I woke in my bedchamber, the coin still hot against my chest.
It all felt like a dream—until Anne flung open the bed curtains with a scream.
"Your Majesty—your hand!"
A silver ring shaped like a serpent now curled around my finger, its eyes inlaid with amethyst. The inscription inside matched the Latin from the coin.
Even more chilling was the vanity mirror—dew on its surface had formed the outline of a rose, identical to the bloodstain left on the lips of the boy from my dream.
Nurse Margaret burst in.
"A secret dispatch from Spain!"
The seal was a golden griffin. The handwriting unmistakable—Prince Fernando's.
"White Rose Protocol, Step Three: Approach the King."
As I burned the letter, the door creaked open.
Alfred stood there, polishing a dagger.
Morning light kissed his golden hair with a crimson sheen. His icy blue eyes were colder than death.
"My treacherous little queen…" he murmured, lifting the tip of the blade to my pearl necklace. "So aside from adultery, you're dabbling in espionage now?"
The strand snapped. I instinctively covered the serpent ring—but not fast enough.
"Fascinating," he muttered, seizing my wrist and studying the engraved Latin. "The Knights Templar… Spain… and now this. Who exactly has earned your affection?"
The warning bells blared. Guards rushed in, whispering urgently.
Alfred's expression darkened.
"The altar is ablaze," he said, pushing me aside. A fresh, serpentine bite gleamed on his palm. "Your little lover Gabriel… has been reduced to ashes."
The ring on my finger tightened. Its amethyst eyes flared with light.
Pearls scattered on the floor, and formed a new message:
"When the rose is stained with blood, the truth shall be revealed."