The doors of the old treasury finally opened.
Cold morning air rushed into the underground chamber as Aria, Rafael, Noah, and the remaining guards stepped outside.
For several seconds, nobody spoke.
The mountains surrounding the old Moretti territory were covered in mist.
Aria stood at the entrance, clutching Sophia's letter.
The succession documents were safely secured.
But her mind was somewhere else.
The Black Serpent.
Rafael noticed her silence.
"You've been staring at that symbol for five minutes."
Aria looked down at the black serpent wrapped around the crown.
"Because my mother knew."
"About Kael?"
"About everything."
She unfolded the letter again.
There was one sentence she hadn't noticed before.
A sentence written almost at the bottom of the page.
When the serpent rises again, do not search for its head. Search beneath its crown.
Aria frowned.
"What does that mean?"
Noah took the letter.
"Could be a location."
"Or a code," Rafael said.
