The bright morning sun pushed through the tall windows of the guest chamber. Ravenna woke up slowly. The fire in the stone hearth had burned down to warm red coals during the night. She was wrapped in the thick blankets feeling a deep sense of peace.
King Draven was already awake. He stood near the edge of the large bed. He was strapping on his heavy dark steel armor. The metal plates clanked softly in the quiet room.
He turned his head and looked at her. His gray eyes were soft and filled with a new kind of warmth. The fierce warlord was replaced by a gentle protector.
"Good morning my wild queen," Draven whispered. He walked over and sat on the edge of the mattress. He reached out and brushed a stray lock of dark
hair away from her face.
"You are dressed for battle," Ravenna noted. She sat up and pulled the blankets up to her chin.
"I have to meet with my lords today," Draven explained with a heavy sigh.
"They are demanding answers about the borders. They are also asking many questions about you. The three queens have been spreading vicious rumors since you arrived. I need to keep the entire court distracted today so you can search the castle in peace."
Ravenna nodded her head in understanding. She closed her eyes and pulled her magic back to the surface. A soft purple light washed over her bare skin. Her wild dark hair turned back into a soft chestnut color. Her bright hazel eyes returned. The gentle disguise of Lady Elara was back in place hiding her true power from the world.
"Be very careful today," Draven warned her. He leaned in and kissed her forehead gently. "Do not let my wives see you wandering around the lower levels. They are already looking for a reason to have you thrown out of Valerius."
"I will be a shadow," Ravenna promised him.
Draven stood up and walked toward the heavy wooden door. He unlocked the lock and stepped out into the hallway. The door closed with a quiet click. Ravenna was alone again. She got out of bed and dressed in her simple green gown. She tied her hair back with a ribbon and prepared for the dangerous task ahead.
According to the dark journal of Lord Malakor the curse was anchored to a physical object. The object was buried deep inside the foundation of Valerius. Ravenna needed to find the exact location of his old laboratory. The book mentioned a hidden room below the royal dungeons where the darkest secrets were kept.
She left her guest chamber and walked quickly through the busy corridors. Servants rushed past her carrying large trays of food and fresh linens. No one paid any attention to the humble village healer. Ravenna kept her head down and moved toward the dark stone stairs leading to the royal dungeons.
The air grew very cold and damp as she descended deeper into the earth. The bright sunlight was replaced by flickering torches hanging on the walls. The smell of wet dirt and old iron filled her nose. Two royal guards stood at the bottom of the long stairs. They held sharp spears and watched her with suspicious eyes.
"Halt right there," the first guard commanded. "No one is allowed down here without special permission from the King."
"I am Lady Elara," Ravenna said smoothly. "The King sent me to inspect the dampness of the cells. He fears a sickness might spread from the prisoners up to the main castle. He wants me to make sure the air is clear."
The guards looked at each other in silence. They had heard the rumors about the new healer enjoying the personal protection of King Draven. They did not want to anger their fierce ruler by turning her away. The first guard lowered his spear and stepped aside to let her pass.
"Make it quick," he grumbled.
Ravenna walked past them and entered the dark dungeon. The cells were mostly empty. A few prisoners slept on the hard stone floors wearing ragged clothes. Ravenna did not stop to look at them. She reached out with her mind and let her magic scan the thick stone walls. She was looking for that specific rotting energy she felt yesterday.
She walked all the way to the end of the long corridor. The torches ended here leaving the final wall cloaked in deep shadows. The rotting energy was very strong in this exact spot. It felt like a heavy weight pressing against her chest. Ravenna placed her bare hand flat against the cold stone blocks.
She closed her eyes and pushed a tiny thread of her magic into the cracks. The wall was not solid. It was a hidden door covered by an old illusion spell. Lord Malakor had used blood magic to hide his secret laboratory from the old king.
Ravenna whispered an ancient word of power. The heavy stone blocks shifted silently. A small dark opening appeared in the wall. She slipped inside quickly and the stone door closed right behind her sealing her in complete darkness.
She raised her right hand. A small orb of bright purple light appeared in her palm illuminating the hidden room.
The secret laboratory was covered in a thick layer of dust. Strange glass bottles and dried animal bones sat on a long wooden table. Old books were stacked high in the corners. The air was thick and very hard to breathe. The rotting energy was overpowering in this small space.
Ravenna walked slowly toward the center of the room. A small stone pedestal stood on the dirt floor. On top of the pedestal rested a heavy wooden box. It was covered in dark red runes. The runes were painted with dried blood. This was the anchor of the curse.
She reached out to open the box. Her fingers trembled slightly. The dark magic pulsed against her skin warning her to stay away. Ravenna took a deep breath and flipped the metal latch. The lid creaked open loudly.
Inside the box was a small twisted doll made of roots and dark hair. The doll was wrapped in a piece of fabric torn from a royal banner. Five small pins were stuck into the doll. Each pin represented one of Draven's five daughters. A large rusted nail was driven straight through the center of the chest. That nail was the dark magic preventing a male heir from taking root in the royal family.
Ravenna felt a deep wave of anger. She hated dark magic. She hated how Malakor had twisted the natural energy of the earth to ruin an entire family out of pure greed. She reached into the box to pull the rusted nail out of the doll.
Suddenly a cold voice echoed from the dark corner of the room.
"I would not touch that if I were you."
Ravenna spun around and raised her glowing hand ready to fight. The purple light hit the far corner. A tall man stepped out of the shadows. He wore a dark green cloak. His face was pale and his eyes were completely black with no white showing at all.
"Who are you?" Ravenna demanded. Her voice echoed loudly in the small stone room.
"I am a friend of Lord Malakor," the strange man replied with a cruel smile. "And I have been waiting a very long time for someone to find this room. You are very brave to come down here all alone witch."
Ravenna did not back down. She gathered her raw power ready to strike him down. The man raised his hands and began to chant in a dark language she did not understand. The dark runes on the wooden box started to glow with a bright red light.
The room began to shake violently. Dust fell from the stone ceiling. Ravenna realized he was not trying to protect the box. He was trying to trigger the curse to spread even further. If he finished his spell the dark magic would leak out and infect the entire castle killing everyone inside.
She threw a blast of wild magic at him but he deflected it with a dark shield. The fight for the royal bloodline had officially begun in the dark below the castle.