FULL-The Heiress Erased for 365 Days

YeuSan

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Transcript

00:00:00They forgot my name.

00:00:02My six older brothers, my mother, and my father, all of them forgot.

00:00:06So tonight, 11 minutes before midnight, I'm going to take my motorcycle and disappear for good.

00:00:13Happy birthday to me.

00:00:14My name is Aurora Kane.

00:00:16They used to call me Rory.

00:00:17Our family controlled the most elite private security empire on this side of the Atlantic.

00:00:22Then I turned 17.

00:00:23My family threw me a party and gave me this motorcycle.

00:00:27That night, I went to bed.

00:00:29Feeling like the luckiest girl in the world.

00:00:31The next morning, I woke up invisible.

00:00:34I shut off the engine and pushed the motorcycle slowly down the gravel drive.

00:00:38I passed the still-lit west wing and avoided the security cameras.

00:00:42I stopped at the edge of the trees and looked back.

00:00:44Just this once, I allowed myself that.

00:00:47Goodbye.

00:00:48I know none of you will miss me.

00:00:50Then I flipped the ignition and my Harley roared to life.

00:00:53I knew exactly where every guard was posted that night.

00:00:55I knew which shift was understaffed on Thursdays and which gate's camera had been broken since April.

00:01:01After all, I was the only person in the entire Kane family who bothered to learn these things.

00:01:06I hit the north road at 60 miles an hour and drove out of my father's property without triggering a

00:01:11single alarm.

00:01:11In less than nine minutes, I would turn 18.

00:01:15No one in Blackwater Mantra knew.

00:01:17What could a 17-year-old girl have done to make her mother refuse to look at her?

00:01:21Her father stopped speaking to her.

00:01:23And even the six older brothers who used to fight over, who got to teach me how to ride a

00:01:27motorcycle, treat me like a ghost?

00:01:30I'd spent 365 days trying to find the answer.

00:01:33And I had nothing.

00:01:35Six weeks ago, I went to the family archives where every Kane is recorded from birth to burial.

00:01:39I found my own file.

00:01:41Fourteen pages chronicled my childhood.

00:01:43Report cards, vaccine records, every entry in my father's handwriting.

00:01:47The last line of the file was written on my 17th birthday.

00:01:50Aurora K. Kane, 17.

00:01:52No further record.

00:01:54The moment I read that sentence, I stopped hoping.

00:01:57I twisted the throttle harder.

00:01:59The highway opened up in front of me, black and gold.

00:02:03A strange feeling rose in my chest, like the hand that had been around my tech had finally let go.

00:02:08At 11.58, my watch vibrated.

00:02:10Two minutes until legal adulthood.

00:02:12Then the whole world exploded.

00:02:15Not the road collapsing.

00:02:17Sound.

00:02:17Crickets in the ditch.

00:02:18The heartbeat of a deer three acres away.

00:02:20The off-keck voice of a truck driver two miles away.

00:02:23Singing country radio.

00:02:26Thousands of sounds crashed into my mind all at once.

00:02:29So loud, I almost lost control of the bike.

00:02:31I swerved to the side of the road, took off my helmet, and clamped my hands over my ears.

00:02:36The sounds faded slowly, like someone turning down the volume on the whole world.

00:02:41Beneath all that noise, from somewhere far behind me, I heard my father's voice.

00:02:47Clear as if he were standing right over my shoulder.

00:02:50No matter what happens tomorrow, she must never find out the truth.

00:02:54If Rory learns the truth before then, she won't live to see Sunday.

00:03:00I sat there on the motorcycle seat for 20 full minutes, waiting to hear the voice again.

00:03:06But nothing came.

00:03:08Only crickets chipping, and my own heartbeat.

00:03:11I told myself it was a hallucination.

00:03:14Lack of sleep.

00:03:15Too much adrenaline.

00:03:16A girl running away in the middle of the night shouldn't trust voices in her head.

00:03:20So I climbed back onto the bike, and let my thoughts drift back over this entire year.

00:03:25Every single humiliating moment.

00:03:27Every second of it.

00:03:28It had all started the morning after my 17th birthday.

00:03:31I woke up smiling.

00:03:33I showered, braided my hair, put on mascara, the night before people had said I looked pretty.

00:03:39I was 17, naive and happy back then.

00:03:42Then I walked out to the family floor, and it was empty.

00:03:45My father's suite, my mother's study, the six bedrooms down the East Hall, all empty.

00:03:51I made breakfast all by myself, and sat alone at the nine-person island table to eat.

00:03:56I told myself they were letting me sleep in.

00:03:59Downstairs, the staff who'd watched me grow up glanced at me strangely and quickly looked away.

00:04:03My father's office door was shut.

00:04:06A door that had never been closed to me before.

00:04:12At lunch, the rest of the family filed in and sat all around me, but no one spoke.

00:04:17Everyone kept their phones under the table, staring down at their plates.

00:04:21Ten people at one table, having a whole conversation I was completely locked out of.

00:04:26Mom, when is our Wednesday date?

00:04:29She didn't even lift her eyelids.

00:04:31Halfway through the meal, she got up and left the room with the operations director.

00:04:35I told myself, she's just having a bad day.

00:04:39I clung to that thought for three whole months.

00:04:42Dad, do you need me in the office today?

00:04:45Not available.

00:04:46Ashton, do you want me to work through the Hollis file for you?

00:04:49I'm busy, Roy.

00:04:51Later on, even that reply stopped.

00:04:54Nothing but silence.

00:04:55By week nine, I stopped saying good morning.

00:04:58My combat instructor never showed up for lessons again.

00:05:01No explanation.

00:05:03My mother's assistant deleted our long-standing Wednesday date from the shared calendar.

00:05:07I scrolled three months ahead.

00:05:09It was blank.

00:05:10Eleven years of tradition, just gone.

00:05:12Little by little, I ceased to matter, until I was heir.

00:05:18Four months into it, I found the old gardener's cottage at the north edge of the estate.

00:05:23Two rooms, a wood-burning stove, and a view out over the river.

00:05:26I packed clothes, my laptop, my book, and moved out of my parents' big house one bag at a time.

00:05:31Nobody noticed.

00:05:32I lived there 111 nights.

00:05:34No more dinner, no more breakfast.

00:05:37I would sneak back to my old bathroom in the family wing to shower, wipe away all traces,

00:05:41then slip back to the cottage.

00:05:43No one ever came looking for me.

00:05:45Many nights, I lay wide awake, counting the days.

00:05:48Still, my mother never knocked on my bedroom door.

00:05:51Sometimes along the way, I stopped crying.

00:05:54My heart went cold and quiet, and I started making plans.

00:05:58After all, I'd picked up a lot of secrets growing up around my father's office.

00:06:02At seven months, I submitted an application.

00:06:04I applied to Sovereign Academy, the inclusive training program for the Royal Guards of Alaville,

00:06:09a selective institution in the whole world.

00:06:111,100 people applied every year.

00:06:1482 got in.

00:06:15Nothing left to lose.

00:06:16I took all the examines from a public library three towns over,

00:06:20on a laptop with a throwaway email address.

00:06:22And I didn't use my real name.

00:06:24Six days ago, the acceptance email arrived.

00:06:27Late at night, in that cabbage no one knew I lived in,

00:06:29I read the email 11 times.

00:06:32Congratulations.

00:06:33Your composite score is the highest in program history.

00:06:36Please report to the Academy Gates on your 18th birthday.

00:06:40Welcome, Cadet R. Voss.

00:06:46It took my family 19 hours to figure out I was gone.

00:06:49I knew exactly how long.

00:06:52At 6.47 the next evening, 41 missed calls.

00:06:56My six older brothers, both my parents, plus three unknown numbers.

00:07:00Voicemail piled up.

00:07:02I sat by the road holding a bottle of water and only listened to the message from my oldest brother.

00:07:07He was the one who taught me to ride, to fight, to read contracts.

00:07:13Rory, your room, it's empty.

00:07:16The closets are empty.

00:07:18How long, baby, how long have you been gone?

00:07:20He didn't finish.

00:07:22There were sounds on the other end of the line.

00:07:24A woman screaming my name.

00:07:26Then a huge crash, and the message cut off.

00:07:29I deleted the remaining 103 messages without listening to them.

00:07:34Then I did the only thing I knew how to do.

00:07:36Put my head down and keep going.

00:07:38Two hours later, driving through Pine Forest Country,

00:07:41that strange auditory thing hit me again.

00:07:45I was going 70 miles an hour down an empty interstate

00:07:48when I heard someone crying.

00:07:50It wasn't close.

00:07:52There was nothing but woods as far as the eye could see.

00:07:56Still, I pulled over.

00:07:59I could hear her sopping,

00:08:01every catch in her breath crystal clear.

00:08:03I turned on my phone flashlight and headed into the trees,

00:08:06following the sound,

00:08:07until the beam landed on crumpled, twisted metal.

00:08:14A car had gone over the edge into a ravine.

00:08:17A girl about my age hung suspended by her seatbelt,

00:08:20scalp bleeding,

00:08:22one arm twisted out of shape.

00:08:24She'd been trapped there since early that morning.

00:08:27You couldn't see the wreck from the highway,

00:08:29and no one passing could hear her screaming for help.

00:08:32And I had heard her from a mile away.

00:08:34I got her out.

00:08:36I rigged a splint for her arm with a crape hole

00:08:39and the sleeve of my own jacket.

00:08:41Halfway back, I carried her on my back.

00:08:43Standing there in the dark while I called for help,

00:08:46my hands wouldn't stop shaking.

00:08:48This isn't real.

00:08:49I'm dead.

00:08:50When thoughts that weren't mine flooded into my head.

00:08:52This is all a hallucination.

00:08:54The girl's lips didn't move at all.

00:08:56I looked down at her,

00:08:57and she looked back up at me.

00:08:59Don't leave me here.

00:09:01I'm not going to leave you.

00:09:03Her peoples blew wide.

00:09:05When the girl's father showed up at the hospital,

00:09:08he insisted on paying me.

00:09:10I turned it down.

00:09:12Then he tried offering me a job.

00:09:14I turned both down.

00:09:16He seemed decent and this thing was tearing me apart,

00:09:19so I told him the truth.

00:09:49I don't know what's happening to me.

00:09:50I was going to kill anyone.

00:09:51Especially not people who would try to use it.

00:09:54I nodded.

00:10:03Sovereign Academy sat nested in a valley,

00:10:05ringed by a 300-year-old wall.

00:10:07Forty cadets in the yard all turned to stare.

00:10:10Every single one of them was male,

00:10:12over six feet tall.

00:10:14And I was five and a half feet tall,

00:10:16covered in road dust.

00:10:17I took off my helmet.

00:10:19Somebody snirkered out in the crowd.

00:10:21The gate guard read my acceptance letter over and over,

00:10:24ears bright red,

00:10:25stepping backward like I might attack him.

00:10:28Cadet R. Voss.

00:10:30Ma'am, these scores, they can't be possible.

00:10:32Wait right here. Don't move.

00:10:33Instead of calling for drill instructors,

00:10:35he dialed the main building.

00:10:37Four minutes later,

00:10:39a black sedan with a gold crest painted on the doors

00:10:42came rolling up the drive.

00:10:44Every single cadet in the yard

00:10:45dropped to one knee on the gravel,

00:10:47all at once,

00:10:48like they'd been struck down.

