The chamber beneath the temple was silent.
Torches burned low along the stone walls, their light flickering across ancient carvings worn smooth by centuries of ritual.
At the center of the chamber stood the basin.
Black stone. Smooth as glass. Older than the empire itself.
The water inside it trembled.
Ripples spread slowly across the surface.
A face appeared in the water.
Lena.
Alive.
Standing beside Prince Sarri.
Dannuhepa watched the image without blinking.
For a long moment she said nothing.
Then her lips curved slightly.
“So,” she murmured softly.
“The prince protects you.”
Her pale fingers slipped into the water.
The surface shivered beneath her touch.
The image dissolved.
“Good,” she whispered.
“Struggle.”
“Fight.”
“Grow stronger.”
Her eyes gleamed in the torchlight.
“It will make the sacrifice far more powerful.”
The ripples faded.
The basin fell still.
?
Morning sunlight poured through the high windows of Sarri’s estate.
Lena stood in the middle of the chamber with her arms crossed.
Sarri and Zida sat across from her at a low table.
The air between them felt tense.
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Sarri finally spoke.
“We speak now.”
His voice was calm but firm.
“Everything you know.”
“Before something like yesterday happens again.”
Lena stared at him.
“That conversation should have happened yesterday.”
Sarri frowned slightly.
“You asked for me.”
“I did.”
“You never came.”
Zida shifted slightly in his seat.
Lena continued.
“If you had come when I asked, maybe none of that would have happened.”
Silence hung in the room.
Sarri exhaled slowly.
Then he nodded once.
“You make a fair point.”
Zida glanced at him, surprised.
Sarri leaned forward.
“Then we begin again.”
His dark eyes fixed on Lena.
“Tell us everything.”
Lena hesitated.
Then she began.
“My uncle Ezra disappeared seven years ago.”
“She took him.”
“Who?” Zida asked.
“The queen.”
The room grew quiet.
“She has been watching me since I was a child,” Lena continued.
Sarri’s eyes narrowed.
“Watching you?”
“Through water.”
Zida frowned.
Lena continued before they could question it.
“She brought me here with the bronze vessel.”
“She planned it.”
“Everything.”
Sarri’s expression darkened.
“Why?”
Lena swallowed.
“Because she needs my blood.”
The words fell heavily in the room.
Sarri spoke slowly.
“For what purpose?”
“A curse,” Lena answered.
“The ritual will place a curse upon the princes of the land.”
“One by one they will die.”
Her voice dropped.
“Until only one remains.”
Zida leaned forward.
“Who?”
“Armaziti.”
Silence filled the chamber.
“The queen’s son,” Lena finished.
Zida muttered under his breath.
“Gods…”
Sarri’s face had gone completely still.
“You are accusing the queen of plotting to wipe out the royal bloodline.”
Lena nodded.
“Yes.”
For a moment no one spoke.
Then Lena added quietly,
“There’s something else.”
Sarri looked at her.
“I think she chose me for a reason.”
“What reason?” he asked.
Lena picked up a small clay cup from the table.
“When I touch certain things…”
She paused.
“I see things.”
Zida frowned.
“Visions?”
“Not exactly.”
She looked at the cup in her hand.
“Memories.”
“Moments from the past.”
“As if the object remembers what happened around it.”
Sarri watched her carefully.
“My uncle used to say history lives inside the things people leave behind,” Lena continued.
She placed the cup back on the table.
“I think the queen knows about that ability.”
Zida’s expression darkened.
“And that’s why she chose you.”
Lena nodded slowly.
“She’s been watching me for years.”
Sarri stood.
He walked toward the window overlooking the city.
Beyond the rooftops of Hattusa, the distant palace stood like a silent giant above the capital.
For a long moment he said nothing.
Then he spoke quietly.
“If what you say is true…”
He turned back toward them.
“Then the queen has already declared war.”
Zida looked up sharply.
Sarri continued.
“She simply hasn’t told anyone yet.”
His gaze settled on Lena.
“And you…”
“…stand in the center of it.”
Lena felt a chill run through her.
Sarri stepped closer.
“From this moment forward,” he said firmly,
“you do not leave this estate without me.”
Zida nodded.
Because now they understood something none of them had fully realized before.
Lena was the key to a conspiracy that could destroy the entire royal family.
Sarri turned toward Zida.
“Zida.”
Zida straightened.
“Yes, my prince?”
Sarri’s expression hardened.
“It is time to reach Mursilil.”
Zida blinked.
“What?”
“You’re serious?”
Sarri nodded.
“We need him.”
Zida frowned.
“Do you really think that’s wise?”
“Mursilil already suspects the queen,” Sarri said.
“And now we have proof something worse is happening.”
Zida hesitated.
“We already have A??u watching the estate.”
“That’s one pair of eyes.”
Sarri shook his head.
“We need more hands.”
More soldiers.
More loyalty.
Zida sighed.
“You’re building something.”
Sarri didn’t deny it.
“Yes.”
Then he added,
“I will also send word to my half-brother.”
Zida looked up.
“Illbani?”
Sarri nodded.
“He is far better than either of us when it comes to politics.”
“If we are going to stand against the queen…”
“…we will need someone who understands the court.”
Zida leaned back slowly.
“This is getting dangerous.”
Sarri looked toward the distant palace again.
“It already is.”
Behind them, Lena stood quietly.
For the first time since arriving in this world…
she realized something.
The battle she had stepped into was far larger than rescuing her uncle.
It was a struggle for the future of the kingdom itself.
?
Far beneath the temple, the basin stirred again.
The water rippled softly.
A shadow moved across its surface.
Dannuhepa watched the reflection of the city in silence.
“So,” she whispered.
“You begin to gather allies.”
Her smile widened slightly.
“Good.”
The water went still.
“Let us see how long they survive.”
