Katherine woke screaming.
Diana held her tightly.
“It's all right.”
“My arm!”
The mark burned beneath her skin.
Thomas stared at it.
“That isn't a curse.”
“What is it?” Diana demanded.
“A blood seal.”
Diana looked at him.
“Whose?”
Thomas swallowed.
“Redblood.”
Diana's expression went cold.
“That bloodline ended with Julius.”
“No.”
Thomas pointed at Katherine.
“It didn't.”
The room became silent.
Katherine stared at her mother.
“What is he saying?”
Diana closed her eyes.
She had buried this secret for fifteen years.
Now there was nowhere left to hide.
“Julius wasn't only my closest ally,” Diana said.
Katherine waited.
“He was your father.”
Katherine stepped backward.
“No.”
“I never told you because—”
“You told me my father died before I was born.”
“He was supposed to.”
“What does that mean?”
Diana struggled for words.
“Julius knew his enemies would use you to reach me. Before the final battle, he asked me to hide you.”
“You knew he might still be alive?”
“No.”
Katherine's voice trembled.
“And you never told me?”
“I was protecting you.”
“You were lying to me.”
Diana had no answer.
Then a horn sounded outside.
Thomas rushed to the window.
“Conroys.”
Hundreds of wolves surrounded the chapel.
Marcus Conroy stepped forward.
His voice carried through the night.
“Diana!”
The name echoed.
No one had called her that in fifteen years with such confidence.
“You hid well,” Marcus shouted.
Diana walked outside.
Katherine followed.
Marcus smiled.
“The Wolf Queen finally comes out of hiding.”
Diana's eyes were ice.
“You hurt my daughter.”
Marcus laughed.
“She had no power. She was useful as a servant and nothing more.”
Katherine's face tightened.
Diana took one step forward.
“You should have killed me when you had the chance.”
Marcus's smile faded.
“I intend to.”
Then another figure emerged beside him.
An elderly woman.
Diana's breath caught.
It was Elena Conroy.
Marcus's mother.
The woman Diana had once trusted more than anyone.
Elena looked at Katherine.
Then at Diana.
And whispered:
“Julius's daughter.”
Diana's hand moved toward her sword.
Elena smiled.
“We finally found the heir.”
Marcus raised his hand—and every Conroy soldier dropped to one knee, not before him, but before Katherine.