00:10:50Only I stayed standing.

00:10:52I didn't understand the protocol back then.

00:10:54The back car door opened.

00:10:57The gate guard went pale.

00:10:58Miss Voss,

00:10:59his majesty wishes to see you.

00:11:04The King of Alivane stared at me

00:11:06for 11 full seconds before he spoke.

00:11:09Aurora Cain.

00:11:10I didn't flinch.

00:11:11My paperwork says Voss, your manistee.

00:11:13Your paperwork contains a great many deliberate falsehoods.

00:11:17You have your grandmother's jawline

00:11:18and your father's always coiled stance.

00:11:21I have known Damon Cain for 26 years.

00:11:23He does not know you are here.

00:11:25No, he does not.

00:11:26If you notify him,

00:11:27I will climb over these walls

00:11:29before you finish the sentence.

00:11:31Eighty-two cadets knelt on the gravel

00:11:33and heard every word I said to the King.

00:11:36Silence fell over the yard.

00:11:37Then the King laughed.

00:11:39All of you, rise.

00:11:41The King's gaze never left me.

00:11:44She may keep using the name Voss.

00:11:46Inside these academy walls,

00:11:48anyone who insists on correcting her name

00:11:50leaves immediately.

00:11:52Do I make myself clear?

00:11:54Yes, your majesty.

00:11:56That concluded the conversation.

00:11:58He offered no explanation

00:11:59for why he had come down in person

00:12:01to meet an 18-year-old girl on a Harley.

00:12:03I was proud.

00:12:05I didn't ask.

00:12:06I wouldn't learn the full truth

00:12:07for four more months.

00:12:09By then,

00:12:10it would almost be too late.

00:12:16The academy inside

00:12:17was like a small walled city.

00:12:19Six barracks buildings,

00:12:20a training center

00:12:21the size of an airport,

00:12:23a library with a spiral staircase

00:12:24carved from a single enormous tree.

00:12:27I was assigned to Barracks 3.

00:12:29I had only 40 minutes

00:12:30to make it to new cadet orientation.

00:12:32Silver-haired instructor Larson

00:12:34stood there with my file in his hands.

00:12:36His tone flat.

00:12:37Zero warmth.

00:12:38You are skipping the first two weeks

00:12:39of basic instruction.

00:12:41Instructor?

00:12:41Your entrance scores

00:12:42are the highest this academy

00:12:43has ever seen.

00:12:45Repeating basic firearms trills

00:12:47and similar material

00:12:48would be a waste for both of us.

00:12:50Attend the new cadet assembly

00:12:51this morning.

00:12:52After that,

00:12:53you report to Instructor Emmett

00:12:54for individual competency evaluation.

00:12:57Every head turned in the Great Hall.

00:12:5941 hostile stairs,

00:13:01all pointed straight at me.

00:13:02Two names I would learn very quickly.

00:13:04They made sure I would.

00:13:06Deacon Price,

00:13:07second son of the powerful McKetsie House,

00:13:09hard, sharp jawline.

00:13:11He talked a big game

00:13:12about ladies first.

00:13:13What he really meant

00:13:14was step aside.

00:13:15Then slain Adel,

00:13:17pretty as a magazine model,

00:13:18who liked to brag

00:13:19about her exam scores

00:13:20while waiting in chow lines.

00:13:22First day of orientation,

00:13:24Deacon stepped into my path

00:13:25in the hallway

00:13:25and clapped a hand on my shoulder.

00:13:27Nice bike.

00:13:28Whose is it?

00:13:29Mine.

00:13:30He leaned in close.

00:13:32Listen,

00:13:32this isn't some little girl's playhouse.

00:13:34Save yourself the humiliation

00:13:35and quit before you wash out on Friday.

00:13:38Right then,

00:13:39his private thoughts

00:13:39flooded straight into my head.

00:13:41God, she smells good.

00:13:42Probably gonna be crying

00:13:43to go home by Friday.

00:13:44I smiled at him.

00:13:46Friday?

00:13:47I'll remember that.

00:13:51Two weeks training

00:13:52under Instructor Emmett

00:13:53were the best I'd had

00:13:54in a whole year.

00:13:55He drilled me on command structures,

00:13:57treaty law,

00:13:57threat assessment,

00:13:58hostage negotiation protocols.

00:14:00On the ninth day,

00:14:00he gave me a mock crisis scenario

00:14:02with nine shifting variables.

00:14:04I resolved it in 11 minutes.

00:14:06He set down his pen

00:14:07and stared at me.

00:14:09Who taught you all this?

00:14:10In my father's office.

00:14:11I sat in the corner.

00:14:13Nobody thought

00:14:13I was paying attention.

00:14:14How old were you?

00:14:15Four.

00:14:16Cadet boss,

00:14:17a lot of men twice your age

00:14:19couldn't pull off

00:14:19what you just did.

00:14:20Something I understood

00:14:21very well.

00:14:21Being ignored

00:14:22for all those months

00:14:23at Blackwater Manor

00:14:24had felt like dying.

00:14:26But here,

00:14:27being overlooked,

00:14:28it was my greatest advantage.

00:14:30Two weeks of training done.

00:14:32Elimination assessment day arrived.

00:14:33All cadets gathered

00:14:34in the great hall.

00:14:36Larson climbed up

00:14:36onto the high platform.

00:14:38Behind him,

00:14:39people gasped.

00:14:40The king had arrived

00:14:41and a younger man

00:14:42with dark eyes,

00:14:42unmistakably the crown prince.

00:14:44Everyone here,

00:14:45thirty-five will stay.

00:14:47Forty-seven leave tonight,

00:14:48permanent disqualification.

00:14:49I will read the team captains first,

00:14:51then the eliminated names.

00:14:52And last,

00:14:53the highest rank a cadet

00:14:54can earn here,

00:14:55Supreme Commander.

00:14:56He read off

00:14:56seven captain names.

00:14:58Mine came last.

00:14:59Then Larson read

00:15:00the elimination list.

00:15:01Adele Price.

00:15:03Sloan Adele

00:15:03shot out of her seat,

00:15:04screaming.

00:15:05The king stepped past Larison

00:15:07and walked to the front

00:15:08of the platform.

00:15:09The great hall

00:15:10went dead silent.

00:15:11I could hear

00:15:12forty hearts

00:15:13hummering all at once.

00:15:14One final appointment

00:15:15remains.

00:15:16He said it,

00:15:17his gaze cutting

00:15:18across the room

00:15:18to lock onto me

00:15:19in the back row.

00:15:21Supreme Commander

00:15:22this year is...

00:15:27Cadet Vos.

00:15:28No one clapped.

00:15:29Every eye

00:15:30locked onto me,

00:15:31the shortest person

00:15:31in the room.

00:15:32The only sound

00:15:33in the great hall

00:15:34was Sloan Adele's

00:15:35ragged, furious breathing.

00:15:36Commander Vos,

00:15:37stand.

00:15:37Let them all see

00:15:38who you are.

00:15:39A thought from someone

00:15:40in the front row seats

00:15:41flooded into my mind.

00:15:42I'm not taking orders

00:15:43from some little girl.

00:15:44Did she sleep

00:15:45with the instructors

00:15:46to get this post?

00:15:46I heard every single

00:15:48one of those thoughts

00:15:48loud and clear.

00:15:50Two weeks earlier,

00:15:50those thoughts

00:15:51would have broken me.

00:15:52Right now,

00:15:53I let all that malice

00:15:54pass straight through me

00:15:55and fade away.

00:15:56Yes, Your Majesty.

00:15:57He gave a short nod.

00:15:59Less than an hour later,

00:16:00all the rejected cadets

00:16:01had been cleared out.

00:16:02Sloan Adele stopped

00:16:03as she walked past me.

00:16:04A kid who rode in here

00:16:05on a Harley

00:16:06and you get to be commander.

00:16:08And I'm being sent home.

00:16:09I'll be back next year.

00:16:11I will remember.

00:16:16No second chance readmission.

00:16:18Anyone dismissed

00:16:19is permanently barred.

00:16:20Sloan's last shred

00:16:21of hope died on the spot.

00:16:23Something far more dangerous

00:16:24flicked to life

00:16:25in her eyes.

00:16:25I filed that away

00:16:26in my head

00:16:27and told myself

00:16:28it was nothing serious.

00:16:33They handed me a tablet

00:16:34holding the files

00:16:35of 34 people.

00:16:36Full psych evaluations,

00:16:38combat scores,

00:16:39every detail.

00:16:40I was to assemble

00:16:41seven full squads

00:16:42before dawn.

00:16:42I stayed up all night,

00:16:44reading every file twice.

00:16:46By dawn,

00:16:47the squads were assembled

00:16:48and I'd picked

00:16:49my core team.

00:16:50Chaya could read

00:16:51a whole room's intentions

00:16:51in four seconds flat.

00:16:53Skylar,

00:16:54unshaken by even

00:16:55the loudest explosions.

00:16:56Danica could dig up

00:16:58any piece of information

00:16:59from the databases.

00:17:00And Faith,

00:17:0219,

00:17:02who had managed

00:17:03her father's household staff

00:17:04for three full years.

00:17:05Four women.

00:17:06It wasn't intentional.

00:17:08They were simply the best.

00:17:09At the oath-taking ceremony,

00:17:10we stood inside

00:17:11the 300-year

00:17:12dust-covered library.

00:17:13Instructor Emmett

00:17:13read the oath aloud.

00:17:1534 voices answered as one.

00:17:17Until we got to

00:17:17the final line of the oath.

00:17:19Do you swear not

00:17:20to pursue romantic

00:17:21or sexual relationships

00:17:22within this service

00:17:23or other guard units

00:17:24except under

00:17:25special royal dispensation?

00:17:26Five people did not answer.

00:17:28Instructor Emmett

00:17:29called each of them

00:17:30by name,

00:17:31asking for their reasoning.

00:17:32Each said they had

00:17:33never been told

00:17:33that rule existed beforehand.

00:17:35He patiently explained

00:17:36how casualties caused

00:17:37by broken up

00:17:37in-unit relationships

00:17:38outweighed harm

00:17:40from outside enemies.

00:17:41All five took the oath

00:17:42after that.

00:17:44Then that thought

00:17:44hit me again.

00:17:45Not coming from

00:17:46any of my team members.

00:17:47A cold, distant thought

00:17:49flooding into my head

00:17:50from behind me

00:17:51and I could not identify

00:17:52whose mind it came from.

00:17:53It's true.

00:17:55The Kane girl

00:17:56is inside these walls.

00:17:57Send word about

00:17:58her presence to him.

00:18:00I spun around so fast

00:18:01I nearly twisted my ankle.

00:18:03The doorway was full of people.

00:18:04Eleven faces in total,

00:18:06but every single one of them

00:18:07was looking somewhere else.

00:18:08Commander?

00:18:09I'm fine.

00:18:11Only four people

00:18:12on this entire continent

00:18:13knew I was Aurora Kane

00:18:14going by R. Voss.

00:18:15The King,

00:18:16Instructor Larson,

00:18:17the Gate Sentry,

00:18:18and myself.

00:18:19And someone inside this hall

00:18:21was sending information

00:18:22about me

00:18:22to an unknown third party.

