Chapter 1 - THE BOY WHO FELL FROM THE SKYThe first thing Ethan Parker heard was the sound of steel scraping against stone.
The second was a man's furious voice.
"SEIZE HIM!"
Ethan opened his eyes.
He was lying on the cold floor of an enormous medieval throne hall. Burning torches illuminated massive stone pillars, heavy wooden doors, and a golden throne standing on an elevated platform.
A moment earlier, he had been in the twenty-first century.
Now he was surrounded by armed men who looked as though they had stepped out of a history book.
Before Ethan could stand, a powerful hand grabbed the shoulder of his gray hoodie.
"On your feet!"
A knight wearing steel armor pulled him upright.
Ethan stumbled.
"Wait! Please!"
The knight ignored him.
His name was Sir Roland, commander of the royal guard and the most feared swordsman in King Edward's service.
Roland had never seen clothing like Ethan's.
The strange gray garment.
The black trousers.
The small black object clutched in his hand.
Everything about the boy suggested danger.
"Take him outside," a deep voice commanded.
Ethan looked toward the throne.
A gray-bearded king sat beneath a golden crown, his dark crimson cloak falling across the steps.
King Edward.
Ethan recognized him immediately.
He had seen the king's portrait in a history book only two days earlier.
And he knew something the king did not.
Something that could change history.
Roland dragged him toward the enormous wooden doors.
Ethan struggled.
"LET GO!"
"Silence!"
The knight tightened his grip.
Ethan knew he had only seconds.
He took a breath and screamed:
"I KNOW WHERE YOUR DAUGHTER IS!"
The entire throne hall went silent.
King Edward rose so suddenly that his crown shifted.
"STOP!"
Roland froze.
The king descended the steps.
His expression had changed from irritation to something far more dangerous.
Hope.
Mixed with rage.
He approached Ethan and seized his shoulder.
"Look at me."
Ethan obeyed.
The king's eyes were cold.
"Lie to me, and you die."
Ethan swallowed.
He could feel Roland standing behind him.
The soldiers remained motionless.
The torches crackled.
"Your daughter," Ethan whispered. "Princess Eleanor."
The king's grip tightened.
"Where is she?"
Ethan struggled to breathe.
"She's alive."
Edward stared at him.
"Where?"
Ethan hesitated.
Then spoke the words that would change everything.
"Five hundred years in the future."
For a moment, the king simply looked at him.
Then he laughed.
It was not a joyful laugh.
It was the bitter laughter of a man whose deepest wound had just been reopened.
Roland joined him.
The soldiers laughed as well.
The king released Ethan.
"Madness."
He turned toward his throne.
Ethan stood trembling.
"No! I'm telling the truth!"
Edward continued walking.
Then, without warning, he stopped beside one of his soldiers.
His hand shot toward the man's sword.
Steel flashed.
The king spun around.
"YOU DARE MOCK MY DAUGHTER?"
He raised the blade.
Ethan recoiled.
The sword began descending.
And Ethan remembered the photograph.
His phone.
The one thing he had carried through the portal.
He lifted it toward the king.
"LOOK AT THIS!"
Edward's eyes fell upon the screen.
The sword stopped inches from Ethan's shoulder.
The king stared.
His expression changed.
The photograph showed a young woman standing outside a modern university building.
She had long dark hair.
A gentle smile.
And around her neck hung a golden pendant shaped like the sun.
Edward's sword trembled.
"No..."
Ethan held the phone higher.
The king stepped closer.
"Where did you get that?"
Ethan whispered:
"I took the photograph yesterday."
Edward stared at the pendant.
Then at the woman's face.
His voice broke.
"That necklace..."
Roland stepped forward.
"Your Majesty?"
Edward barely heard him.
He reached toward the screen.
"That is Eleanor's."
Ethan nodded.
"Yes."
The king's eyes filled with tears.
"But that is impossible."
Ethan swallowed.
"She's alive, Your Majesty."
Edward looked directly at him.
Then asked a question Ethan had not expected.
"If she is my daughter..."
May you like
His voice became a whisper.
"...why does she look exactly as she did on the day she vanished?"
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