Chapter 9 - Blood of the Crown
Arthur caught her wrist.
For one suspended second, Clara hung above the flooded gorge while the helicopter strained against the wind.
Then two guards pulled her inside.
Arthur wrapped a blanket around her.
She recoiled from his touch.
He misunderstood.
“You are safe.”
“No.”
“Clara.”
“Do not touch me.”
He froze.
Across the bridge, Damian disappeared behind council vehicles as the royal guards exchanged fire.
The helicopter turned north.
Arthur knelt several feet away from Clara.
“What happened?”
She held the photograph inside her soaked dress.
The medical report had fallen with the folder, but the photograph remained.
She pulled it out.
Arthur took one look and went still.
“Where did you get this?”
“Calder Hall.”
He studied the bracelet.
E.W.
“What is Project Aurelia?” Clara asked.
Arthur said nothing.
“You know the name.”
“My father mentioned it in private letters. I thought it was a hospital program.”
“It created royal embryos.”
His face emptied.
Clara forced the words out.
“One was implanted after Fire Night.”
Arthur looked at her.
“A girl was born.”
“No.”
“My age.”
“No.”
“My mother carried her.”
Arthur stood and moved toward the far side of the helicopter.
“Damian lied to you.”
“He said the genetic parents were King Lucien and Queen Marianne.”
“He lied.”
“The records carried the royal seal.”
“They can be forged.”
“Look at me.”
He did.
For the first time since Clara had known him, Arthur looked truly terrified.
“Did you ever wonder why we resemble each other?” she asked.
“We do not.”
“Same eyes.”
“Half of Valeria has dark eyes.”
“Same blood type.”
“That proves nothing.”
“Same allergy to silverleaf medicine.”
“Stop.”
“Arthur.”
“Stop.”
The guards pretended not to hear.
Clara’s voice broke.
“What if it is true?”
“It is not.”
“What if it is?”
Arthur looked at the sapphire ring still hanging from a chain around his neck.
He had not returned it to her.
His hand closed around it.
“Then Voss has already won.”
They landed at a mountain fortress before dawn.
Helena waited on the platform.
Evelyn stood beside her, one arm in a sling.
Clara stepped from the helicopter and slapped the photograph against her mother’s chest.
“Tell me the truth.”
Evelyn looked at it.
The strength left her face.
Arthur saw.
“You knew,” he said.
Evelyn’s lips parted.
Clara’s voice rose.
“Am I their daughter?”
“No.”
The answer came too quickly.
“Do not lie.”
“I carried you.”
“That is not enough.”
Evelyn looked at Arthur, then Helena, then the soldiers nearby.
“Inside.”
They entered a council chamber built into the fortress rock.
Evelyn remained standing.
“Project Aurelia existed,” she said. “King Lucien approved the preservation of royal genetic material after an assassination attempt left Queen Marianne unable to carry another child.”
Arthur leaned forward.
“My mother was pregnant twice after me.”
“She lost both children.”
He said nothing.
Evelyn continued.
“After Fire Night, Conrad discovered that one viable embryo remained at the Calder clinic. He wanted it destroyed.”
“And you?” Clara asked.
“I wanted a child.”
Clara’s anger faltered.
Evelyn’s voice became unsteady.
“Your father and I had tried for years. I had lost three pregnancies. The doctors said I would never carry safely. But the embryo was healthy.”
“You stole me.”
“I saved you.”
“From Conrad?”
“From everyone.”
Arthur stared at Evelyn.
“Were Lucien and Marianne the donors?”
“No.”
Clara gripped the table.
“Then who?”
Evelyn closed her eyes.
“The egg came from Marianne’s sister, Princess Elara.”
Arthur frowned.
“My mother had no sister.”
“She did. Elara was erased from the royal records after she joined the Ashen Circle.”
Helena looked sharply toward the files.
“The Circle had royal blood.”
“Yes.”
“And the father?” Clara asked.
Evelyn’s silence returned.
“Who was he?”
“King Lucien.”
Arthur moved away from the table.
Clara struggled to understand.
“So I am Arthur’s…”
“Half-sister by blood,” Evelyn said. “But not Queen Marianne’s daughter.”
The distinction offered no comfort.
Arthur pressed both hands against the stone wall.
Clara could not look at him.
Every memory between them felt contaminated by a truth neither had known.
Helena spoke carefully.
“Are the records conclusive?”
“The original genetic records were hidden,” Evelyn said. “Conrad kept copies as leverage.”
“Can they be tested?”
“Yes.”
Arthur turned.
“No.”
Clara stared at him.
“We need certainty.”
“We need to destroy every sample.”
“That does not change what we are.”
“It changes what Voss can prove.”
Helena stepped between them.
“If Voss reveals this before the Restoration Vote, the monarchy collapses.”
“Then let it collapse,” Clara said.
Arthur looked at her.
She continued, “I will not protect a throne with another lie.”
“This is not only about the throne.”
“What else?”
“The country. The army. The millions who believe my return represents justice.”
“And what will they believe when they discover we almost married?”
Pain crossed his face.
Clara’s own voice shook.
“They will believe the truth.”
A messenger entered carrying a sealed letter.
“The Council of Seven has issued a summons. The Restoration Vote will be held in ten days.”
Arthur broke the seal.
A second paper fell out.
An invitation.
Clara picked it up.
The council invited all seven ruling families, foreign ambassadors, military commanders, and national press to attend a unity wedding at the Grand Aurelia Hall.
Bride: Clara Whitmore.
Groom: Damian Calder.
Evelyn looked at Clara.
“They intend to force the marriage before the vote.”
Arthur crushed the invitation in his hand.
Clara took it from him and smoothed the paper.
“No,” she said. “They intend to gather every powerful person in Valeria beneath one roof.”
Helena understood.
“You want to attend.”
“I want them to believe Damian has won.”
Arthur’s voice was cold.
“Absolutely not.”
Clara faced him.
“You used me to enter Whitmore House. Now I will use Damian to enter the council.”
“He will kill you.”
“Not before the ceremony.”
“How do you know?”
“Because he needs the Whitmore vote.”
Arthur moved closer.
“You are not going.”
Clara felt something inside her become still.
“You may be my king. You may be my brother. You may once have been the man I loved.”
He flinched.
“But you are not my owner.”
Arthur looked at her for a long time.
May you like
Then he stepped aside.
“What is your plan?”