00:18:27We occupied

00:18:28the East Wing

00:18:29of Barracks 3.

00:18:30The West Wing

00:18:31belonged to

00:18:32First Squad,

00:18:33the most capable unit

00:18:34in the Guard,

00:18:35commanded by

00:18:36Jaron Rourke.

00:18:38For those ten months,

00:18:40I had not spoken

00:18:41a single word

00:18:42to any of them.

00:18:44It was strategy,

00:18:45not cowardness.

00:18:47My team took meals

00:18:48in our private

00:18:49top-floor kitchen,

00:18:51trained at five o'clock

00:18:52each morning

00:18:53to avoid the crowded yard.

00:18:54To the rest of the Guard,

00:18:56we were nothing but rumor,

00:18:57and in those rumors,

00:18:59Commander Voss

00:19:00was a man.

00:19:02I heard them

00:19:03plain as day

00:19:03even through two stone walls,

00:19:05talking about me.

00:19:06Has anyone actually

00:19:08seen Commander Vox?

00:19:10Reese caught a glimpse

00:19:11once at the

00:19:11oath-taking ceremony.

00:19:13Short,

00:19:14black hair,

00:19:15didn't catch the name.

00:19:16I bet Voss

00:19:17is just another

00:19:17spare noble son.

00:19:19Always like that.

00:19:21Arrogant,

00:19:22stuck-up li-

00:19:22Watch your mouth.

00:19:23This guy aced

00:19:24every single evaluation.

00:19:26That was Jaron's voice,

00:19:28deep,

00:19:28rough,

00:19:29with weary,

00:19:30dry amusement

00:19:31at his own men.

00:19:32I never corrected them.

00:19:34Being underestimated

00:19:35and profiting from it

00:19:37is a rare gift.

00:19:38For ten whole months,

00:19:40I let them build

00:19:40their imagined version

00:19:42of me inside their heads.

00:19:44Meanwhile,

00:19:45I sharpened my skills

00:19:46day after day,

00:19:47growing more capable.

00:19:48My enhanced senses

00:19:50grew both more terrifying

00:19:51and more useful

00:19:52at the same time.

00:19:54Sometimes out on the

00:19:55training grounds,

00:19:56I could hear what was going on

00:19:58down in the kitchens.

00:19:59Sometimes total stranger's thoughts

00:20:01would crash into my head

00:20:03so loud,

00:20:04I would stumble mid-step.

00:20:05I told my whole team

00:20:07about it.

00:20:07I gathered all 34 of us

00:20:10in one room

00:20:10and closed the doors.

00:20:12It was the biggest risk

00:20:14I had ever taken,

00:20:16and also the best decision

00:20:18I ever made.

00:20:22Dancia went digging

00:20:23through records first.

00:20:25Then Rain.

00:20:26Captain Rain,

00:20:28my steadiest officer,

00:20:29who had studied bloodline

00:20:30genetics before combat training,

00:20:32came to me holding

00:20:33printed papers,

00:20:34her face ashen.

00:20:35There are only two

00:20:36documented bloodlines

00:20:37gifted with heighted

00:20:38perception still alive.

00:20:40One died out in 1904.

00:20:42What about the other?

00:20:44The Kaines.

00:20:45The room went dead silent.

00:20:47There's someone written

00:20:48about in the archives.

00:20:50Alice Kane,

00:20:51born 1890.

00:20:52Her powers awakened

00:20:53on her 18th birthday.

00:20:55She married at 19

00:20:56to a man of great name,

00:20:58enormous family,

00:20:59vast fortune.

00:21:01Her parents trusted

00:21:03that man

00:21:04and told him

00:21:06the full truth

00:21:06of her gift.

00:21:08And then,

00:21:09he used her

00:21:10for 11 full years,

00:21:13brought her

00:21:14to every gathering

00:21:15to listen to other

00:21:16people's private thoughts.

00:21:18When she refused

00:21:20to keep doing it,

00:21:21there are medical records,

00:21:22Commander.

00:21:23She died at 30,

00:21:25carrying a baby daughter.

00:21:26It was listed

00:21:27as an accident.

00:21:29It was not.

00:21:31Chaya swore quietly.

00:21:33Skylar clapped

00:21:34a hand over her mouth.

00:21:35That family still exists

00:21:37to this day.

00:21:39On the night

00:21:39of my 18th birthday,

00:21:41fleeing the manor,

00:21:42my father's words

00:21:43came flooding back.

00:21:45She will not live

00:21:46to see Sunday

00:21:46no matter what happens.

00:21:48She must never

00:21:49learn the truth.

00:21:54I buried my face

00:21:56in my hands.

00:21:57The team gathered

00:21:58silently around me.

00:22:00No one told me

00:22:00everything would be fine,

00:22:02because nothing would.

00:22:03That night,

00:22:04all 34 of us

00:22:06swore on our commissions,

00:22:07never to reveal

00:22:08my real identity

00:22:09or my gift

00:22:10outside these barracks.

00:22:11We finished our training

00:22:12three weeks early.

00:22:14All seven squads

00:22:16passed with zero dismissals,

00:22:18something that had not happened

00:22:19in 40 years

00:22:20at this academy.

00:22:21We had four days of leave

00:22:23before active duty assignments.

00:22:25On the second day of leave,

00:22:27I asked Rain

00:22:27to cut my hair

00:22:29down to shoulder length.

00:22:31Braids were a vulnerability,

00:22:33and I was tired

00:22:34of having them grabbed.

00:22:35On the fourth day of leave,

00:22:37I heard Rain's footsteps

00:22:38on the stairs

00:22:39before she even set foot

00:22:40on the second floor.

00:22:41I knew something was wrong

00:22:43purely from the sound

00:22:43of her footsteps.

00:22:45She burst into the kitchen

00:22:46trembling,

00:22:47shoved a supply crate

00:22:48into Whelan's arms

00:22:49and went straight over

00:22:50to Beck.

00:22:51Beck,

00:22:52her partner,

00:22:53who had loved her

00:22:53since week nine of training.

00:22:55Beck wrapped his arms

00:22:56around her as she sobbed,

00:22:58and she told them

00:22:59what had happened to her.

00:23:00She had gone to the

00:23:01main building kitchen alone,

00:23:02out of uniform.

00:23:04Commander Burns

00:23:04had blocked her

00:23:05at the doorway.

00:23:06He told her to show up

00:23:07to his quarters

00:23:07in one hour,

00:23:08naked,

00:23:08and get down

00:23:09on her knees for him.

00:23:10She refused.

00:23:11He laughed

00:23:11and threatened her.

00:23:13Deliver a report

00:23:14stating you are unfit

00:23:15for duty to the king

00:23:16on Monday.

00:23:17Who do you think

00:23:18his majesty

00:23:19will believe?

00:23:20A nine-year senior commander

00:23:22or an 18-year-old girl

00:23:24from an unknown squad?

00:23:26Beck's voice

00:23:26tore with rage.

00:23:28No.

00:23:28Everyone in the room

00:23:29turned to look at me.

00:23:31Nobody touches him.

00:23:33No one leaves the east wing

00:23:34of these barracks

00:23:35unnotified.

00:23:36Who else has been subjected

00:23:38to this kind of coercion

00:23:39from other commanders?

00:23:40Speak now.

00:23:42Nine female team members

00:23:43were in the room.

00:23:44None spoke.

00:23:45I grabbed my

00:23:46outer jacket.

00:23:47Burns.

00:23:48I will handle him.

00:23:54Early Monday morning,

00:23:55the team gathered

00:23:56in the kitchen

00:23:56and watched me

00:23:57pull on my commander's

00:23:58uniform for the very

00:23:59first time.

00:24:00Black uniform

00:24:01with silver trim

00:24:02along the collar.

00:24:03It had been cut

00:24:04for a man.

00:24:05Faith had altered it

00:24:06by hand

00:24:06to fit me properly.

00:24:09Copy.

00:24:10Welton immediately

00:24:11handed over

00:24:12a ceramic mug.

00:24:13Faith set a plate

00:24:14of food down

00:24:15in front of him.

00:24:16Orson,

00:24:16standing in the doorway,

00:24:18voiced what everyone

00:24:18was thinking.

00:24:19Commander,

00:24:20everyone expects

00:24:21the new Supreme Commander

00:24:22to be a man.

00:24:24As far as I know,

00:24:25I don't possess

00:24:25male in a tattoo.

00:24:27But you have more

00:24:28than enough grit.

00:24:31I was still smiling

00:24:33when I walked

00:24:33into the council chamber,

00:24:34eleven minutes late.

00:24:36Eight commanders,

00:24:37Instructor Larson,

00:24:38and the king.

00:24:39Seated beside the king

00:24:40was a younger man

00:24:41with dark eyes

00:24:42and an amused

00:24:43twist to his mouth.

00:24:44I recognized

00:24:45Crown Prince Cassius

00:24:46at once.

00:24:47He held himself

00:24:48exactly like his father.

00:24:49Every head

00:24:50turned towards me.

00:24:53Your majesty,

00:24:55my apologies

00:24:56for being late.

00:24:56The king's mud expression

00:24:57remained serious.

00:24:58But amusement

00:24:59lurked deep in his eyes.

00:25:00Congratulations to you

00:25:01and your team

00:25:02for finishing training

00:25:02three weeks early.

00:25:04People around the table

00:25:04drew in sharp breaths.

00:25:06This is my son,

00:25:07Crown Prince Cassius.

00:25:10The prince shook my hand.

00:25:11How did your team react

00:25:13when they learned

00:25:13you were not a man?

00:25:14One of them commented

00:25:15that I had more grit

00:25:16than any man,

00:25:17your highness.

00:25:19Two of the commanders

00:25:20choked and coughed.

00:25:22The prince could not

00:25:23hold back his laughter

00:25:24any longer.

00:25:25I won't have her

00:25:26in my bed within a week.

00:25:31That thought flooded

00:25:32straight into my mind

00:25:33from the fourth seat

00:25:34across the table

00:25:34and I knew exactly

00:25:36who it came from.

00:25:37It was Commander Burns,

00:25:3850 pounds heavier than me,

00:25:40nine-year veteran,

00:25:41holding his coffee mug,

00:25:42a fake pleasant smile

00:25:44on his face.

00:25:46Your majesty,

00:25:47if you will excuse me

00:25:48for a great moment,

00:25:49something I forgot to handle.

00:25:51I crossed the long

00:25:52council table,

00:25:53gathering all my strength

00:25:54and knocked Burns'

00:25:56clean off his chair

00:25:56onto the floor.

00:26:03Everyone in the room

00:26:04surged to their feet,

00:26:06but no one was fast enough

00:26:07to stop me.

00:26:08I stood over him,

00:26:10my voice low and dangerous.

00:26:12If you ever threaten

00:26:14to file a false report,

00:26:16labeling a woman

00:26:17unfit for duty

00:26:18because she refuses

00:26:19your advances,

00:26:20then the king

00:26:20will be the least

00:26:21of your worries.

00:26:22I will find you,

00:26:23and you will regret

00:26:24ever being born.

00:26:26Do you understand me?

00:26:29Burns stopped struggling,

00:26:31made no attempt

00:26:31to get back up.

00:26:33Commander Vos.

00:26:34The king's hand

00:26:35rested lightly

00:26:35on my shoulder,

00:26:36his demeanor calm.

