll tell the whole kingdom
And say what? I interrupted, forcing calm into my voice even though my hands were shaking. That the princess he executed five years ago survived and came back? He'd have to admit the execution was fake. Admit he failed. Admit he's been lying for five years.
Kael spoke up from where he stood dripping by the door, always the tactical thinker. She's right. Casimir can't expose her without exposing himself. His power comes from the coup looking legitimate. If people know Sera survived, they'll start asking questions. Like why he was so eager to execute her. Like whether the treason charges were fabricated.
Mira turned on him, five years of protective anger in her eyes. You. This is your fault. If you'd recognized her sooner
Mira. I stepped between them. He didn't know. I made sure he wouldn't.
Apparently not well enough! Mira gestured at me wildly. You jumped into a ravine. Again! What were you thinking?
I was thinking it worked the first time.
Kael laughed. Actually laughed the sound rusty and unexpected. You planned that. The whole time Casimir was talking, you were planning to jump.
The current flows east, I explained, wringing water from my hair. Fastest current in the kingdom. I've studied it. Knew exactly where we'd surface. Knew the drainage tunnel would be there.
Mira looked between us with an expression I couldn't quite read. You two are both insane.
Maybe. But we were alive. And right now, that's what mattered.
Mira sighed heavily and pulled out her medical kit. Started cleaning my arrow wound with practiced efficiency. We need to reassess. Casimir knows. What does that change?
Everything, Kael said, his tactical mind already working. He'll move faster now. Strike harder. Eliminate witnesses.
Lord Viktor, I said suddenly. He's next. If Casimir thinks Viktor might testify against him
My phone buzzed before I could finish the thought. News alert.
We all stared at the headline:
LORD VIKTOR CROSS FOUND DEAD. APPARENT SUICIDE.
My stomach dropped. He's cleaning house.
Eliminating everyone who knows the truth about the coup, Kael confirmed grimly. Viktor knew details. Had documents. Casimir couldn't risk him talking.
Then who's next? Mira asked, stitching my wound with quick, efficient movements.
We all knew the answer.
Lyanna, I said quietly. She's next. If Casimir thinks she's a liability, he'll kill her too.
Good, Mira said coldly, not looking up from her stitching. Your sister betrayed you. Let Casimir deal with her.
No. The word came out harder than I meant it. More certain. She's still my sister. And she's a victim too. Manipulated. Used. Trapped.
Mira stared at me like I'd lost my mind. After everything she did
She was seventeen and manipulated by a monster. I pulled away, the stitching complete. I won't let her die because I'm too angry to save her.
I grabbed my phone. Called the palace. Asked for the queen's private line.
A servant answered, voice shaking. I'm sorry, but Her Majesty isn't taking calls
This is Elena Frost. Tell her it's about her uncle. Tell her she's in danger. Tell her Lord Viktor is dead and she needs to listen to me right now.
A long pause. I could almost hear the servant debating internally. Fear warring with duty.
Hold please.
Two minutes of silence. Each second felt like an hour.
Then: Miss Frost? Lyanna's voice came through, shaking and small. What's wrong?
Lord Viktor is dead. Your Majesty, you need to listen carefully. Your uncle is eliminating loose ends. Anyone who knows the truth about the coup. Anyone who could testify against him. You could be next.
Silence on the other end. I heard her breathing change. Heard suppressed terror.
I don't understand
Yes, you do. I softened my voice, made it gentle. Made it sound like the sister who used to comfort her after nightmares. Deep down, you know what kind of man he is. You've always known. You've just been too scared to admit it.
I heard her breathing change again. Heard the tears she was trying to hold back.
Meet me, I said. Alone. Tomorrow at dawn. The old temple garden behind the east wing. I'll explain everything. I'll help you. But you have to trust me.
I... I can't. Uncle would Her voice was barely a whisper. Terrified.
Your Majesty, please. Trust me. I'm trying to save your life.
Another long pause. I could feel her internal struggle through the phone. Fear of Casimir versus fear of death. Loyalty versus survival.
How do I know this isn't a trap?
Good question. Smart of her to ask. Maybe she wasn't as naive as I'd thought.
Because if I wanted you dead, you'd already be dead. I let that sink in. Let the truth of it settle. Dawn. Come alone. Or don't come at all. But if you don't come, by noon tomorrow, you'll be dead. And I won't be able to save you.
I hung up before she could argue. Before I could change my mind.
Mira looked furious. You're really doing this? Trusting her? After she watched your mother die? After she took your crown? After she
I'm giving her a choice, I interrupted quietly. The same choice nobody gave me five years ago. A chance to do the right thing. A chance to break free from Casimir's control.
And if she betrays you again? Kael asked.
I met his eyes. Then I'll know for certain she's beyond saving. And I'll destroy her along with Casimir.
The words hung in the air. Cold. Final. True.
Mira's encrypted phone buzzed. She checked it, and her face went even paler.
What? I demanded, already knowing it was bad news.
Our informant in the palace. Her voice shook. Casimir has called an emergency Council meeting. Tomorrow at noon.
He's making his move, Kael said.
So are we. I looked at both of them Mira, who'd saved my life; Kael, who'd tried to save it. Tomorrow. Lyanna at dawn. Council meeting at noon. We end this.
How? Mira asked. We have no proof. No evidence. Viktor's dead. It's just your word against Casimir's.
Not quite. I pulled out my phone. Opened the video file that our mysterious friend had sent. We have this. Proof that Casimir stopped Kael from saving me. Proof that he wanted me dead. It's not enough to convict him of the coup, but it's enough to raise questions. Enough to make the Council doubt him.
And if it's not enough? Kael asked.
Then we improvise.
Mira's phone buzzed again. She looked at the screen and went white as snow.
What now? I asked, though part of me didn't want to know.
She showed me the screen. Breaking news alert.
We stared at it in horror.
The headline scrolled across: BREAKING: Duke Casimir announces shocking evidence that Princess Seraphina Valorian is alive and has infiltrated the palace under false identity. Emergency Council meeting called. Princess accused of treason and conspiracy. Reward offered for information leading to her capture.
The screen showed my face. Both faces Princess Sera and Elena Frost side by side. The resemblance undeniable even to casual observers.
Mira whispered, He just declared war.
My phone exploded with notifications. Text messages from numbers I didn't recognize. News alerts. Social media mentions. The entire kingdom's communication network going into overdrive.
The entire kingdom now knew. The dead princess lived. The conspiracy was real.
And Casimir had just made me public enemy number one. Painted me as the villain. The traitor who'd faked her death and returned to destabilize the kingdom.
He'd beaten me to the revelation. Controlled the narrative before I could.
Everything I'd planned the careful infiltration, the quiet gathering of evidence, the systematic destruction of my enemies all of it was burning down around me.
We need to disappear, Mira said, already packing. Now. Before they come for you.
But it was too late.
Through the window, I saw palace guards surrounding the building. At least fifty of them.
We were trapped.