Chapter 225

"Thank you for showing me this, Alex. It's... it's truly special," I admitted, my voice reflecting the sincerity of my words.

He nodded, appreciating the sentiment. "I wanted you to see a different side of the palace, away from the things you expected and what others see."

Prince Alexander flicked a switch, and the room burst into warm illumination.

What I initially thought to be an ordinary space revealed itself to be anything but. Dark wooden bookshelves lined the walls, and in the center, a polished desk stood as the room's focal point.

There were no windows, no fireplaces—

just a chamber bathed in a gentle glow.

It suddenly made perfect sense that Prince Alexander would have a room like this to get away from his every day tasks or responsibilities. Sometimes, it helped to decompress in solitude.

"So, what is this room?" I asked, turning to Prince Alexander, my eyes expressing the confusion that washed over me. "Besides your secret office."

His gaze lingered on the room with a mix of familiarity and fondness. "Believe it or not, this place used to be filled with artillery and weapons. My father had all of that removed years ago, and I found it one day. It was empty, and I thought it would be the perfect place for me to destress, relax, and research."

I glanced around, the last word he mentioned leaving me puzzled. "Research? What are you researching?"

He gestured towards the bookshelves. "Take a look."

My gaze followed to where he was pointing and my eyes settled on a particular section of the bookshelves.

A series of worn leather-bound books caught my attention, each with intricate symbols on the spine.

"What are these?" I asked, pointing to the books.

Alex's eyes lit up with recognition. "Those are tales that have intrigued me since I was a child. I often come in here to read. Many of the books are legends, but they still hold facts about our history."

"Like this one for example," he said, walking to the shelf and plucking a title at random. "It's 'The Secrets of The Panther Shifters.' There really aren't any secrets, it's just a retelling of their history."

"So, it's all history?"

Alex shook his head. "Not all of them. Some of them are spell books. Some are written in languages I can't even understand."

"How did you acquire such books?" I questioned, wondering how he got his hands on these if this was just an artillery room before.

"That's the funny thing," Alex said, although his voice held none of it's usual humor. "I discovered this room when I was six. I used to just hide in here and play with my toys. Until one day, something very peculiar happened when I re-entered the room. All of these books appeared, somewhat overnight."

I raised my eyebrows, trying to imagine how that could be possible. "Does anyone else know about this room?"

Alex shrugged. "My father must know. A few of his advisors... possibly my mother. Those are the only people I could think of."

"Do you think your father planted it here for you?"

"No." Alex shook his head. "My father doesn't know I know this room exists. Nobody ever wanders down this corridor."

"Well, then how do you explain the books sudden appearance?" I questioned, looking around the room. "They aren't exactly ordinary books."

"Exactly, that's the curious thing about it." Alex scrunched up his elegant face. "I'm not quite sure who the culprit was, but there was a period of time when my father would invite guests to the palace. This was years ago, when I was much younger. Guests were able to access whatever part of the palace they liked."

"Why did your father stop inviting guests over?" I asked.

"It may not seem like it, but it's difficult for my father to trust people." Alexander turned toward me. "That's why at dinner, he said,

'Kindness, loyalty, and honesty are qualities that should be cherished. People may come and go, but the ones who stay true to their values are the ones worth keeping.'"

"Your father doesn't talk like that," I said with a slight smile, trying not to laugh at Alex's impression of his father.

"He does." Alex smiled back. "But anyway, my father's trust was easy to gain before. Something happened in my childhood that changed everything. We stopped inviting guests. I was never allowed to invite my friends over."

"I'm sorry about that," I said, feeling sympathetic for a little boy who had to live in such a large castle without anyone his age.

"It's fine, I still snuck out all the time," Alex says with a mischievous grin. "But, around this time is when the books appeared on the shelves."

"Huh, that is peculiar."

"Very." Alex nodded. "I think perhaps my father was trying to hide them somewhere safe, and what better place than a secret room nobody else knows about?"

"You've never seen him come in here?" I asked, finding that it highly unlikely that he planted all of these rare books here.

But Alex shut that thought process down.

"Never. Like I said, nobody ever wanders down this way."

I shrug and scan the titles on the bookshelf. Books of all different sorts lined the shelves, and my eyes widened as I saw a recurring theme— magic and spells. Alex wasn't kidding.

My curiosity piqued when my eyes snagged on something. I felt my breath catch in my throat as I slid the book off the shelf.

"The Legend of the White Wolf?" I read aloud, my heart quickening at the unexpected discovery.

Prince Alexander nodded. "Ah, yes. I knew you'd manage to find that one out of all of these hundreds."

I couldn't speak, I just kept staring at the book, my mind running rampant.

"There's something in that book. However, I can't unlock it. There seems to be a spell on it. I was thinking that I'd be able to unlock it with your help."

My mind raced with questions. What did that have to do with me? How would I be able to unlock a magic book?

I traced my fingers over the cover, the weight of its potential answers palpable.

"Why are you so interested in opening it?" I asked, unable to mask the curiosity in my voice.

"Aren't you?" Alex asked. "It's a story that has been down for generations, and yet, there's so little we know about it. I believe there's more to it than just the myth we've been told. I've been trying to unlock the secrets hidden within these pages for the last seven years."

Seven years? I couldn't even imagine his frustration in trying to open it for so long.

I looked down at the book cover, feeling a strangeness. There was a connection here... something between me and the book.

My gut instinct told me there was more to this than met the eye.

"Do you think there's anything important in here?" I questioned, searching his eyes for the truth.

Alex's gaze met mine, a glint of anticipation in his eyes. "I believe you hold the key to unraveling that mystery, Shana. I think you're the only one who can open it."