00:26:38Tell us the full story.

00:26:40I laid everything bare,

00:26:41everything that had

00:26:42happened on Friday,

00:26:43what Reen had endured,

00:26:44the coercion at the doorway,

00:26:46the one-hour ultimatum,

00:26:47and the threat

00:26:47of the false

00:26:48fitness for duty report.

00:26:49Your majesty,

00:26:51I press the question,

00:26:53how many women

00:26:54over these nine years

00:26:55have been given

00:26:56an unfit for duty label

00:26:58solely for saying no?

00:26:59A long,

00:27:00heavy silence

00:27:01fell across the council chambers.

00:27:03Lassie,

00:27:04guards,

00:27:05take him away.

00:27:06Two royal guards

00:27:07stepped forward,

00:27:08seized Burns,

00:27:08and dragged him

00:27:09out of the room.

00:27:10I watched them go,

00:27:11and I felt nothing.

00:27:13After this council meeting

00:27:14concludes,

00:27:15I will speak with

00:27:16every commander

00:27:16one-on-one.

00:27:18If any of you

00:27:19have used this kind

00:27:20of coercive tactic,

00:27:21I will uncover

00:27:22every last instance.

00:27:23The penalty will not

00:27:24simply be dismissal.

00:27:26It will be imprisonment.

00:27:27The room felt

00:27:28completely quiet.

00:27:30We sat back down

00:27:32and moved on

00:27:32to official business.

00:27:33Two active case files

00:27:34lay on the table.

00:27:35One already resolved,

00:27:37in usual circumstances,

00:27:38handled by first squad.

00:27:40The second was a cold case

00:27:41solved for two years,

00:27:43on the brink of open

00:27:44fighting over land.

00:27:45Two squads have been

00:27:46sent to mediate,

00:27:47both returned

00:27:47with nothing accomplished.

00:27:49If we delay further,

00:27:50people will bleed

00:27:51and die.

00:27:53Your majesty,

00:27:54what do the files state

00:27:55as the root cause

00:27:55of this land dispute?

00:27:57Silence fell across the room.

00:27:59The king flipped through

00:28:00the documents

00:28:00again and again,

00:28:02then lifted his head,

00:28:03his expression

00:28:04one I would not

00:28:04soon forget.

00:28:06The files do not

00:28:07state the reason at all.

00:28:08For two full years,

00:28:09no one ever thought

00:28:10past.

00:28:11May I take this case?

00:28:15He did not ask

00:28:16a single further question.

00:28:18He passed the case file

00:28:19across the table to me.

00:28:21The rest of the commanders

00:28:23filed out one by one.

00:28:25I gathered my staff

00:28:26of documents

00:28:26and was heading through

00:28:27the door when the king

00:28:28called my name quietly.

00:28:29It's Kane.

00:28:34He petitioned

00:28:35the royal family

00:28:36for something no member

00:28:37of the Kane family

00:28:38had ever asked for

00:28:39in 300 years.

00:28:41Whatever he asked for,

00:28:42I'm not interested.

00:28:45Aurora, sit down.

00:28:46I did not sit.

00:28:47I stood in the doorway,

00:28:49a stack of files

00:28:49tucked under my ribs,

00:28:51my hands gradually

00:28:51going numb.

00:28:55The king walked around

00:28:56to this side of the desk.

00:28:57Up close,

00:28:58he was no longer

00:28:59the lofty monarch,

00:29:00just a man

00:29:01in his fifties.

00:29:03He asked me

00:29:04to send royal witnesses,

00:29:05official observers,

00:29:06to record everything

00:29:07under seal,

00:29:08to attend

00:29:09a private closed-door

00:29:10family gathering

00:29:11on your 18th birthday.

00:29:12He petitioned

00:29:13to add a Kane child

00:29:14to the royal

00:29:15protected person's role,

00:29:17and he demanded

00:29:17the whole matter

00:29:18stay secret.

00:29:19If it become public,

00:29:20you won't live a month.

00:29:23He didn't speak

00:29:24a single word to me

00:29:25for a whole year.

00:29:27My tone

00:29:28had completely changed.

00:29:30Not one word.

00:29:31My mother canceled

00:29:32Lauren's

00:29:32our 11-year-old Wednesday

00:29:33mother-daughter date.

00:29:35I lived in the cottage

00:29:36on the estate

00:29:36for four months,

00:29:37and nobody noticed.

00:29:39Do you understand

00:29:40what I'm saying?

00:29:41Nobody noticed.

00:29:43I understand.

00:29:45The king said,

00:29:47but don't tell me

00:29:47he was doing this

00:29:48to protect me.

00:29:49The way he handled

00:29:50this was cowardly.

00:29:51The king said,

00:29:52I told him as much

00:29:53in my written reply.

00:29:56But before you

00:29:57pass judgment,

00:29:58you deserve to know

00:29:59the full context.

00:30:00Before I'm not interested.

00:30:02Aurora,

00:30:03sit down.

00:30:03I did not sit.

00:30:05I stood in the doorway,

00:30:06a stack of files

00:30:07tucked under my ribs,

00:30:08my hands gradually

00:30:09going numb.

00:30:12The king walked around

00:30:13to this side of the desk.

00:30:15Up close,

00:30:15he was no longer

00:30:16the lofty monarch,

00:30:17just a man

00:30:18in his fifties.

00:30:20He asked me

00:30:21to send royal witnesses,

00:30:22official observers,

00:30:23to record everything

00:30:24under seal,

00:30:25to attend

00:30:26a private closed-door

00:30:27family gathering

00:30:28on your 18th birthday.

00:30:30He petitioned

00:30:30to add a cane child

00:30:32to the royal

00:30:32protected person's role,

00:30:34and he demanded

00:30:35the whole matter

00:30:35stay secret.

00:30:36If it become public,

00:30:38you won't live a month.

00:30:40He didn't speak

00:30:41a single word to me

00:30:42for a whole year.

00:30:44My tone

00:30:45had completely changed.

00:30:47Not one word.

00:30:48My mother canceled

00:30:49Warren's R11-year-old Wednesday

00:30:50mother-daughter date.

00:30:52I lived in the cottage

00:30:53on the estate

00:30:54for four months,

00:30:55and nobody noticed.

00:30:57Do you understand

00:30:58what I'm saying?

00:30:59Nobody noticed.

00:31:00I understand.

00:31:02The king said,

00:31:04the don't tell me

00:31:05he was doing this

00:31:05to protect me.

00:31:06The way he handled

00:31:07this was cowardly.

00:31:08The king said.

00:31:10I told him as much

00:31:11in my written reply.

00:31:13But before you

00:31:14pass judgment,

00:31:15you deserve to know

00:31:16the full context

00:31:17of what came before.

00:31:18With all due respect,

00:31:20your majesty,

00:31:21I'd already made up

00:31:22my mind by the

00:31:2390th day.

00:31:25He almost smiled.

00:31:27The father said

00:31:27you were the most

00:31:28stubborn person

00:31:28this family had ever

00:31:29produced.

00:31:30He would say that

00:31:31to you,

00:31:31but never to me.

00:31:35I turned and walked

00:31:36out of the room.

00:31:42Back in the barracks,

00:31:4334 team members

00:31:44waited for me

00:31:45in the top floor

00:31:46common room.

00:31:47I told them

00:31:48most of the truth,

00:31:49holding back

00:31:50only that final part.

00:31:51Byron is in a cell now.

00:31:53The king is questioning

00:31:54all guard commanders.

00:31:57Rain buried her face

00:31:58in her hands

00:31:59and Beck and Beck

00:32:00put his arms

00:32:01around her.

00:32:04She whispered.

00:32:06Don't thank me.

00:32:07This was my duty.

00:32:10I looked around

00:32:11the room at everyone.

00:32:12Every single one of you.

00:32:14If someone lays hands

00:32:16on you,

00:32:17threatens you,

00:32:18even just verbally

00:32:19humiliates you

00:32:20in the hallway

00:32:21and makes you feel small,

00:32:23come to me at once.

00:32:25Don't wait until afterwards.

00:32:27Immediately.

00:32:28Then I handed out

00:32:29case files

00:32:30and got to work.

00:32:31Only work

00:32:32could hold me together.

00:32:35Two hours later,

00:32:36team assignments

00:32:37were finished

00:32:38and all mission briefings

00:32:40were in place.

00:32:41The House of Aldridge

00:32:42and the House of Serrano

00:32:43locked in a two-year conflict

00:32:45over a disputed valley.

00:32:48We will summon

00:32:50both clan patriarchs

00:32:51to meet at the border.

00:32:52Not on either family's estate,

00:32:54right there

00:32:55on the disputed land.

00:32:57Hear both sides out

00:32:59and I will deliver

00:33:00a resolution.

00:33:01If they refuse,

00:33:03the crown will issue

00:33:04a mandatory ruling

00:33:05and nobody wants

00:33:07that outcome.

00:33:08What if they refuse

00:33:09even the crown's ruling?

00:33:11Then they will learn

00:33:12exactly

00:33:13what the king's scar

00:33:15exists for.

00:33:19We packed our supplies,

00:33:21preparing for a

00:33:22four-day deployment.

00:33:25As we headed

00:33:26for the door,

00:33:27I saw Flora

00:33:28slip a playing card

00:33:29into the crack

00:33:30of the stair hall door

00:33:31before locking it.

00:33:34What's that for?

00:33:36Some of us suspect

00:33:37our barracks

00:33:37have been broken into.

00:33:40Strange things

00:33:41started happening

00:33:41about a week ago.

00:33:43Doors left open

00:33:44would be found shut,

00:33:46drawers shifted

00:33:47out of place.

00:33:51If the card is still

00:33:52wedged there

00:33:52when we get back,

00:33:53we were just

00:33:54imagining things.

00:33:55If the card is

00:33:56on the floor,

00:33:58it means someone

00:33:59has been inside.

00:34:00Hmm.

00:34:01Good work.

00:34:02Come tell me

00:34:03the very next day

00:34:04something like this

00:34:05happens in the future.

00:34:06At noon,

00:34:07two off-road vehicles

00:34:09drove out

00:34:09of the valley.

00:34:10An hour out

00:34:11from Serrano lands,

00:34:12we stopped

00:34:14to eat at a small diner

00:34:15among the pine trees.

00:34:18Over dinner,

00:34:20I thought back

00:34:21to the old days.

00:34:22When I was

00:34:23three years old,

00:34:24the first time

00:34:25I answered

00:34:25my father off his phone,

00:34:27my voice still childish.

00:34:30Hello?

00:34:31Who is this calling?

00:34:33Weiland laughed

00:34:34so hard

00:34:35he nearly collapsed

00:34:36onto the table.

00:34:37For that one short hour,

00:34:40I felt a happiness

00:34:42I hadn't known

00:34:43in a long time.

00:34:45Then the phone

00:34:46on the table vibrate.

00:34:48Unknown number.

00:34:49Only one single message.

00:34:51Before I even opened it,

00:34:53cold dread

00:34:54washed over me.

00:34:55I recognized

00:34:56this writing style

00:34:57very well

00:34:58from childhood.

00:35:03Rory,

00:35:04it's Aston.

00:35:04Don't delete this message.

00:35:06We know where you are.

00:35:08We've tracked

00:35:08your movements

00:35:09for six days.

