The air inside the royal chambers was thick with tension.
The scent of medicine and burning candles filled the room as King Aldric lay weakly on his bed, his breathing slow and uneven.
Eva sat by his bedside, her hands wrapped tightly around his, her heart pounding.
Lucian stood close behind her, his jaw clenched, his sharp gaze never leaving the king. Tobias and Isolde were at the far end of the room, their faces shadowed with concern.
The king stirred, his eyelids fluttering open.
"Eva…" His voice was barely above a whisper.
Eva swallowed hard, blinking back the tears threatening to spill. "I'm here, Father."
A weak smile touched his lips, but it faded as his expression turned grave.
"There is something… I must tell you."
Eva frowned. "You should rest. You need—"
"No," he interrupted, gripping her hand with more strength than she expected. "I cannot leave this world with this secret."
A heavy silence filled the room.
Eva's stomach twisted with dread.
Lucian took a step forward. "Your Majesty, what is it?"
The king's eyes flickered toward Lucian, then back to Eva.
And then he said the words that shattered her world.
"Eva… you are not my real daughter."
The room froze.
The air left Eva's lungs.
A sharp, deafening silence followed his words, as if time itself had stopped.
Eva's fingers slowly slipped from his grasp. "Wh—what?" she whispered.
The king's gaze softened, filled with something that looked like guilt.
"Your mother was not my queen. My wife… she died a year after we married, and we had no children." His voice was raw, heavy with emotion.
Eva felt her body grow cold.
Lucian's jaw tightened, his fists clenching at his sides. Tobias and Isolde gasped.
Eva shook her head, unable to process the words.
"That doesn't make sense," she said, her voice trembling. "I—I grew up believing—"
"I raised you as my own," Aldric said, his voice thick with emotion. "But you… were born from another."
Eva's breath hitched. "Who?"
The king hesitated, his gaze full of pain.
"Your mother… was a poor palace chef."
Eva's entire world tilted.
She heard Tobias curse under his breath, Isolde clasping a hand over her mouth in shock.
Lucian, however, remained silent.
"Your mother was… raped during the war," Aldric continued, his voice breaking. "When I discovered she was with child, I… I couldn't let you suffer the fate of an outcast. So I took you in. I swore to raise you as a princess, to protect you from the horrors of your true past."
Eva stared at him, unable to breathe.
A cold chill ran through her veins.
She had spent her entire life believing she was royalty. That she was King Aldric's beloved daughter.
But it was all a lie.
Tears burned in her eyes. "So… who am I?"
The king squeezed his eyes shut, pain etched across his face.
"You are Evangeline," he said softly. "You are… my daughter, in all but blood."
"But I'm not… a princess." The words felt foreign on her tongue.
His lips trembled. "You are, in every way that matters."
Eva felt her chest tighten.
Tobias was staring at her with pity. Isolde's eyes glistened with unshed tears.
And Lucian—
He was looking at her with something she couldn't decipher.
"Why now?" she whispered, her voice raw. "Why tell me this now?"
The king let out a shaky breath.
"Because… I didn't want you to find out from someone else." His eyes filled with tears. "And because I didn't want to leave this world with secrets between us."
A sharp pain stabbed through Eva's chest.
Tears spilled freely down her cheeks.
Her father… no, King Aldric… had given her a life, a name, a future.
But now she felt like a stranger.
Lucian stepped forward suddenly, his voice firm but gentle.
"Your blood doesn't define you, Eva," he said.
She turned to him, her vision blurred with tears.
His dark eyes held her captive, filled with something fierce, something unshakable.
"You are still you," he continued. "Nothing changes that."
Eva let out a shaky breath.
And then, before she could stop herself—
She broke.
Her sobs echoed through the room, raw and uncontrolled.
She felt arms wrap around her.
She didn't know who it was—Lucian, Tobias, or even Isolde.
But for the first time…
She felt truly lost.