Isabella's POV
I didn't sleep.
Not because I was afraid.
Because I was angry.
Someone had slipped past guards trained by Dominic Thorne silent, skilled, and deliberate. That wasn't a message. It was a demonstration. A reminder that the throne may protect my body, but not my mind.
Or my soul.
By sunrise, I had made a decision. If I was to survive this kingdom, I needed more than a crown and clever retorts.
I needed the truth.
"Where are you going?" Dominic's voice rang from behind as I walked down the back corridors, cloaked and unaccompanied.
"To see what's underneath this kingdom," I said, not slowing.
"You don't even know what you're looking for."
"Then I guess I'll recognize it when I find it."
He fell into step beside me, silent for a moment.
"You're not like the others," he muttered.
"Which others?"
"All the ones who came here wearing crowns and thinking it made them untouchable." His jaw tightened. "They all bled the same in the end."
I glanced at him. "Is that a threat?"
"It's a memory."
We moved through narrow halls until we reached a staircase hidden behind a tapestry. Dust drifted in the air like ash. The guards posted there looked startled to see us.
"This is off-limits, Your Majesty," one said, hesitating.
"Perfect," I replied. "That means it's exactly where I want to be."
Dominic gave a single nod. The guards stepped aside.
We descended.
The deeper we went, the colder it became until stone gave way to bone. Skeletons in ancient armor lined the catacombs. Forgotten kings. Unnamed queens. Lovers turned to dust and enemies buried without titles.
"This is where secrets are buried," Dominic murmured.
I felt it too.
Magic pulsed here. Old. Rotten. Familiar.
A corridor opened to a crypt, and at the center was a single black coffin. No name etched into the stone. Just a crown carved into the lid… cracked through the middle.
"What is this place?" I whispered.
Dominic didn't answer right away.
When he did, his voice was grim.
"This is where they buried the last queen who defied prophecy."
I turned slowly. "What happened to her?"
"She fell in love."
The silence stretched.
I stepped closer to the coffin.
Inside, I could almost feel it the echo of grief.
Of betrayal.
Of magic denied.
And in the stillness, a single thought curled through my mind like smoke:
Was I meant to end up here too?