00:35:10It's not only us

00:35:11who have found you.

00:35:12Whatever you do,

00:35:13stay far away

00:35:14from the house of Aldrich.

00:35:15I set the phone

00:35:16face down

00:35:17on the table

00:35:17and finished my coffee.

00:35:19Commander?

00:35:20A message from home?

00:35:22Everyone,

00:35:23assemble,

00:35:23move out.

00:35:24After a full year

00:35:25of being ignored,

00:35:26when they finally reached out,

00:35:28I could not bring myself

00:35:29to trust them.

00:35:30We arrived at the gates

00:35:31of the Serrano estate first.

00:35:33I got out of the vehicle

00:35:34and walked toward

00:35:35two armed guards

00:35:36twice my size.

00:35:37Tell your patriarch

00:35:38to meet you

00:35:39at the northeast border

00:35:39of your lands

00:35:40in one hour.

00:35:41No refusals.

00:35:44Without waiting

00:35:45for their reply,

00:35:46I turned and walked away.

00:35:47I did exactly

00:35:48the same thing

00:35:48at the Aldrich state,

00:35:49then turned

00:35:50and left.

00:35:52When we drove out

00:35:53to that valley,

00:35:5430 armed men

00:35:54stood on Serrano's side

00:35:55and 35 on Aldrich.

00:35:58Things must not

00:35:58go wrong today.

00:36:00Not while I was here.

00:36:02I ordered my team

00:36:03to form a line

00:36:03right in the middle

00:36:04of the valley.

00:36:0534 sets of silver

00:36:07and black royal guard uniforms.

00:36:08I stood at the center

00:36:09of the formation,

00:36:11two case files

00:36:11tucked under my arm,

00:36:13waiting for the two patriarchs

00:36:14to walk towards me.

00:36:15Lord Serrano looked

00:36:16about 60,

00:36:17and it was plain

00:36:18he had not slept well

00:36:19in two years.

00:36:21Aldrich was younger,

00:36:22sharp-featured,

00:36:23with an air

00:36:23of grim determination.

00:36:25The crown sends

00:36:26just you to resolve this?

00:36:28Just a little girl?

00:36:33The crown sends

00:36:34just you to resolve this?

00:36:36Just a little girl?

00:36:38What stands before you

00:36:39is your commander.

00:36:41We will occupy

00:36:42one hour of your time.

00:36:44After that,

00:36:44if you insist

00:36:45on slaughtering one another,

00:36:47you may do as you please.

00:36:49I asked only one question,

00:36:51a question nobody

00:36:52had bothered to ask

00:36:53for two full years.

00:36:55Why are you fighting

00:36:56over this valley?

00:36:57Aldrich began talking

00:36:58of strategic terrain,

00:36:59water rights,

00:37:00honor,

00:37:00and grand principles.

00:37:01He was lying.

00:37:03Deep in his thoughts came,

00:37:04if they dig here,

00:37:05they will find her.

00:37:06I turned toward

00:37:07Lord Serrano.

00:37:08My lord,

00:37:08why do you want this valley?

00:37:10The old man's lips trembled.

00:37:11In front of 65 armed men,

00:37:13he completely broke down.

00:37:15My daughter is buried

00:37:16in this valley.

00:37:17Only wind echoed

00:37:18across the valley.

00:37:19Elena died at 19.

00:37:22At the north end

00:37:23of the valley

00:37:24sits a small old chapel,

00:37:25unmarked,

00:37:26long since fallen into ruin.

00:37:28She died in 1997.

00:37:30We buried her here

00:37:32because this was

00:37:32neutral ground,

00:37:33accessible to both houses.

00:37:36And...

00:37:36His voice cracked with grief.

00:37:38It was his father

00:37:39behind the hit and run

00:37:40all those years ago.

00:37:44It was his father

00:37:46behind the hit and run

00:37:47all those years ago.

00:37:49Aldrich's face

00:37:49went deathly pale.

00:37:51Two years of standoff,

00:37:52three failed mediations,

00:37:54two deployments

00:37:54of the King's Guard,

00:37:55and nobody had ever

00:37:56bothered to ask

00:37:57what this conflict

00:37:58was really about.

00:38:00I drew in a deep breath.

00:38:01Then here is the resolution.

00:38:04This valley will neither

00:38:05be sold nor ceded.

00:38:06It will pass into

00:38:07crown stewardship

00:38:08to serve as a shared

00:38:10memorial graveyard

00:38:10for both houses.

00:38:12Repairs and upkeep

00:38:13will be shared equally

00:38:14by the two families

00:38:15in perpetuity.

00:38:16Neither of you

00:38:17will own this land

00:38:18and...

00:38:19neither of you

00:38:20will lose it.

00:38:21You will both

00:38:22stand guard over it together.

00:38:24The house of Aldrich

00:38:25shall fund and erect

00:38:26a headstone

00:38:27bearing Elena Serrano's

00:38:28name before the

00:38:29first frost comes.

00:38:30Lord Serrano broke down

00:38:32and wept openly

00:38:32where he stood.

00:38:34Aldrich stood motionless

00:38:35for a long while.

00:38:37Then he did something

00:38:38nobody expected.

00:38:39He stepped across

00:38:40the standoff line

00:38:41between the two parties

00:38:42and held out his hand.

00:38:44I watched the two

00:38:46old enemies shake hands

00:38:47across the memory

00:38:48of a girl dead

00:38:4926 years.

00:38:50At that very instant

00:38:52I caught movement.

00:38:58a sharp metallic click

00:38:59came from high up

00:39:00on the east ridge.

00:39:01A rifle bolt

00:39:02being cocked.

00:39:041,400 meters away

00:39:05drove my shoulder

00:39:06hard into Lord Serrano's chest

00:39:08and we both crashed

00:39:09onto the grass.

00:39:10A gunshot split the valley.

00:39:12The bullet ricocheted off

00:39:13rock exactly where his head

00:39:15had been a moment before.

00:39:16Chaos erupted

00:39:16in the clearing.

00:39:1765 men raised their firearms

00:39:19all at once.

00:39:20No firing!

00:39:22I was already

00:39:23on my feet

00:39:23and running.

00:39:24Rayan, Beck,

00:39:25follow me up the east ridge.

00:39:26Everyone else,

00:39:27hold your fire!

00:39:28Four minutes later,

00:39:29we found the gunman

00:39:30among the pine trees.

00:39:31I could hear his breathing

00:39:33from 300 meters away,

00:39:34sense his hammering heartbeat

00:39:36from 2,000 meters out.

00:39:40Sense his hammering heartbeat

00:39:42from 2,000 meters out.

00:39:43The man was roughly

00:39:4425 years old,

00:39:46holding a professional

00:39:47sniper rifle,

00:39:47no family crest

00:39:48anywhere on his clothing.

00:39:50Beck tackled him

00:39:51and pinned him

00:39:52to the ground.

00:39:53I knelt down

00:39:53in front of him.

00:39:54Before he could speak,

00:39:56screaming thoughts

00:39:56flooded straight

00:39:57into my mind.

00:39:59That's her.

00:39:59Black hair,

00:40:005 1⁄2 feet,

00:40:0118.

00:40:02He was right.

00:40:03That cane girl is alive,

00:40:04wearing Royal Guard uniform.

00:40:05I grabbed him hard

00:40:06by the collar.

00:40:07Who is he?

00:40:08Who sent you?

00:40:09Tell me the name!

00:40:11The man lifted his eyes

00:40:13to look at me,

00:40:13and suddenly he laughed.

00:40:16You heard me.

00:40:17You heard every single thought.

00:40:21Then he bit down

00:40:22hard on something.

00:40:25Then his eyes

00:40:26stayed wide open,

00:40:27and he collapsed

00:40:27onto the pine needles,

00:40:29lifeless.

00:40:33We drove back

00:40:34through the night.

00:40:35Ashton's message

00:40:35weighed heavy on my phone.

00:40:37It's not only us

00:40:38who have found you.

00:40:40Six days.

00:40:41My family had known

00:40:42where I was

00:40:43for six whole days,

00:40:44and never come for me.

00:40:46There were only

00:40:46two possibilities.

00:40:48Either they had

00:40:49completely given up on me,

00:40:50or someone had ordered

00:40:51them not to come.

00:40:53To show themselves

00:40:54would mean giving away

00:40:54my location

00:40:55to our enemies.

00:40:57I did not know

00:40:58which possibility

00:40:58hurt were.

00:40:59We got back to the academy

00:41:01at 4 o'clock

00:41:01in the early morning.

00:41:03I opened the stairwell door

00:41:04and shone my flashlight

00:41:05downward.

00:41:06Flora's playing card

00:41:07lay face up

00:41:08on the third step.

00:41:0934 people

00:41:10hurried upstairs

00:41:11and searched

00:41:11every single room

00:41:12in the barracks.

00:41:14At last,

00:41:15on my desk

00:41:15in the top floor room,

00:41:17we found what the intruder

00:41:18had left behind.

00:41:19A single photograph.

00:41:21Six-year-old me

00:41:21in a blue dress,

00:41:22sitting on the floor

00:41:23of my father's office,

00:41:24holding a telephone receiver.

00:41:26Only one place

00:41:27in the whole world

00:41:27held this photograph.

00:41:28The locked archive vault

00:41:30deep under

00:41:30Blackwater Manor.

00:41:31On the back of the photograph,

00:41:33written in ballpoint pen,

00:41:34one single line.

00:41:36Her voice sounded so sweet

00:41:37when she answered the phone.

00:41:40The photograph was about

00:41:41to slip out of my hand

00:41:42and Faith caught it.

00:41:44I did not even remember

00:41:45letting go of it.

00:41:50I did not even remember

00:41:51letting go of it.

00:41:54I walked out of the barracks

00:41:55and hurried down

00:41:56two flights of stairs.

00:41:58It was four o'clock

00:41:59in the morning

00:41:59and I banged hard

00:42:00on the west wing barracks door.

00:42:03I was done

00:42:04keeping up appearances,

00:42:06done being some

00:42:06distant rumor.

00:42:07The door swung open.

00:42:09Jaron Rourke,

00:42:09wearing nothing but a t-shirt,

00:42:11his hair messy,

00:42:12one hand gripping a sidearm.

00:42:13At any other moment,

00:42:14I might have savored

00:42:15the look on his face.

00:42:16What can I?

00:42:17His words died mid-sentence.

00:42:19His gaze locked

00:42:20onto my uniform,

00:42:21the silver indignia

00:42:22on the collar.

00:42:22You are Vos.

00:42:24Commander Vos.

00:42:25Someone has been

00:42:26breaking into my barracks,

00:42:27at least twice.

00:42:28They got past

00:42:29locked stairwell doors,

00:42:30only 40 feet away

00:42:31from where your unit sleeps.

00:42:32I need to know

00:42:33if anyone on your side

00:42:34saw anything

00:42:35out of the ordinary.

00:42:36He was already

00:42:37bending down

00:42:37to pull his boots on.

00:42:40Over the next four hours,

00:42:41I learned exactly

00:42:42who Jaron Rose was.

00:42:43He had joked with his men

00:42:44ten months prior,

00:42:46but there was no trace

00:42:47of amusement in him now.

00:42:48Long before sunrise,

00:42:49he mobilized his entire unit

00:42:51to conduct the investigation.

