The arguments concluded. Prime Minister Choi, now restored to his calculating composure, signaled a guard to approach and formally escort Maya away to a holding chamber while the final decision was formalized.
A wave of exhaustion and dread washed over Maya. She had lost.
As the imposing guard moved toward her, Maya's hands unconsciously flew to her pendant, gripping the cold, dark stone. Her thumb slid anxiously over the surface. Beneath the heavy, stylized wing of the Sankofa, she felt a tiny, almost invisible seam.
Her thumb pressed down slightly, a nervous twitch rather than a conscious action.
A faint, almost inaudible click echoed in the tense, silent chamber.
The pendant, untouched for years, unexpectedly sprung open.
Nestled inside the hollow locket, revealed only to her, was a tiny, tightly rolled parchment, brittle with age and covered in foreign symbols. It was a cipher scroll—a key, a genealogy, and the indisputable proof of her royal bloodline.
The guard reached the platform. Maya swiftly palmed the scroll, concealing it in her sleeve, closing the pendant just before the man grabbed her arm.
Her life was no longer ruled by the tides. It was ruled by the secret she now held—a secret that promised power, revealed her lineage, and sounded a call to a war she was not yet ready to fight.
That completes the first ten chapters! Chapter 11, "The Secret Nod," will launch Part II: Secrets and Sabotage. Let me know when you are ready for the next section!