Princess Of The Skulls - Chapter 27: Chapter 27
You are reading Princess Of The Skulls, Chapter 27: Chapter 27. Read more chapters of Princess Of The Skulls.
The knock on my chamber door came at midnight, soft but insistent. I'd been lying awake anyway, listening to the demonic whispers that grew stronger in the darkness, when the sound pulled me from my troubled thoughts.
Someone's here, Aldric's voice touched my mind. Through our bond, I could feel him in his chambers three doors down, equally sleepless.
I know. Stay alert.
I slipped from my bed, pulling on a silk robe over my nightgown, and padded barefoot to the door. My necromantic senses told me whoever waited outside was alone, but there was something familiar about their life force that made my pulse quicken.
"Who is it?" I called softly.
"Someone who has information about your village murder," came the reply, and my blood turned to ice.
I knew that voice. Kael Shadowbane.
My hand hesitated on the door latch. The last time I'd seen the assassin, he'd been fleeing the castle after our final encounter weeks ago. What was he doing here now, in the heart of my stronghold, speaking of murder?
Seraphina, don't— Aldric's warning flowed through our bond, accompanied by a spike of protective fury.
I have to know what he knows, I replied, even as I questioned my judgment.
I opened the door just wide enough to see him. Kael stood in the corridor shadows, dressed in dark leather that made him nearly invisible against the stone walls. His silver eyes caught the moonlight streaming through the narrow windows, and for a moment, I was transported back to all those stolen moments when I'd thought I might love him.
"You have thirty seconds to explain why I shouldn't call the guards," I said, proud that my voice remained steady.
"Because I didn't kill Thomas Millwright, but I know who did," Kael replied. "And because the killer is coming for you next."
Despite every instinct screaming at me to slam the door, I stepped back and let him enter. He moved with that fluid grace I remembered, scanning my chambers for threats before his gaze settled on me.
"You look different," he said, and there was something almost hungry in his expression. "The power suits you."
"The power is a burden, not an ornament," I replied coldly. "Now talk. Who killed the villager?"
Kael moved to the window, peering out at the moonlit courtyard below. "Her name is Morwyn
Blackthorn. She claims to be your cousin, though from a bastard line your family never acknowledged."
The name meant nothing to me, but the surname sent a chill down my spine. "Blackthorn? That's impossible. My father would have—"
"Your father had many secrets," Kael interrupted. "Including a younger brother who was exiled twenty years ago for practicing forbidden magic. Morwyn is his daughter, and she's been gathering power ever since."
I sank into a chair by the fireplace, my mind racing. "What kind of power?"
"The same kind you and your prince now wield, but without the noble intentions. She's been killing people across both kingdoms, draining their life force to strengthen her abilities."
"That's not how necromancy works," I said automatically.
Kael's smile was sharp. "It is if you're willing to make the right bargains. She's found a way to siphon power from the same demonic sources that feed your binding, but without the inconvenience of actually containing them."
The implications hit me like a physical blow. If someone had found a way to tap into demonic power without the binding's constraints, they could potentially disrupt our control over the seals.
Seraphina, what's happening? Aldric's concern pressed against my consciousness.
We have a problem. A big one.
"Why are you telling me this?" I asked Kael. "What do you gain?"
"The same thing I've always gained from our association," he replied, moving closer. In the firelight, his features looked almost ethereal, dangerous, and beautiful in equal measure. "Entertainment."
"I'm not entertainment anymore," I said firmly. "I'm bound to another man, heart and soul."
"Are you?" Kael knelt beside my chair, close enough that I could smell the familiar scent of leather and steel that clung to him. "Or are you bound to a political necessity that happens to wear a pleasant face?"
His words stirred something dark in my chest, a whisper that sounded disturbingly like the demonic voices I'd been fighting. He's right, the darkness murmured. The prince is duty, not desire. This one offers freedom.
"Get back," I said, but my voice lacked conviction.
Instead, Kael reached out to trace the line of my jaw with one finger. "I can feel the power in you,
Seraphina. It calls to something in my blood. We could be magnificent together."
The touch sent electricity through my veins, and for a moment, I was lost in memories of stolen kisses and whispered promises. Then Aldric's presence blazed through our soul-bond, reminding me of everything
I'd chosen and why.
I caught Kael's wrist, my grip strong enough to make him wince. "I made my choice. And unlike you, I don't break my vows for convenience."