00:42:52There had been

00:42:53two separate break-ins.

00:42:56Both had taken place

00:42:57between two and three o'clock

00:42:58in the early morning,

00:42:59on nights when my unit

00:43:00was away on field exercises.

00:43:02The intruder possessed

00:43:03a master key

00:43:04and valid staff

00:43:05identification credentials.

00:43:06This was no outside intruder.

00:43:08Someone on the inside.

00:43:12Someone on the inside.

00:43:14We ended up

00:43:15in the empty mess hall,

00:43:16two mugs of coffee

00:43:17between us.

00:43:19Vos.

00:43:20He turned the ceramic mug

00:43:22around in his hands.

00:43:23Why should I not

00:43:24call you Vos?

00:43:24I stared at him

00:43:25for a long time.

00:43:26His mind stayed shielded.

00:43:28Kane.

00:43:30Aurora Kane.

00:43:31He did not look terrified.

00:43:32He only went rigid,

00:43:34a reaction heavier than fear.

00:43:35Damon Kane's daughter.

00:43:37That is correct.

00:43:38The only girl

00:43:39born to the Kanes

00:43:40for only 115 years.

00:43:43I set my mug down.

00:43:46How do you know that?

00:43:47Jaron glanced

00:43:48toward the doorway

00:43:49and finally told the secret

00:43:50he had kept

00:43:51for ten months.

00:43:52I am not just

00:43:53another cadet.

00:43:55I am crown house

00:43:56service personnel.

00:43:57My father is

00:43:58captain general

00:43:58of the royal guard.

00:44:00When Prince Cancius

00:44:01ascends,

00:44:01I will succeed him.

00:44:03There exists a sealed

00:44:04crown house file

00:44:05on your family.

00:44:06I have read it.

00:44:08Three weeks before

00:44:09you rode up

00:44:10to the academy gates,

00:44:11the king unsealed

00:44:12that archive.

00:44:13Say the name.

00:44:15The house of Colvin.

00:44:16Emory Colvin,

00:44:17great grandson

00:44:18of the man

00:44:18who married Alice Kane

00:44:19and destroyed her

00:44:20over 11 years back

00:44:21in 1909.

00:44:22Aurora,

00:44:24this whole family

00:44:25has waited

00:44:25a full century

00:44:26for another girl

00:44:27to be born

00:44:28into the Kanes.

00:44:31This whole family

00:44:33has waited

00:44:33a full century

00:44:34for another girl

00:44:34to be born

00:44:35into the Kanes.

00:44:37They had men

00:44:38watching your father's

00:44:39manner long

00:44:39before you ever

00:44:40learned to walk.

00:44:41The mess hall

00:44:42fell dead silent.

00:44:43They know I am here.

00:44:45The sniper knew.

00:44:46There is someone

00:44:47inside these walls

00:44:48feeding them information.

00:44:49Then we will

00:44:50root the traitor out.

00:44:51Today.

00:44:54He stood up.

00:44:55Do your family

00:44:56know what danger

00:44:56is coming for you?

00:44:57At that exact moment,

00:44:58something deep inside

00:44:59me finally shattered.

00:45:01My father had begged

00:45:02the king for witnesses.

00:45:03He had said,

00:45:05she will not live

00:45:06to see Sunday.

00:45:08He had tried

00:45:08to build a wall

00:45:09to protect me,

00:45:10and he had forgotten

00:45:11to tell me

00:45:11I was locked

00:45:12inside a cage.

00:45:13Almost without

00:45:14my own control,

00:45:14I picked up my phone

00:45:15and dialed the number

00:45:16for home.

00:45:19The phone rang once.

00:45:20Before the second

00:45:21ring could finish,

00:45:22my mother answered.

00:45:26Rory!

00:45:27Rory!

00:45:28My God!

00:45:29A full year

00:45:30had passed

00:45:31since I'd last

00:45:32heard her say my name.

00:45:33I could only sit down

00:45:34on the mess hall floor,

00:45:35my back braced

00:45:36against a table leg.

00:45:38Mother.

00:45:40A sob tore

00:45:41out of her throat.

00:45:43Don't hang up on me,

00:45:44please, baby.

00:45:45Don't hang up!

00:45:46I will not hang up.

00:45:48I need you to answer

00:45:49me one question.

00:45:51Does the name

00:45:52Imerick Coleran

00:45:52mean anything to you?

00:45:53The crying stopped short.

00:45:56I heard out of the

00:45:57mouthpiece with her hand

00:45:58and shout from my father

00:45:59across the huge

00:46:00manor house.

00:46:01Five hours later,

00:46:02they arrived

00:46:03at the academy gates.

00:46:04I made them wait

00:46:05forty minutes

00:46:05outside the gates.

00:46:06Compared to a full

00:46:07year of suffering,

00:46:08forty minutes

00:46:09was nothing.

00:46:09I only wanted them

00:46:10to taste a thousand

00:46:11of what I went through.

00:46:12Then I walked

00:46:13downstairs in full

00:46:14dress uniform,

00:46:15two team captains

00:46:15following close

00:46:16behind me.

00:46:16For the first time

00:46:17in twelve months,

00:46:18my family saw

00:46:19who I had become.

00:46:21My mother clapped

00:46:22both hands over her mouth.

00:46:23My father,

00:46:25Damon Cain,

00:46:25the man of

00:46:26overwhelming presence,

00:46:27staggered one

00:46:28single step.

00:46:29Ashton caught him

00:46:30by the arm.

00:46:31I had cut my hair short,

00:46:32and eight subordinates

00:46:33stood behind me

00:46:33ready to take a bullet

00:46:34for me.

00:46:38An eight subordinates

00:46:39stood behind me

00:46:40ready to take a bullet

00:46:40for me.

00:46:41Out here,

00:46:42I had built something

00:46:43for myself.

00:46:44People who would

00:46:45never forget my name.

00:46:46Rory.

00:46:47Please address me

00:46:48as commander.

00:46:49He froze mid-sentence.

00:46:51You have twenty minutes.

00:46:52Speak.

00:46:53Then my father

00:46:54began to speak.

00:46:55He told the story

00:46:56of Alice Cain

00:46:57and the marriage

00:46:58back in nineteen-nine.

00:46:59How the man

00:47:00who was supposed

00:47:00to love her

00:47:01used her

00:47:02as a listening tool

00:47:02for eleven long years.

00:47:04What choice

00:47:05she had made

00:47:05when she learned

00:47:06her unborn daughter

00:47:07would inherit

00:47:07this same curse.

00:47:08He told me

00:47:09that the Cain gift

00:47:10always awakened

00:47:11exactly at the hour

00:47:12of your 18th birthday.

00:47:14Three days after

00:47:14my 17th birthday party,

00:47:16he had found out

00:47:17that the House of Colbyn

00:47:18was pouring money

00:47:19into property purchases

00:47:20all around Blackwater Manor.

00:47:21This is what we planned.

00:47:23Your mother,

00:47:24your brothers,

00:47:25two of my senior aides,

00:47:26every morning at six

00:47:27for a full year.

00:47:29We met in my office

00:47:30to plan.

00:47:31We petitioned

00:47:32for royal witnesses,

00:47:33filed you under

00:47:34the Crown's

00:47:34protected persons role.

00:47:36We purchased a property

00:47:37in Alaville

00:47:37with no mention

00:47:38of your name

00:47:38anywhere on the deeds.

00:47:42We purchased a property

00:47:44in Alaville

00:47:44with no mention

00:47:45of your name

00:47:45anywhere on the deeds.

00:47:47We were going

00:47:48to throw you

00:47:48an unforgettable birthday

00:47:50out in the west side

00:47:52woodland clearing.

00:47:54Indigo

00:47:54and burgundy decorations.

00:47:57We were going

00:47:58to tell you

00:47:59you everything

00:48:00that night.

00:48:02And we wanted

00:48:03to give you

00:48:03one and to give you

00:48:04one perfect night first.

00:48:06And the simple solution

00:48:08you chose

00:48:08to keep this secret

00:48:09from me

00:48:10was to never speak

00:48:11to me at all.

00:48:13Nobody said a word.

00:48:15All of you,

00:48:17I want you to understand

00:48:18what you have done.

00:48:20Declan was in tears.

00:48:22Hudson could not

00:48:22bring himself

00:48:23to look down

00:48:24from the gravel

00:48:24at his own feet.

00:48:26We thought it would

00:48:27only last a few weeks.

00:48:28Every morning

00:48:28we told ourselves

00:48:29just get through

00:48:30this week.

00:48:31But day after day

00:48:32passed, Rory.

00:48:34You stopped

00:48:34asking questions

00:48:35and it grew easier.

00:48:38And we let ourselves

00:48:39keep making

00:48:40that terrible mistake.

00:48:42I will never forget...

00:48:43I lived 111 nights

00:48:45in the gardener's cottage.

00:48:46My mother broke down

00:48:47into quiet sobbing.

00:48:49I packed my things

00:48:50and moved out

00:48:51of that house

00:48:51bit by bit

00:48:52and nobody noticed.

00:48:55I pulled my own file

00:48:56out of the family archives.

00:49:02Do you know

00:49:02what the very last line said?

00:49:07Do you know

00:49:08what the very last line said?

00:49:10Rory!

00:49:10No further record.

00:49:12My father raised a hand

00:49:13and covered his own eyes.

00:49:14At that moment,

00:49:15my mother stepped forward

00:49:16and held out

00:49:16a black ringbender notebook.

00:49:18Her hands shook so hard

00:49:19she could barely

00:49:20hold onto it.

00:49:21I started writing in it

00:49:22the day you were born,

00:49:23Rory.

00:49:25I stared for a long time

00:49:26at that notebook.

00:49:28The bitter truth was

00:49:29I wanted so badly

00:49:30to take it.

00:49:32You keep it.

00:49:34There is danger

00:49:35behind these academy walls.

00:49:36A dead sniper

00:49:37lies in the crown morgue.

00:49:39Upstairs I have

00:49:3934 people

00:49:40who will always

00:49:41remember who I am.

00:49:43If you want me

00:49:44to come home,

00:49:45show me action.

00:49:46Send every single

00:49:48document you hold

00:49:49on the Colbin house

00:49:51to me before

00:49:52the end of this night.

00:49:53I turned

00:49:53and walked away.

00:49:55It was the second time

00:49:55I had walked away

00:49:56from my family

00:49:57within a single year.

00:49:58As I walked away,

00:49:59a thought from my father

00:50:00drifted unabitted

00:50:01into my mind.

00:50:02Please don't let it

00:50:03be the little brother.

00:50:04Anyone but him.

00:50:06If she finds out

00:50:07it was Gideon

00:50:07who betrayed her,

00:50:08it will break her in half.

00:50:10I came to a complete

00:50:11stop in my steps.

00:50:12Gideon,

00:50:13old family friend,

00:50:14my godfather.

00:50:15The man on the other

00:50:16end of that phone call

00:50:17I'd answered

00:50:18when I was three years old.

00:50:22I did not look back,

00:50:24forcing myself

00:50:24to keep walking forward.

00:50:26If I turned around,

00:50:27my father would read

00:50:28the shock right off

00:50:29my face.

00:50:30Back upstairs

00:50:30to the dormitory,

00:50:31I punched straight

00:50:32through the drywall

00:50:32plaster of the wall.

