Page 12 of Her Fated Alpha Prince (Royal Dragons of Blackwater Islands #1)

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KAEL

Darkness pressed in from every side.

Kael blinked, but the blackness remained. There was no light. No sound, save for the shallow rasp of his own breathing. His wrists burned, metal biting into skin—cuffs etched with sigils that pulsed cold against his veins.

Magic-suppressing. Vyrathi military issue. That meant this wasn’t a rogue operation.

This was sanctioned.

His head pounded, memory sluggish. He’d been in his quarters—reviewing border reports, late—when the candlelight had shivered and a voice, soft and accented, had said, “Apologies, Captain.” Then heat, sharp as lightning, at the base of his skull.

Now he was here.

He shifted, groaning. Ankles chained. Neck collar tight. Even breathing felt like asking permission.

A hum vibrated through the floor. Power. Deep and old. They’d brought him to one of the low chambers. Beneath the Citadel, if he had to guess. The interrogation rooms built during the old wars, when traitors were peeled open until truth bled free.

He clenched his jaw. He wasn’t a traitor. He wasn’t.

But they thought he was.

Or close enough to question it.

A hiss of air. A door? He tensed. The darkness didn’t lift, but footsteps echoed—measured, crisp. Then a voice, distorted through a veil charm.

“Kael Vorenthi, son of Commander Elian Vorenthi. Third Regiment. Formerly assigned to the Inner Guard. Currently appointed to noble escort under direct command of the Crown.”

He said nothing. The voice was familiar—but masked. Smart. He would’ve known it otherwise.

“You were seen with the girl in the east garden. Night of the Bloom.”

Still, silence.

“Three hours after that, flowers not native to this region burst into bloom. The soil changed composition. A vine species previously dormant is now actively moving toward heat.”

Kael exhaled slowly. Controlled. Deliberate. He didn’t need to reply. They weren’t here for answers. Not yet. This was pressure. Foundation-breaking.

The voice continued, unflinching. “You’ve been too close. We warned you, Captain. She’s not what she seems.”

That part was true. Gods help him, it was true.

“I don’t know what you think I saw,” he said finally, voice hoarse. “But she’s not dangerous.”

Liar.

He knew she was. He’d felt it in the garden, felt it before, when she’d passed by him in the corridor and the air had cracked with something ancient and forgotten.

“She is elemental,” the voice said. “Untrained. Potentially uncontainable. And you—you’ve been infected.”

Kael’s head snapped up, breath catching. “She’s not a disease.”

“She’s a threat.”

“And you’re a coward.”

The silence that followed was heavy. Then came a quiet laugh, sharp as a broken bone.

“You always were your father’s son.”

A flare of heat surged through Kael’s chest, but he bit it back. Fury would not help him here.

The footsteps receded. Chains clinked in the dark.

Then the door hissed closed again.

Alone, Kael let his head fall back against the stone.

And for the first time in years, he wasn’t sure whose side he was on.

The silence after the voice left was thick, pulsing with too many unsaid things. Kael sat still in the dark, fighting the urge to test the chains again. There was no give. Whoever had orchestrated this knew what they were doing. They wanted him helpless. Disoriented. Alone.

But he wasn’t entirely alone, was he?

Ariana.

The memory of her came unbidden. Not just the warmth of her touch or the quick fire in her eyes—but the moment in the garden, when the flowers had bent toward her like worship.

When the very air had hummed with something bigger than either of them.

And he’d felt it. Not fear. Not even magic, exactly.

Recognition.

Ariana wasn’t just new. She was old. Older than the court, older than the bloodlines they clung to like shields. She was something the realm had forgotten, or buried.

And that made her dangerous.

But it also made her necessary.

Kael’s fingers twitched, numb from the cuffs. He had to get out of here. He couldn’t help her shackled in the dark while others decided who she was. What she was.

He heard it then—a faint scuff. Not a guard. Lighter. Hesitant.

The door creaked open, just enough for a sliver of pale light to carve into the black. A shadow slipped through, hooded and small. Quick steps. A key in the lock.

