Forgotten princess

Previously

…Lord Valerius stood at the entrance, flanked by a dozen of his most loyal guards. His eyes, burning with a cold fury, were fixed on Anya. He had anticipated their move, or perhaps, he had been waiting. A trap, sprung with chilling precision. Anya’s blood ran cold. They had been discovered. The calculated risk had led them directly into the serpent’s lair. Kael moved instinctively to shield Anya, his sword drawn, his stance defensive. The air crackled with a dangerous tension, the clink of armor and the rasp of drawn steel the only sounds in the suffocating silence. The fate of their nascent rebellion hung precariously in the balance, poised on the edge of a blade.