00:50:33Commander,

00:50:34speak it out.

00:50:35Gideon Voss.

00:50:36Skyler's brows

00:50:37drew together in a frown.

00:50:39Voss?

00:50:40Could it be

00:50:41he was my godfather,

00:50:42my father's oldest

00:50:42and closest friend?

00:50:44When I was nine years old,

00:50:46he gave me

00:50:46my first small knife.

00:50:48I used his last name

00:50:49as a pseudonym

00:50:49when I enrolled.

00:50:51It was the only

00:50:52fake identity I trusted.

00:50:53Danica was already

00:50:54sitting in front

00:50:55of the laptop.

00:50:56Commander,

00:50:57if he is the mole,

00:50:58then the moment

00:50:59you submitted

00:50:59your application

00:51:00under the surname Voss,

00:51:01you directly told him

00:51:02where to find you.

00:51:03That means he has

00:51:04had ten whole months.

00:51:05Bribe staff,

00:51:06duplicate keys,

00:51:07sneak in

00:51:08and leave that photograph.

00:51:09I know.

00:51:10Danica's fingers

00:51:11hovered above the keyboard.

00:51:13Commander,

00:51:14he is in charge

00:51:14of site

00:51:15and archive maintenance.

00:51:16He passed vetting

00:51:18eleven months ago.

00:51:19He is inside

00:51:19the academy

00:51:20right now.

00:51:21In an instant,

00:51:22every sound

00:51:23from the entire building

00:51:24flooded into my senses.

00:51:26The heartbeat

00:51:26of people

00:51:27inside all six barracks,

00:51:29rain beating down

00:51:30on the east side roof,

00:51:31and one door

00:51:32on the ground floor

00:51:33of our barrack

00:51:34being pushed open.

00:51:35Beneath all the noise,

00:51:36a thought I knew

00:51:37all too well

00:51:38drifted in,

00:51:38faint and full of fear.

00:51:40Rory,

00:51:41don't go downstairs.

00:51:42He is...

00:51:45Rory,

00:51:46don't go downstairs.

00:51:47He is...

00:51:49Rain is trapped

00:51:49in the stairwell.

00:51:50I yelled,

00:51:51then climbed

00:51:51straight out

00:51:52of the window.

00:51:53Three stories high.

00:51:54I rolled on landing,

00:51:56scraping skin

00:51:56off my forearms,

00:51:58then got to my feet

00:51:59and sprinted

00:51:59toward the ground floor door.

00:52:01Down at the bottom

00:52:01of our own stairwell,

00:52:02he was holding Rain hostage.

00:52:04Gideon Voss,

00:52:0462 years old,

00:52:05one arm locked

00:52:06around Rain's neck,

00:52:07a syringe pressed

00:52:08against the side

00:52:09of her neck.

00:52:09He finally came.

00:52:11Hello there,

00:52:12good child.

00:52:13Let her go.

00:52:14She ran right into me,

00:52:15poor girl.

00:52:16I only came looking for you.

00:52:17He looked toward me,

00:52:19that exact smile

00:52:20from long ago

00:52:20on his face.

00:52:21You cut your hair.

00:52:23Your mother

00:52:23will be very upset.

00:52:26Gideon,

00:52:26my voice held

00:52:27no inflection at all.

00:52:29How long has this

00:52:29been going on?

00:52:3119 years.

00:52:32He spoke calmly.

00:52:33Ever since the week

00:52:34you were born,

00:52:34Aurora,

00:52:35do you know

00:52:35what price

00:52:36the House of Colbyn

00:52:37will pay

00:52:37for information

00:52:38about a cane girl?

00:52:39Do you understand

00:52:40how valuable

00:52:41this gift is

00:52:42to a family

00:52:42that has waited

00:52:43an entire century?

00:52:45You were the one

00:52:45holding me

00:52:46at my baptism.

00:52:47That is true.

00:52:48A flicker of genuine emotion

00:52:49crossed his eyes.

00:52:51If I had not argued

00:52:52on your behalf,

00:52:53it would have taken you

00:52:54away when you were six.

00:52:56In a way,

00:52:56I bought you

00:52:56twelve extra years.

00:52:59Lord Emeril

00:52:59is at the East Gate.

00:53:01He wants to talk to you.

00:53:06He wants to talk to you.

00:53:08Come with me,

00:53:09or I will inject

00:53:09four hundred milligrams

00:53:10of this drug

00:53:11straight into

00:53:12this girl's neck.

00:53:14You will watch her

00:53:15slowly die,

00:53:15right here.

00:53:16On our own stairwell.

00:53:18It is that simple.

00:53:19Commander,

00:53:20don't go.

00:53:20A year earlier,

00:53:21I would have gone

00:53:22with him obediently.

00:53:23But over these past

00:53:24ten months,

00:53:24I was no longer

00:53:26worthless.

00:53:26I was the commander

00:53:27of all these people.

00:53:29Gideon,

00:53:29what is behind you?

00:53:30He would not fall for it.

00:53:31Of course he would not.

00:53:32But everyone's body

00:53:33will react unconsciously

00:53:34when they hear

00:53:35a question like that.

00:53:36Beck came charging

00:53:37down the stairs,

00:53:37barefooted,

00:53:38consumed by rage.

00:53:40He grabbed Gideon's elbow,

00:53:41holding the syringe.

00:53:42I pulled Ray into safety.

00:53:43We restrained him

00:53:44flat on the floor

00:53:45using zip ties.

00:53:46Ray knelt on the ground,

00:53:47one hand covering her neck.

00:53:49Good child.

00:53:50Colvin has fourteen men

00:53:51waiting at the east gate.

00:53:52He also holds a royal

00:53:54archived marriage contract

00:53:55dated 1909,

00:53:57written in black and white,

00:53:58stating that the firstborn girl

00:54:00of the house of Cain

00:54:01shall marry into his family.

00:54:03That document carries

00:54:04no legal force.

00:54:05Jalen said coldly.

00:54:06It is true,

00:54:07it is not legal statute,

00:54:09but it is bargaining leverage.

00:54:11And he has already breached

00:54:12the academy's

00:54:13outer perimeter wall.

00:54:15Your family just drove out

00:54:16to meet all eight of them.

00:54:19Twenty minutes ago,

00:54:20I sent them the message

00:54:21using your phone.

00:54:25I would replay those nine minutes

00:54:27countless times

00:54:28in my head afterward,

00:54:29but the things I truly remember

00:54:30are only fragmented images.

00:54:31I remember that Jaren

00:54:32was the first one

00:54:33to burst out through that door.

00:54:34When he reached the top step,

00:54:35he looked back at me

00:54:36and said only one thing.

00:54:37Commander, give the order.

00:54:39I also remember

00:54:40how my voice sounded

00:54:40at that moment.

00:54:41Unusually steady.

00:54:42Flora, seal off this side.

00:54:44Keep Gideon contained.

00:54:46No one speaks to him

00:54:47and no one moves him away.

00:54:48Pinzo, wait the guard barracks,

00:54:49contact the duty captain.

00:54:51Tell him to activate

00:54:51black alert at the east gate.

00:54:53Maeve, notify the king directly.

00:54:55Go through no intermediaries.

00:54:56Orson Weiland,

00:54:57hold the outer perimeter.

00:54:58Do not engage of your own accord.

00:55:00Beck Rayan,

00:55:01go to the medical unit.

00:55:02Beck, this is an order.

00:55:03Do not argue with me.

00:55:06Chaya, Skylar, Danasa,

00:55:07Faith, come with me.

00:55:10Jaren, take your men

00:55:11and swing around from the north.

00:55:12We will close in from both sides.

00:55:17Heavy rain was falling that night.

00:55:19Searchlights shunned down

00:55:20onto the ground.

00:55:21The second I stepped outside,

00:55:23I saw three black sedans

00:55:24and 14 men,

00:55:25and my family.

00:55:26They were all lined up,

00:55:27hands held where everyone

00:55:28could see them.

00:55:29Standing at the front of them

00:55:30was a Merrick Colvin,

00:55:3150 years old,

00:55:32dressed in an expensive

00:55:33tailored suit.

00:55:34The kind of face

00:55:35that would still be described

00:55:36as dignified and refined

00:55:37even in an obituary.

00:55:42The kind of face

00:55:43that would still be described

00:55:44as dignified and refined

00:55:45even in an obituary.

00:55:46The second he laid eyes on me,

00:55:48he smiled.

00:55:49Rory, get back!

00:55:50Go back inside the walls!

00:55:51I cut him off directly.

00:55:53Shut up, father.

00:55:54I stopped roughly

00:55:5510 feet away from Colvin.

00:55:57This is Crown Land.

00:55:59You have brought 14 armed men

00:56:01and breached the outer perimeter

00:56:02defenses of a royal military facility.

00:56:05Do you realize

00:56:06what you have done tonight?

00:56:07But Colvin could not care less.

00:56:10He said he had merely come

00:56:11to collect a 115-year-old debt.

00:56:14He said my great-grandmother

00:56:16had belonged to them.

00:56:19They even had documents to prove it,

00:56:20but I told him

00:56:21that was no debt at all.

00:56:22That was a girl named Alice.

00:56:24His great-grandfather

00:56:25had exploited her

00:56:26for 11 full years,

00:56:27using her as a tool.

00:56:29In the end,

00:56:30Alice had chosen

00:56:30to end her own life at 30

00:56:32rather than hand over a daughter

00:56:34into their grasp.

00:56:35So she never owed

00:56:35the house of Colvin

00:56:36a single thing.

00:56:37The ones who truly owed

00:56:38a debt were them

00:56:39because it was a human life

00:56:40and they had never paid for it.

00:56:41Colvin's expression

00:56:42did not change,

00:56:43but in that exact instant,

00:56:45I heard his thoughts.

00:56:46She can hear.

00:56:47Watch her reaction.

00:56:49She hears every unspoken word

00:56:50inside my head.

00:56:51Damn it.

00:56:52She inherited the full power.

00:56:54She is worth far more

00:56:55than that manor house.

00:56:59She is worth far more

00:57:00than that manor house.

00:57:01When I heard those words,

00:57:02I finally understood everything.

00:57:04What my father had feared

00:57:05for all those years.

00:57:06And I finally understood

00:57:07why he had tried

00:57:08so hard to protect me.

00:57:10Only,

00:57:10the method he had chosen

00:57:11was utterly rotten.

00:57:12Colvin spoke my name again.

00:57:14Aurora.

00:57:14His tone turned

00:57:15unexpectedly gentle.

00:57:17He even held

00:57:17one hand out towards me.

00:57:19He said,

00:57:19if I would just come

00:57:20and talk to him,

00:57:21just talk,

00:57:21my family would get out

00:57:22of here unharmed tonight.

00:57:24As for me and him,

00:57:25before he could finish

00:57:25his sentence,

00:57:26Jaron's voice crackled

00:57:27in my earpiece.

00:57:28Commander,

00:57:29Northern team is in position.

00:57:30All 14 targets confirmed.

00:57:32Awaiting your order.

00:57:33I looked at the hand

00:57:34Colvin was holding out to me.

00:57:35Then,

00:57:36in front of every single

00:57:37person present,

00:57:38I told him clearly,

00:57:39My name is Aurora Kane,

00:57:40commander of the

00:57:41Royal King's Guard.

00:57:42You are all under arrest now.

