Chapter 8: The King’s Last Command
The forest went silent.
Not the peaceful silence of trees and wind.
A dangerous silence.
The kind that came before a storm.
The king stood between the shadows of the trees, surrounded by royal guards wearing the silver wolf emblem.
The same emblem my father had hidden.
The same symbol that had followed every secret.
Every betrayal.
Every lie.
Prince Adrian stared at his father.
“Why?””
The king did not answer.
His face was unreadable.
Not angry.
Not surprised.
Just tired.
Elias stepped forward.
“You knew.””
The king looked at his eldest son.
“Yes.””
The word crushed the last hope anyone had been holding.
The queen closed her eyes.
Adrian looked away.
I stood beside Shadow, feeling the weight of everything I had discovered.
For years, I thought my father died because he was unlucky.
Because he had found something dangerous.
Because powerful people were cruel.
But now I understood something worse.
The most powerful person in the kingdom had known.
And he had allowed it.
“Your Majesty,” I said.
The king looked at me.
“You used me.””
A flash of pain crossed his face.
“I did not.””
“You brought me here because you wanted Shadow.””
His silence answered.
“You wanted to know if he remembered.””
The king looked at the horse.
“Yes.””
Everyone turned toward him.
Even Elias.
The king took a slow breath.
“When Shadow returned that night, I knew he had seen something.””
Elias’s voice became cold.
“He saw Marcus attack me.””
“Yes.””
The answer shocked everyone.
The queen whispered:
“You knew.””
The king looked at her.
“I knew enough.””
Adrian stepped forward.
“Enough to search for my brother?””
The king looked away.
“Enough to know that if I moved against Marcus too quickly, the people behind him would destroy the kingdom.””
Elias laughed bitterly.
“So you sacrificed me.””
The king’s expression changed.
“No.””
“Then what was I?””
The forest echoed with the pain in his voice.
“A mistake?””
The king looked at his son.
“You were my son.””
“Then why did you let the world believe I was dead?””
The king had no answer.
And for the first time, I saw the truth.
Not a simple villain.
Not a simple hero.
A family destroyed by fear.
But fear did not excuse what happened.
My father was still dead.
Elias was still forced to disappear.
And the kingdom still suffered because one man chose silence.
Lord Marcus had hidden behind the king.
But the king had hidden behind the kingdom.
The result was the same.
People were hurt.
The king looked at the documents in Adrian’s hands.
“Give them to me.””
Adrian stepped back.
“No.””
The king’s expression hardened.
“I am your king.””
“And I am your son.””
The answer stopped him.
Adrian held the papers tightly.
“For five years, I obeyed you.””
His voice shook.
“I defended you.””
“I believed you.””
He looked at Elias.
“While my brother was somewhere alone.””
The king looked down.
A painful silence followed.
Then one of the guards stepped forward.
“Your Majesty.””
I recognized him.
He was one of the guards who had entered Shadow’s stable.
The one who lied.
“The evidence must be destroyed.””
Everyone turned.
The king looked at him.
“Stand down.””
The guard hesitated.
Then he smiled.
A cold smile.
“I’m afraid I cannot.””
More guards moved.
Not toward us.
Toward the king.
The forest exploded into movement.
Elias drew his sword.
Adrian grabbed the documents.
The queen stepped backward.
And I understood.
The guards were not loyal to the king.
They were loyal to the people behind the silver wolf.
The king stared at them.
“You serve me.””
The guard laughed.
“No.””
He removed the wolf emblem from his uniform.
“We served the throne.””
He dropped it.
“Not the man sitting on it.””
The king looked genuinely shocked.
A whisper escaped him.
“Marcus.””
The guard smiled.
“You finally understand.””
Everything happened at once.
The guards surrounded us.
Shadow pushed in front of me.
The stallion’s teeth showed.
The guard looked nervous.
“Do not hurt the horse.””
That sentence caught my attention.
Why?
Why would they fear Shadow?
Then I understood.
Because Shadow was proof.
Not just of Elias’s survival.
Of everything.
The guard turned to the king.
“Give us the documents.””
The king stared.
“No.””
The guard raised his sword.
“Then everyone here dies with the truth.””
Before anyone could move, the king stepped forward.
“Enough.””
His voice changed.
The voice of a ruler.
Everyone stopped.
The king looked at the guards.
“You have forgotten something.””
The guard frowned.
“What?””
The king looked around the forest.
“At some point, every traitor believes they have won.””
He removed his royal cloak.
Underneath was a hidden piece of armor.
The guards froze.
The queen looked surprised.
“Roland…”
The king continued.
“You thought I came here unprepared?””
The guard’s face changed.
Then the trees behind us moved.
More soldiers appeared.
But these soldiers wore different markings.
The royal crest.
Not the silver wolf.
The guard cursed.
The king had brought loyal forces.
The two groups faced each other.
A war that had been hidden for years was finally standing in the open.
The king looked at Elias.
“I knew Marcus had allies.””
Elias stared.
“Then why didn’t you stop him?””
The king’s voice became quiet.
“Because I needed them to reveal themselves.””
Adrian shook his head.
“No.””
The king looked at him.
“You still don’t understand.””
“No.””
Adrian’s voice was full of anger.
“I understand perfectly.””
He stepped closer.
“You used my brother as bait.””
The king looked away.
That was the only answer he gave.
Then a sudden sound cut through the forest.
A whistle.
Sharp.
The guards froze.
Everyone looked toward the trees.
A figure emerged.
Lord Marcus.
Alive.
Smiling.
The king’s expression darkened.
“You.””
Marcus laughed.
“Did you really think arresting me was enough?””
The guards lowered their weapons.
Toward the king.
Not Marcus.
I felt cold.
Everything had been planned.
Marcus walked closer.
“Five years ago, you were too weak to stop me.””
He looked at the king.
“Today, you are too late.””
The king stared.
“You killed innocent people.””
Marcus smiled.
“No.””
He looked at me.
“People like her father died because they believed truth mattered more than power.””
My hands clenched.
“You murdered him.””
Marcus looked amused.
“Your father was a brave man.””
A pause.
“But brave men are often inconvenient.””
Shadow suddenly moved.
The stallion charged.
Everyone shouted.
But Shadow did not attack Marcus.
He ran past him.
Toward the forest edge.
Toward something hidden.
Everyone watched as the horse stopped beside an old stone marker.
He kicked the ground.
Once.
Twice.
Again.
Elias stared.
“The real evidence.””
Marcus’s smile disappeared.
The king looked confused.
“What?””
I understood.
The documents were not the only thing my father left behind.
Shadow remembered the place.
The final secret.
We rushed toward the stone.
Beneath it was another hidden compartment.
Inside was a small leather journal.
My father’s journal.
I opened it.
The first page contained only one sentence.
*“If this book is found, it means the person I trusted most has finally been exposed.””*
My heart stopped.
Everyone waited.
I turned the page.
And there was a name.
The name my father had written before he died.
The name of the person he believed was responsible for everything.
Not Marcus.
Not the guards.
Not the king.
May you like
A name none of us expected.
Prince Adrian.