Kael tensed.

“You’re not supposed to be here,” he said.

A girl pulled back her hood, revealing wide brown eyes and a braid nearly to her waist. She looked about fifteen. Maybe sixteen. Not a soldier. Not even a page.

“You’re Kael,” she whispered. “Right?”

He stared at her. “Who are you?”

“Liora,” she said quickly. “I clean linens. But my brother’s a scribe. He left this.” She pulled a folded piece of parchment from her cloak. “I wasn’t supposed to come. But I read it. I think you need to see.”

Kael took the note with shaking hands and opened it. The handwriting was familiar—tight and efficient. Varos.

She is awakening faster than expected. We’ve already drawn the Eye’s attention. They won’t let her live if she’s unbound. Get out. Get her out. – V

He looked up. “Where is your brother now?”

Liora’s face fell. “They took him. Said he stole classified documents. But I saw him slip that note into his boot. He told me to wait. If he didn’t come back by the second bell…” Her voice shook. “He knew they’d kill him.”

Kael’s jaw tightened. The Crown was moving faster than he’d thought. If Varos was right—and Kael had no reason to doubt him—they weren’t just afraid of Ariana.

They were preparing to erase her.

“Can you get me the key to the armory?” he asked.

Liora blinked. “You’re going to run?”

“No.” Kael’s eyes burned in the low light. “I’m going to start a war.”

Liora paled. “You can’t fight them all. Not alone.”

Kael gave a humorless smile as he stood, shaking out his aching limbs. “I won’t be.”

She looked unconvinced, but she nodded anyway. “I’ll try. The kitchens change out guards near dawn. If I time it right, I can get into the stores.”

“Be careful,” Kael said. “Don’t get caught. And don’t come back here.”

She hesitated at the door. “Is she really… different? Ariana?”

He paused, then said softly, “She’s what the realm has been waiting for. Even if it doesn’t know it yet.”

Liora left, and the door shut behind her. Kael was alone again—but not helpless anymore. His hands flexed. He paced the cell, thoughts racing faster than his feet. Every instinct screamed for action, but he couldn’t move blindly.

He needed allies. Ones that hadn’t already turned.

The Blackthorn Guard.

A decade ago, they’d been purged—accused of treason, scattered across the kingdoms. Kael had grown up on those stories, too young to understand what it meant when loyalty to the realm meant questioning the crown. But now he knew better. They hadn’t betrayed the realm.

They’d tried to protect it.

And Kael knew where the last of them had vanished. If he could get free—if he could reach them—there was a chance. A slim one. But Ariana didn’t need protection. She needed belief. She needed someone willing to gamble the kingdom for her.

He could be that fool.

The door opened again, too soon to be Liora.

Kael stilled, muscles coiled.

It wasn’t a guard.

It was Varos.

The elder moved quickly, robes tucked up for speed, silver hair loose around his shoulders.

“You idiot,” Varos hissed. “Do you know how hard it was to keep them from dragging you into the Cells?”

Kael didn’t waste time. “How much do they know?”

“Enough to be afraid,” Varos said. “Which is worse. They don’t understand her. So they want to control her. Or eliminate her.”

Kael’s heart thudded. “Then we move tonight.”

“No.” Varos raised a hand. “She’s not ready.”

“She doesn’t have time to be ready!”

“I’m not talking about power,” Varos snapped. “I’m talking about trust. She still thinks you’re part of this. That you’re just another blade in their hand.”

Kael exhaled hard. He’d seen it in her eyes—in the hesitation, the edge of doubt. He’d earned it, too, by not telling her everything from the start.

“Then tell me what to do,” he said.

Varos studied him for a long moment. “When the sun rises, go to her. But no lies. Not this time. If you want her to walk into fire with you, she needs to know what kind of fire it is.”

Kael nodded once.

Varos moved to the door, then paused. “And Kael?”

He looked up.

“If you fail,” Varos said quietly, “this won’t end in exile. It’ll end in ash.”

The door shut again.