It was a week before Milina’s coronation when Uncle Hector came to visit her, a serious and slightly nervous look on his usually expressionless face. “Princess, please follow me, there is a family secret I must show you,” he announced.

  “A family secret?” asked Milina, curiosity sprouting in her mind. She had never seen her stoic uncle look like this.

  “Yes, I will explain once we get there. I suggest you wear comfortable clothes.”

  Feeling even more intrigued, she went into her room and changed into the training gear she had created—the practical clothing now adorned with her House’s crest. Taking a moment to stretch her arms and legs, she grinned, feeling her well-toned muscles respond to her every command. It had been months since she had begun learning how to fight; her body was a testament to her dedication.

  Pinning her hair back with a simple hairpin, she spoke. “I’m ready. Let us go.”

  “Please follow me.”

  Uncle Hector led her through the castle, guiding her towards the family crypt. However, instead of going to where her parents were buried, he took her down a staircase she had never noticed. The darkness of the room and the construction of the walls combined to create an illusion that nothing was there.

  “I never knew this was here,” she murmured, looking down at the abyss the stairs led to.

  “Our destination is down there,” her uncle said, grabbing two torches that were lining the walls and lighting them both. Passing one to her, he brought his chin down in a tiny nod.

  “Please follow me.”

  Holding her light source at arm’s length, Milina followed her uncle as he led her deeper beneath the castle, the narrow staircase spiraling endlessly downward. As they descended, the torchlight cast eerie shadows that danced along the walls, a creepy mass of darkness that seemed almost alive.

  As the minutes passed, she began to wonder how much longer they had to walk before reaching their destination. “Uncle, where are you taking me?” she asked, looking around at the dark, narrow stairway. She smelled mold in the humid air.

  “I am taking you to our family's most sacred location—the tomb of our ancestors,” her uncle called over his shoulder as he brushed aside a cobweb blocking the way.

  “The tomb of our ancestors?” Milina repeated, frowning. “Isn’t that what we call the vaults where Father and Mother are buried?”

  As she questioned her uncle, the staircase finally ended, opening to a small room, a large ornate gate on the other side. Choosing to ignore her question, her uncle turned back to look at her, his voice echoing slightly.

  “Past that gate lies the Founder of our House, and the Twelve Great Kings that followed after. It’s been hidden from everyone but the heirs to our House. Your father left me instructions in his will.”

  “Twelve Great Kings?” Milina questioned, letting out a small breath of surprise. She had never heard of them.

  Seeing her reaction, her uncle smiled. “A thousand years ago, King Magnus expanded the Founder's Tomb, adding space for the greatest twelve Kings of our House to be buried alongside the Founder. He then issued an ironclad decree that only female heirs may enter this tomb, and only once, exactly one week before their coronation. Once inside, you are allowed to take one weapon or two non-weapons out. No more. That is part of the decree. You will be the third heir in our family to enter. Two queens have entered before you.”

  Her uncle was now staring at her, the seriousness of what he said causing his brow to furrow. “Do you understand?”

  Gulping, Milina nodded. “I understand, uncle, but why only female heirs? Why have I never heard of this? Who were the other two queens?”

  Clearing his throat, her uncle paused before answering. The reluctance in his voice made it clear he was uncomfortable. “Truthfully, I only learned of this when I read your father’s will. As someone who is not the heir, I shouldn’t even know of this. Your father’s illness forced him to break tradition.

  As for why only female heirs are allowed inside… I’ve searched every book in our library and found nothing. If I had to guess, it’s meant to give the queens some sort of leverage over their future husbands. As you know, female heirs have a maximum of three years to get married.”

  “And who are the former two queens?”

  “What we know of both queens is very little; the records mention their names and not much else. We don’t even know what they brought out of the chamber.

  Now put your hand on the gate and push your power into the gate.”

  “Yes, uncle.”

  Feeling her heart beating painfully, Milina walked up to the gate, putting her palm on its cold steel. Taking a deep breath, she slowly drew Aether in through her Gate of Power, moving it to her heart, then to her hand, pushing the warmth out of her hand and into the gate. The moment her Aether touched the gate, it instantly turned pure white, drinking her power hungrily in a rush. Trembling, the gate swung open.

  Turning to look at her uncle, Milina used her eyes to question if he was going to go in with her.

  Shaking his head, her uncle replied. “Only you are allowed to enter. I will be waiting for you back at the castle, take your time before choosing your gift, and make sure to give your respects to our ancestors.”

