Chapter 2: The Phoenix Returns
The ballroom remained frozen.
No one dared to breathe.
The king's trembling hand hovered against Mara's temple, his fingers barely touching the tiny crescent-shaped scar he had kissed countless times when she was only an infant.
Tears filled his weathered eyes.
"I searched for you," he whispered. "Every forest... every village... every grave. I never stopped."
Mara could only stare.
Her heart pounded so violently she thought it might burst.
"I... I don't understand."
"You don't have to," the king said, his voice breaking. "Because I do."
He slowly turned toward the gathered nobles.
"My daughter did not die."
His words echoed beneath the crystal chandeliers.
"She was stolen."
A wave of horrified whispers swept through the ballroom.
Lady Celeste's elegant smile had completely disappeared.
Instead, fear twisted across her face.
"Your Majesty," she said carefully, forcing a nervous laugh. "Surely this... this servant cannot truly be the princess. A glowing birthmark proves nothing."
The king answered without taking his eyes off Mara.
"The phoenix mark appears only to those born of the royal bloodline."
Silence.
Then another voice shattered it.
"It wasn't the fire."
Everyone turned.
An elderly woman slowly stepped forward from among the servants.
She was the palace's former royal nurse.
For seventeen years she had lived quietly, believing the truth would die with her.
Instead, guilt had finally become heavier than fear.
She fell to her knees.
"It wasn't the fire that took Princess Mara..."
The room went still.
"She was carried out of the palace before the flames reached the nursery."
Every face turned toward Lady Celeste.
The young noblewoman's breathing quickened.
The nurse continued through tears.
"I saw Lord Victor... Lady Celeste's father... hand the child to masked riders. He ordered the palace to burn afterward so everyone would believe the princess had died."
Gasps erupted throughout the hall.
Celeste stumbled backward.
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"She's lying!"
But no one believed her anymore.
