enjoyebooks CHAPTER 52
CHAPTER 52
POV: Evangeline
The knight stands in the hallway, chest heaving, clutching a letter sealed with a dark wax crest. Even before he speaks, I feel dread curl like smoke in my lungs.
Sebastian steps toward him. “What’s happened?”
“A letter, Your Majesty,” the knight stutters. “From… from Lord Henry.”
My breath catches. Whispering washes through the guards like a cold wave.
“Read it,” I command.
The knight opens the parchment with shaking hands.
He reads aloud:
“To King Sebastian,
My power rises. Your kingdom weakens. Your children are unprotected. Your Queen falters. Your walls crack.
If you value what remains, come to me—unarmed, alone—within three days. Accept the death that was yours to begin with.
Refuse… and I will tear down everything you still cling to.
—Lord Henry.”
A hush falls over the corridor.
Sebastian clenches his fists. “He wants me dead.”
“And you’re not going near him,” I snap immediately. “Absolutely not.”
He turns to me, eyes hard. “If going to him saves the kingdom—”
“No!” I flare. “Sebastian, don’t you dare make that decision without me.”
“You think I want this?” he fires back, voice low with frustration. “You think I want to walk to my death?”
“I think you’re too ready to throw yourself away,” I shoot back. “And I won’t watch you die the way Alexandro did!”
He winces at the name. “Evangeline—”
“I mean it,” I say, stepping closer. “If you go, Henry wins. If you die, everything falls apart.”
“I can’t sit still while he threatens our children.”
The mention of our sons steals the air from my lungs. “Our sons are safe inside the palace.”
His eyes darken. “No one is safe from Henry.”
“We will find another way,” I plead. “Together, Sebastian. Together.”
He shakes his head. “Three days…”
“No,” I repeat. “No, no—listen to me—”
Footsteps thunder down the corridor.
Rosemary bursts into view, breathless, hair disheveled, face pale.
“Your Majesties,” she gasps. “Have—have either of you seen the princes?”
The world freezes.
I stare at her, my heart slamming painfully. “What?”
“I can’t find them,” she says quickly. “I searched the courtyard, the gardens, the training hall—everywhere. I can’t find Marc or Adrian.”
My blood runs cold.
“No,” I whisper. “No… they were with Georgina’s daughters earlier—”
Georgina pales instantly. “Evangeline… they weren’t. I haven’t seen the boys since breakfast. I assumed they were with their tutors.”
Sebastian steps toward Rosemary, panic sharpening his voice. “Both of them are missing?”
Rosemary nods. “Yes. I checked the east wing and the entire first floor. They’re not there.”
“No,” I whisper again, stumbling backward. “No, please—no…”
Sebastian turns to me. “Evangeline, we need to focus. They might just be hiding. Maybe they’re playing.”
“Playing?” My voice cracks. “Henry just sent a threat to destroy everything we have, and you think the boys are playing?”
But even as I lash out, I feel myself unraveling.
The letter. The warning. The talk of children. Henry’s threats. It all converges into a single, terrifying certainty.
“Adrian,” I breathe. “It must be Adrian.”
Georgina nods shakily. “He’s the one who had contact with William before. He’s the one Henry could lure.”
Rosemary presses a fist to her mouth. “Of course. Of course he would target Adrian. Adrian is the one who kept meeting William…”
Sebastian goes still. “If Henry has taken someone—it’s him. It has to be Adrian.”
My legs nearly collapse beneath me. “No… my baby…”
“We need to check the children’s room,” Sebastian says quickly. “Now.”
We run.
Guards scatter out of the way. Georgina follows, whispering prayers under her breath. Rosemary keeps pace beside me, fear etched across her face.
“Please be safe,” I whisper. “Please, please be safe…”
We reach the second floor.
Sebastian throws open the door.
Inside, the room is still.
Too still.
For one terrifying heartbeat, I see only empty beds.
My throat closes.
But then—a soft sob.
Adrian sits on the floor beside his bed, knees pulled to his chest, tears streaming down his cheeks.
Relief hits me so violently that I stagger.
“Adrian!” I run to him, dropping to my knees. “Adrian, baby, are you hurt? What happened? Where’s your brother? Where’s Marc?”
He doesn’t answer. He just cries harder.
Sebastian kneels beside me, voice trembling. “Adrian, look at me. Are you alright? Did someone come here? Did someone try to take you?”
Rosemary whispers behind us, “If Adrian is here… then where—”
Georgina presses a hand to her chest. “Then Henry didn’t take Adrian…?”
“Adrian,” I say again, brushing hair away from his wet face, “please talk to me. Where is Marc?”
My voice breaks on his name.
Adrian finally looks up. His lips tremble. His voice is soft but clear, shaped by fear.
“Mother…” he whispers.
I hold his cheeks gently. “Yes? I’m here. Tell me.”
He gulps for air.
Then, with a voice so small it destroys the room’s last fragment of hope, he says:
“William took Marc.”