  Giving her shoulder a light squeeze, her uncle smiled at her, then gave a quick nod, telling her to proceed through the gate.

  Feeling her body tremble with excitement and nervousness, Milina stepped forward, crossing the white gate into the darkness.

  The moment she stepped through, the gate closed behind her with a soft whisper. Brilliant lightstones flared to life, illuminating the corridor as they resonated with the Aether still coursing through her. Eyes wide with wonder, she looked around. She had never seen such quality or quantity of lightstones. Not even Ashely's wedding had so many.

  Leaving the torch on a ring mounted to the wall, she walked down the corridor until she reached a vast rectangular hall. Towering over her on both sides were twelve stone statues—six on each side. Opposite the entrance, her family crest was carved onto the wall. Beneath it, atop a flight of steps, stood a small, unadorned coffin.

  Holding her breath in awe, she took in the room before making her way to the nearest statue. She stared up at the fierce warrior.

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  “King Camir,” she whispered, recognizing the legendary warrior.

  King Camir was a legend in her family, the strongest Warrior King ever recorded in House Salizia. Nicknamed The Barbarian Dragon, he had transformed Vanura from a minor kingdom surrounded by hostile Warlords into a powerful nation. Raising a massive army, he waged war on any who did not bend the knee, carving House Salizia into the annals of history. He was a bloody and warlike ruler.

  Walking up to the statue’s feet, she approached the marble coffin. The marble coffin was intricately carved with vivid images of dragons and phoenixes in flight, the carvings so lifelike that she expected them to fly away at any moment. Atop the massive coffin lay his legendary halberd: Skyshatterer.

  The sheer size of Skyshatterer astonished her; the fearsome weapon was over eight feet tall and was forged entirely from sky metal. This legendary metal, tinged slightly in blue, was known never to rust or need sharpening. But what captured most people’s attention wasn’t its durability; it was the mesmerizing pattern the metal held. The metal looked as though it had trapped the very wind itself, swirls of darker metal dancing alongside lighter streaks, making the weapon seem almost alive.

  Reverently laying her hand on Skyshatterer, she marveled at the combination of axe and spear, picturing her ancestor going into battle with it. After a moment, she stepped away from the coffin and knelt, saying a short prayer—a prayer every child learned.

  “We give thanks to you, our ancestors, for the sacrifices you have made. We give thanks to you, our ancestors, for the road you have paved. Now that you are gone, we swear an oath in your name. We swear to sacrifice for our children and bring glory to your name.”

  Standing up, she bowed to the statue before turning away, leaving the halberd still resting on his coffin. The weapon was too large for her to use. And even if it wasn’t, she had already started to learn how to use a saber.

  For the next couple of minutes, Milina made her way to each statue, repeating the same quiet prayer she had offered to King Camir. Of the twelve ancient kings, she only recognized three of them, the rest forgotten by her family.

  That loss, she knew, could be traced back to one single act. Two hundred years ago, her ancestor, the infamous Mad King Ortis, had set fire to the royal library during one of his fits of paranoia. The flames had burned countless records of her family’s history, destroying generations of knowledge and legacy in a single night.

  At least I now know the names of the twelve kings, she thought, reading the inscription carved on a statue—a statue of a skinny king named Theodosius. Knowledge of the vault is secret, but I can still tell Uncle the names and what the Kings looked like. I just wish I had pen and paper.

  Nodding to herself, she looked at the empty spot where King Theodosius’ weapons should have been. Out of the twelve Kings, two of their weapons were missing. The two Queens before me must have taken them out, she thought, bowing once more to all the statues.

  Turning to the final coffin at the end of the room, she made her way towards it. Climbing the flight of steps the coffin rested on, she tilted her head and gazed at the massive carving of her family crest. Below the crest, stood a small, unadorned stone coffin. It was the tomb of her family's founder.

  “Is this it?” she finally uttered, reaching the gray coffin. Unlike the other coffins, which were crafted from white marble carved by master artisans, the founder of her house was buried in a plain stone box. No name. No carvings. No weapon. No statue honoring the King who lay within.

  Disappointment washed over her. At the very least, she had hoped to learn the King’s name so that she could add his name to the little her family knew. Currently, only a few facts were known about him, such as how he founded House Salizia at a young age using the martial system he created. The very martial system that had allowed her family to stay in power for generations. The other thing he was famous for was wielding one of the twelve legendary weapons of the world—The Blade of Glory.