00:57:44The whole fight lasted

00:57:45only 40 seconds

00:57:46and I had 14 men

00:57:47who had

00:57:48two complete Royal Guards.

00:57:5041 more Royal Guards

00:57:51were rushing down

00:57:52from the hills behind us.

00:57:53Driver in the left-hand car

00:57:54reaching for his gun.

00:57:55Skylar!

00:57:55Right after that,

00:57:56I kicked up another thought.

00:57:58Colvin's target was my father.

00:58:00I shouted at once.

00:58:02Ashton, get down!

00:58:06Ashton, get down!

00:58:07There was no time

00:58:08to wait for him to react.

00:58:09I charged forward

00:58:10and slammed my shoulder

00:58:11hard into my father's back

00:58:12and we both crashed down

00:58:14onto the gravel.

00:58:15A bullet whistled over our heads

00:58:16the next instant.

00:58:18At that exact same moment,

00:58:20Jaron burst out

00:58:20from the darkness.

00:58:21He tacticed

00:58:22Emmer and Colvin

00:58:23straight to the ground.

00:58:24The fight was over.

00:58:26Nobody had been killed.

00:58:27Two of their men

00:58:28were wounded.

00:58:29On our side,

00:58:30Orson got braved

00:58:31by a bullet across the arm

00:58:32and he would go on

00:58:33bragging about it

00:58:34for years afterward.

00:58:37When I climbed back

00:58:38to my feet,

00:58:39my father was still

00:58:39lying underneath me.

00:58:41He asked me in a voice

00:58:42like a man nearly drowning.

00:58:44You can hear.

00:58:46I have been able to hear

00:58:47ever since midnight

00:58:47on my birthday.

00:58:48Father,

00:58:50all you really needed

00:58:50to do was tell me the truth.

00:58:55All you really needed

00:58:56to do was tell me the truth.

00:58:57Off to one side,

00:58:58Colvin was already pinned

00:58:59to the gravel ground

00:59:00by Jaron's knee,

00:59:01but Colvin still

00:59:02would not stop talking.

00:59:04Man like him

00:59:04never shut their mouths

00:59:05until the very last second.

00:59:06You cannot lock me away.

00:59:09You have no idea

00:59:10what you have stumbled

00:59:11into tonight.

00:59:12Then,

00:59:13he told me something else.

00:59:14Besides the house of Colvin,

00:59:16there were nine other families.

00:59:17They had been trading

00:59:18Cain family archives

00:59:19among each other

00:59:19sipped to my tree

00:59:20since 1912.

00:59:21And Colvin

00:59:22was only the one

00:59:23I had seen so far.

00:59:24Car headlights lit up

00:59:25from behind the hills.

00:59:26Right behind it

00:59:27came the crown prince's car.

00:59:29And near the end

00:59:30of this worst ever night

00:59:31of my life,

00:59:31I looked over at Jaron.

00:59:34He was soaked all over.

00:59:35Blood was trickling

00:59:36from the corner

00:59:37of his eyebrow.

00:59:37Then he said

00:59:38one of the most

00:59:39wildly inappropriate lines

00:59:40I had ever heard

00:59:41in my life.

00:59:41You were absolutely

00:59:42terrifying a moment ago.

00:59:43If you were not

00:59:44my superior,

00:59:45I would have kissed you

00:59:46right there

00:59:46at the east gate.

00:59:51Three months later,

00:59:52I stood in a clearing

00:59:54near the western border

00:59:55of Blackwater Manisher,

00:59:56wearing an indigo blue dress.

00:59:58Before all of that,

01:00:00Emreer Colvin

01:00:01sat locked up

01:00:02in royal facility custody

01:00:03awaiting trial.

01:00:04He faced nine counts

01:00:06of charges,

01:00:07including the death

01:00:08of Alice Kane

01:00:09back in 1920.

01:00:11Legally speaking,

01:00:12this matter was complicated.

01:00:14Morally speaking,

01:00:15it could not be

01:00:16more straightforward.

01:00:18Gideon Voss

01:00:18entered a guilty plea

01:00:20and reached a plea deal agreement.

01:00:22He would spend

01:00:22the rest of his life

01:00:23trying to explain

01:00:25to himself

01:00:25exactly what he had done

01:00:27for those 19 years.

01:00:28Nine families.

01:00:30That was what Colvin

01:00:31had told us,

01:00:32and he had told the truth.

01:00:33Because if he had been lying,

01:00:35I would certainly

01:00:37have heard it

01:00:37in his thoughts.

01:00:38The king set up

01:00:39a permanent royal

01:00:40special investigation

01:00:41task force

01:00:42to hunt down

01:00:43the remaining eight families.

01:00:45Then he appointed

01:00:46a person

01:00:46to command this task force.

01:00:49That person was me.

01:00:50In that very same

01:00:52council chamber,

01:00:53the king looked at me

01:00:55and said,

01:00:56You are only 18 years old,

01:00:58and I am about to make you

01:00:59the youngest

01:01:00Black Alert commander

01:01:02in 300 years.

01:01:04Half my ministers

01:01:06will lose their minds

01:01:07over this.

01:01:08Then let them lose

01:01:08their minds,

01:01:09your majesty.

01:01:10I will hear

01:01:11every single thought

01:01:13going through their heads.

01:01:18Now Rain ran

01:01:19my intelligence division,

01:01:21and Beck was almost

01:01:22never far from her side.

01:01:25They were planning

01:01:26to get married

01:01:26the following spring.

01:01:28Faith handled

01:01:29my day-to-day

01:01:29administrative affairs.

01:01:31Dania had built

01:01:32a comprehensive database.

01:01:34I guarantee

01:01:34those centuries-old

01:01:35ancient families

01:01:36are going to hate it bitterly.

01:01:38As for Jaren Rusker,

01:01:39he resigned

01:01:40his military commission

01:01:41six weeks later.

01:01:42Around that same time,

01:01:44his father finally

01:01:45announced his retirement

01:01:47as Captain General

01:01:48of the Royal Guard.

01:01:50Before inviting me out

01:01:51for our first proper dinner,

01:01:52he had gone to see

01:01:54the king first.

01:01:56He petitioned the king

01:01:57for official exemption

01:01:58from Statute 9.

01:02:00Over that dinner,

01:02:01he showed me

01:02:02the sealed approval letter.

01:02:04I read it twice.

01:02:06You went to petition

01:02:07the king before you

01:02:08even asked if I wanted

01:02:09to go out with you?

01:02:12I go to the king

01:02:13for everything.

01:02:15Call it one of my

01:02:15character flaws.

01:02:17I kissed him right there

01:02:18inside the dining hall.

01:02:19After that,

01:02:20I sat through conversation

01:02:22after conversation.

01:02:25I took the phone calls

01:02:26they placed to me.

01:02:27I made my father

01:02:28tell me face-to-face

01:02:30out in the open sunlight

01:02:31exactly what he had done.

01:02:33He told me.

01:02:34He had made that decision

01:02:36all by himself

01:02:37at the very beginning.

01:02:39He had believed

01:02:40my safety mattered

01:02:41more than my heart

01:02:42but he had been wrong.

01:02:44He knew he had been cowardly

01:02:46and he had never

01:02:47mustered the courage

01:02:48to admit it.

01:02:49I made my mother

01:02:50spend every single Wednesday

01:02:51with me for 11 straight weeks.

01:02:54Only at the very end

01:02:55did I allow her

01:02:56to hold me in her arms.

01:03:01Two weeks after

01:03:02the Colbin incident,

01:03:04I also made Ashton

01:03:06stand out at the East Gate.

01:03:08It kept raining that day.

01:03:10He stood there

01:03:11for four whole hours

01:03:13refusing to leave

01:03:16until I came down

01:03:18to meet him.

01:03:19Then,

01:03:19one Saturday in September,

01:03:21I finally allowed them

01:03:23to hold that birthday feast.

01:03:24They had spent

01:03:25an entire year preparing.

01:03:28My six older brothers,

01:03:30both my parents,

01:03:31thirty-four Royal Guardsmen

01:03:33in formal dress uniforms.

01:03:36This later caused

01:03:37quite a bit of trouble

01:03:38for the local young women.

01:03:41Two hundred lights

01:03:42were strung

01:03:42on the tree branches.

01:03:45Then my father

01:03:46stood at the very front

01:03:47of the crowd.

01:03:48He held a wine cup

01:03:49in his hand,

01:03:50facing everyone we knew.

01:03:52When he spoke

01:03:52his very first sentence,

01:03:54his voice was already

01:03:55breaking with emotion.

01:03:56I have seven children.

01:03:59My youngest is the only child

01:04:01who ever frightened me.

01:04:02And also the one

01:04:04I underestimated

01:04:05above all others.

01:04:07And I ruined

01:04:08everything terribly.

01:04:10She left this house

01:04:11and became commander

01:04:12of the Royal King's Guard.

01:04:14And none of us

01:04:15even noticed

01:04:16when she had packed

01:04:17her bags and gone.

01:04:19When he finished speaking,

01:04:21he looked toward me.

01:04:23Rory,

01:04:24down in the archive's vault

01:04:26there is a file

01:04:27bearing your name.

01:04:29The very last entry

01:04:30was written

01:04:31by my own hand.

01:04:32It was written

01:04:33on the day

01:04:33of your 17th birthday.

01:04:36It reads

01:04:37only two words.

01:04:42After everything.

01:04:44He set down

01:04:45his wine glass

01:04:45after finishing speaking.

01:04:47Then he pulled out

01:04:48a folded sheet of paper

01:04:50from inside his coat.

01:04:51I have already

01:04:52written the next entry.

01:04:53Eleven full pages.

01:04:55It begins

01:04:56after everything.

01:04:58People told me

01:04:59I had been crying.

01:05:00I refused to admit it.

01:05:02Late that same night,

01:05:03Jaron found me

01:05:04on the edge

01:05:05of the clearing.

01:05:06Right where the lantern

01:05:07light could not reach.

01:05:09We stood side by side.

01:05:11Two hundred feet away,

01:05:12my older brothers

01:05:13were still arguing

01:05:14over something trivial.

01:05:16Jaden suddenly asked me,

01:05:18What do you hear?

01:05:19He always asked me that.

01:05:22And that was one of the things

01:05:23I liked most about him.

01:05:25I closed my eyes.

01:05:27Nine hundred insects.

01:05:29The sound of the river flowing.

01:05:32The crackle and burn

01:05:33of two hundred candles.

01:05:36My mother was laughing.

01:05:38It sounded like Deacon

01:05:39had just said something funny.

01:05:41And sixty feet away,

01:05:42my father's heartbeat.

01:05:44Sixty beats every single minute.

01:05:46For the very first time

01:05:48in an entire year,

01:05:50it was completely calm.

01:05:52And thirty-four other people.

01:05:54People who had never

01:05:56forgotten my name.

01:05:57Beneath all these sounds,

01:05:59there was one quiet,

01:06:01clear thought.

01:06:02And the silent thought

01:06:03in the man's mind,

01:06:04I want to marry her.

01:06:06I opened my eyes.

01:06:09I smiled out

01:06:10into the darkness.

01:06:11Then I answered,

01:06:13Everything.

01:06:14Everything.

01:06:15And the clinton's kiss with me.

01:06:17And the estoy to my destiny.

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