Chapter 1 Blood On The Marble

On our fifth wedding anniversary, I was five months pregnant when our royal carriage crashed into a mountain gorge. My father and mother were traveling with me to the capital for the celebration. Without warning, the wheels broke loose. The carriage tipped over and rolled down the rocky slope before crashing into the freezing river below. When the royal guards pulled me onto the riverbank, my dress was covered in blood and mud. My vision blurred, but I could still see Corin running toward me. Corin of House Sterling. The Crown Prince. My husband. The man I had loved since I was eighteen. I clutched his sleeve with the little strength left in my fingers. Pain tore through my stomach, leaving me struggling to breathe. "Corin..." I gasped, coughing up blood. "My parents... save my parents! Someone tampered with the carriage. You have to punish whoever did this!" His eyes were red with tears as he bent down and pressed his forehead against mine. "Hold on, Aurelia," he whispered, his voice shaking. "Justice will be served. I swear I will make everything right. Please, stay alive." Darkness swallowed me before the guards carried me into the royal healing room. When I began to wake, the strong smell of herbs and burning sage filled the room. My body felt empty, weighed down by a deep cold. I kept my eyes closed because I was too weak to lift my eyelids. Then I heard Corin speaking outside the thin silk curtain. "Your Highness," Kade, his trusted commander, said in a low, nervous voice. "Lord and Lady Valerius... the healers said their bleeding could have been stopped. They might have survived. Why did you order the guards to leave them behind in the gorge?" I stopped breathing. The cold inside me seemed to spread through my whole body. Corin answered without a moment's delay. His voice was quiet, steady, and free of emotion. "Because they recognized the rider who cut the carriage harness," Corin said. "They saw Vivienne's face. If Aurelia's parents lived to testify before the High Council, Vivienne would be hanged for treason. I had no choice." "But if Lady Aurelia learns the truth..." Kade whispered, his voice filled with fear. "Sir, House Valerius funds our entire royal army. If she finds out, the consequences will be terrible." "She will never know," Corin replied sharply. "I have already placed her personal seal on the accident report. The crash has been blamed on a broken axle caused by the storm. Take the document to the Council archives now. Make sure no one investigates this again." A loud ringing filled my ears. Vivienne. Lady Vivienne McCray was Corin's childhood love. The woman who had broken his heart, abandoned him when his claim to the throne was weak, and fled the kingdom. Now she has returned. And to save her from the gallows, Corin had ordered the healers to leave my mother and father to die in the dirt. The two people who had welcomed him into their family like a son. The family whose wealth had helped him secure his crown. Before I could fully understand what I had heard, the heavy curtain moved aside. Footsteps approached my bed. Then the Chief Chirurgeon spoke in a low, troubled voice. "Your Highness, the Princess lost a great deal of blood. But the child's heartbeat was still strong when we pulled her from the river. If we end the pregnancy now with the bitterroot draught, would that not be too cruel? She has only just lost her parents." I held my breath beneath the sheets, waiting for Corin to shout in anger. I waited for him to defend our child. Instead, Corin gently touched my hair and stroked my forehead with a tenderness that made my stomach turn. "Do it," Corin ordered in a quiet voice. "Now is the best time. Everyone will believe the crash killed the child. No one will suspect anything." "Your Highness..." the old healer whispered. "I promised Vivienne years ago she would be the only woman to carry my firstborn," Corin said without shame. "She has returned to me, and she asked me to keep my promise. I will not refuse her." "And the Princess?" the healer asked. "Aurelia will remain my Crown Princess," Corin replied, as though he were offering me a great kindness. "She will never know the difference. She will mourn, and I will stay by her side to comfort her." The healer sighed heavily before speaking again. "The carriage crash has already injured her body, Highness. If we end the pregnancy with this draught before she recovers, the damage will be permanent. She will never conceive again." Corin showed no sign of concern. His fingers continued to stroke my cheek. "That does not matter," he said calmly. "When Vivienne gives birth, we will let Aurelia raise the child as the official royal heir. She will have someone to care for her. The baby and I will look after her for the rest of her life." The wooden door clicked shut as Corin and the healer left the room. Alone in the darkness, I slowly opened my eyes. Tears ran down my cheeks, but my chest felt hard and cold. Five years of devotion. Five years of using my family's wealth, ships, and armies to secure Corin's throne while he whispered sweet lies to me. All along, he had been willing to destroy everything I loved for Vivienne. I wiped the tears from my face. Pain stabbed through my stomach, but the hatred burning inside me was stronger. I forced myself out of bed, ignoring the sharp pain in my body, and reached for the small bell on the bedside table. My personal steward, Julian, entered at once. His face turned pale when he saw me sitting up. "My Lady," he whispered, hurrying to my side. "You should not be moving." "Julian," I said, my voice calm despite the pain. "Send a secret raven to our port city. Recall every merchant fleet carrying Valerius grain. Withdraw our gold from the royal treasury within five days. Move everything across the eastern border." Julian stared at me in shock. "My Lady, the Prince's coronation is next month. If House Valerius withdraws its funds now, the Crown will go bankrupt. The kingdom's debts will crush him. What will you tell Prince Corin?" I met his gaze without blinking. My tears had stopped, and my decision was clear. "I owe that murderer nothing," I replied coldly. "Prepare the royal severance decree. I am taking back my name, my fortune, and my life." Just then, the door creaked open behind us. "Aurelia?" Corin called in his gentle voice as he stepped into the room. "Who are you talking to?"