Princess Of The Skulls - Chapter 24: Chapter 24

I existed in a space between worlds, suspended in crystalline light that pulsed with the rhythm of two hearts beating as one. The obsidian altar had become a nexus of power, and Prince Aldric and I floated within its embrace, our bodies transformed into conduits for energies older than kingdoms.
Through the translucent shell of our prison, I could see Lord Cassius raging at his mages, his carefully orchestrated ritual crumbling around him. The binding circles that had once focused demonic power now blazed with protective light, their runes shifting from sickly green to brilliant silver.
Can you hear me? Aldric's voice came not through my ears but directly into my consciousness, our soul bond amplified beyond anything we'd experienced before.
I can feel everything you feel, I replied, marveling at the intimacy of our connection. His emotions flowed through me like warm honey—determination, protectiveness, and beneath it all, a love so fierce it took my breath away.
Below us, King Malachar's chains dissolved as the ritual's focus shifted from him to us. My grandfather's tortured form collapsed onto the stone floor, and twenty years of agony finally ended. Even through our magical cocoon, I could see him weeping with relief.
Seraphina, his voice whispered in my mind, carried by the necromantic connection we shared. You have given me the greatest gift—freedom through your sacrifice.
But as the hours passed, I began to understand that our imprisonment was unlike his. Where Malachar had been tortured and drained, Aldric and I were sustained by our bond. The demonic forces pressing against the seals felt our combined will and found it unbreakable. We weren't being consumed by the binding—we were becoming its eternal guardians.
This isn't what I expected, Aldric admitted, and I felt his wonder mixing with mine.
We're not prisoners, I realized. We're the key and the lock combined.
Lord Cassius's voice cut through our connection like a rusty blade. "This is temporary! The binding will weaken, and when it does, I'll find a way to shatter it completely!"
His mages had begun a new chant, trying to destabilize our protective cocoon, but their magic slid off our combined defenses like water off glass. Whatever we had become, it was beyond his ability to break.
He's afraid, Aldric observed, and I felt his grim satisfaction. Good.
Through the crystal walls of our prison, I watched my grandfather struggle to his feet. Twenty years of captivity had left him gaunt and weak, but his eyes still burned with necromantic fire. He raised one skeletal hand toward Lord Cassius, and shadows began to gather around his fingers.
"You want to know about real power?" Malachar's voice echoed through the chamber, no longer strained by magical bonds. "Let me show you what the Deathbringer learned during two decades of torment."
The shadows exploded outward, engulfing two of Cassius's mages before they could even scream. The remaining cultists stumbled backward, their ritual forgotten in the face of my grandfather's fury.
We need to get out of here, I told Aldric. The binding is stable now, but we can't help anyone from inside this shell.
How? We're part of the magical structure now.
I focused on the obsidian altar beneath us, feeling how our life forces had become intertwined with its ancient power. But unlike my grandfather's imprisonment, our binding was voluntary. We had chosen this fate, and choice, I realized, was the key to controlling it.
Trust me, I said, reaching out with my consciousness to touch the edges of our crystalline prison.
The shell began to crack, hairline fractures spreading across its surface as I asserted our will over the binding magic. We weren't breaking free—we were reshaping the terms of our imprisonment.
Light exploded around us as our protective cocoon shattered, but instead of falling, Aldric and I landed gracefully on the altar's surface. The magical energies that had held us now flowed through us, making us living conduits for the binding spell.
I could feel the demons beneath the foundation, their rage pressing against seals that now pulsed with our combined heartbeat. They would never break free as long as we lived, but we were no longer helpless prisoners of our heroism.
Lord Cassius stared at us in disbelief. "Impossible. The binding requires sacrifice, not—"
"Not power shared willingly," I finished, stepping down from the altar with Aldric beside me. "You never understood the difference between taking power and being entrusted with it."
The remaining mages fled as my grandfather's shadows advanced, leaving Lord Cassius alone with his failed ambitions. He looked between us and Malachar, his face twisting with rage and fear.
"This isn't over," he snarled. "I'll find another way—"
"No," Prince Aldric said quietly, and there was such finality in his voice that even I shivered. "You won't."
The last thing I heard as we left the foundation chamber was Lord Cassius screaming as my grandfather's shadows finally claimed him, and I felt no pity at all.