  Slowly circling the stone coffin, she fell deep into thought. Was the founder never buried with his weapon? Or was it lost before he died? And why is his coffin so unadorned?

  As she stood there in silence, something caught her eye, a small compartment at the base of the coffin.

  Her heart began to race.

  Reaching down, she carefully pulled open the hidden compartment, revealing a small wooden box. Hands trembling, she lifted the box and opened it. Inside was a single small golden coin and a folded note.

  Frowning at the contents, she picked up the coin. It was beautifully made, a lifelike carving of a Pegasus on both sides. Sitting down beside her ancestor's coffin, she put the coin back in the box and unfolded the note.

  “Take this coin to Arioria and receive one favor,” she read out loud.

  She flipped the paper over. There was nothing else.

  “Well, that was short. And not helpful,” she muttered, glancing at the stone coffin and wondering what her ancestor meant by it.

  Returning the note to the box, she placed it gently on top of the coffin. She would first explore the rest of the great hall before deciding what to take.

  Brushing the dust off her pants, she stood up and scanned the massive hall, slowly turning her head from side to side. The statues of her ancestors loomed over her. As the seconds passed by, she noticed a small archway tucked into the wall behind one of the statues. Tilting her head in curiosity, she descended the stairs, her footsteps echoing loudly through the silent chamber.

  I wonder what that is.

  Making her way to the archway, she stepped into a small room filled with a collection of miscellaneous items—treasures her ancestors must have used in life.

  The space was crammed with a variety of precious treasures, porcelain vases, ornate mirrors, and statues adorned with gems and gold. Weapons and armor lined the walls, all appearing as pristine as the day they were made. Pressing deeper into the cluttered room, she came across a bookshelf stuffed with thick, leather-bound books.

  Books are exactly what I need, she thought, gasping at the sheer size of the bookshelf. If I can find one that talks about how my ancestors ruled, I can learn from them.

  Quickly, her eyes scanned the rows of books looking for one that might be a recording of events. Spotting a promising one, she pulled it off the shelf and opened it in excitement, only to feel disappointment. The pages were written in an ancient script she couldn’t read. One by one, she pulled the books off the shelf, her excitement fading with each book she opened. She couldn’t read any of them!

  “There’s no point in gambling on a book if I can only take two things out,” she muttered, carefully returning the books to their rightful place. “I need to find something else.”

  Casting one last glance at the bookshelf, she turned her attention to the other items in the room.

  “Let’s go through everything carefully.”

  For the next hour or so, Milina searched the room, clouds of dust rising into the air wherever she went.

  Pushing a rolled-up rug out of the way, she came across a small, rusted set of armor.

  “Why are you rusted?” she softly asked, frowning as she looked around the room. This was the only thing that showed any sign of age. “Who wore you?”

  Lifting the breastplate, her eyes widened. The armor was much lighter than she expected. The thin metal weighed almost nothing.

  “What are you made of?” she whispered, turning it over in her hands. As she examined the armor, she noticed one word etched on the inside: Kalina.

  “Kalina?” she said aloud, chuckling at her family's tradition of naming girls with similar names. “You belonged to a princess… or a queen!”

  Curiosity getting the better of her, she began to don the armor, wondering if it would fit. As she buckled on the last strap, she gasped. The rusted armor started to glow, the light glowing brighter and brighter until—suddenly—it vanished.

  Looking down at her, Milina could not believe her eyes; the once rusted armor had transformed into a silvery-white color, the rust vanishing as if it had never existed. Not only that, but the armor now fit her perfectly, as though it had been custom-made for her.

  “Wow,” she breathed, her mouth open. Tentatively, she started to move around. “It’s so light. It’s like I’m not wearing anything at all!” A wide grin spread across her face. She hadn’t felt this happy in a long time.

  “I’m going to choose you! I need to show uncle and Elina!”

  Rushing to the exit, she grabbed the torch off the wall before stopping.

  “I forgot. I can take two things,” she muttered.

  Still holding the torch, she spun on her heels and ran back to the great hall and grabbed the wooden box that was still lying on the Founder's stone coffin.

  Opening it quickly, she grabbed the note and flipped it around. Using her hairpin and the soot from her torch, she briefly jotted down the names and physical description of the twelve kings.

  Nodding to herself in satisfaction, she placed the paper back into the box.

  Kneeling before the tomb, she whispered a few words of gratitude before making her way out of the vault, her new armor and the wooden box in her hand.