"Even when your vows are killing you?" He pulled free of my grip, rubbing his wrist. "I can see it, you know. The way the demonic energy is changing you. How long before you become the very monster you've bound yourself to contain?"
"That's my burden to bear."
"It doesn't have to be." Kael's voice dropped to a whisper. "Morwyn has found a way to break bindings like yours. You could be free, Seraphina. Free to choose your path instead of sacrificing yourself for kingdoms that will never appreciate the cost."
The temptation was real, a siren song that resonated with every rebellious impulse I'd ever suppressed.
But beneath it, I sensed something else—a magical compulsion woven into his words, designed to weaken my resolve.
"You're working with her," I realized. "This whole conversation is a trap."
Kael's expression shifted, the mask of concern falling away to reveal something colder underneath. "Not working with her. Using her, just as she thinks she's using me. But you're right about the trap."
He moved faster than humanly possible, but my new abilities were faster still. I rolled sideways out of the chair as his blade whistled through the space where my neck had been. The steel gleamed with an oily sheen that made my necromantic senses recoil.
"Demon-touched metal," I observed, calling shadows to my hands. "How original."
"It's the only thing that can cut through your protective aura," Kael replied, his stance shifting into the familiar combat form I'd seen him use so many times before. "Morwyn was very specific about that."
We circled each other in the small space of my chambers, predator and prey roles shifting with each step.
Part of me wanted to call for help, to summon guards or reach out through the soul-bond for Aldric's assistance. But a larger part, the part that had always thrived on dangerous games, wanted to face this challenge alone.
"Tell me about Morwyn's plan," I said, shadows writhing around my fingers like living things. "Before I kill you for betraying whatever we once had."
"She wants to drain your power during the new moon," Kael replied, feinting left before striking right. I parried with a wall of hardened shadow, but his blade cut through it like paper. "When the demonic influences are strongest and your bond with the prince is weakest."
I filed that information away while launching my attack, sending tendrils of darkness to wrap around his ankles. He leaped over them with inhuman grace, his counterstrike forcing me to duck and roll.
"And you?" I panted, calling more power to myself. "What did she promise you?"
"A share of the power. And you, once she's drained enough of your abilities to make you manageable."
The casual cruelty of it stole my breath for a moment. This man I'd once thought I loved had just admitted to planning my enslavement.
"You always were ambitious," I said, and let my rage fuel the magic building in my chest.
When I released it, the blast of necromantic energy shattered every piece of glass in the room and sent
Kael is flying backward into the stone wall. He hit with a sickening crack and slumped to the floor, his demon-touched blade clattering across the stones.
For a moment, I thought I'd killed him. Then his eyes opened, silver burning with unnatural light.
"Did I mention," he wheezed, struggling to sit up, "that Morwyn gave me a few enhancements?"
His wounds were already healing, flesh knitting itself back together with disturbing speed. Whatever bargain he'd made, it had changed him into something that was no longer entirely human.
Now would be a good time for help, I told Aldric through our bond.
On my way, came his immediate reply, along with the sound of running footsteps in the corridor outside.
Kael heard them too and grimaced. "This conversation isn't over, Seraphina. Morwyn will come for you, with or without my help. And when she does, you'll learn what real power looks like."
He threw something at the floor—a small glass vial that shattered and released a cloud of acrid smoke.
When it cleared, he was gone, leaving only the scent of sulfur and betrayal.
Aldric burst through the door with a dozen guards at his back, his face wild with concern and fury. When he saw me standing unharmed amid the wreckage of my chambers, relief flooded through our bond so strongly it brought tears to my eyes.
"What happened?" he demanded, crossing to take me in his arms.
I leaned into his embrace, drawing strength from his solid presence. "We have a new enemy. And she's family."
Someone's here, Aldric's voice touched my mind. Through our bond, I could feel him in his chambers three doors down, equally sleepless.
I know. Stay alert.
I slipped from my bed, pulling on a silk robe over my nightgown, and padded barefoot to the door. My necromantic senses told me whoever waited outside was alone, but there was something familiar about their life force that made my pulse quicken.
"Who is it?" I called softly.
"Someone who has information about your village murder," came the reply, and my blood turned to ice.
I knew that voice. Kael Shadowbane.
My hand hesitated on the door latch. The last time I'd seen the assassin, he'd been fleeing the castle after our final encounter weeks ago. What was he doing here now, in the heart of my stronghold, speaking of murder?
Seraphina, don't— Aldric's warning flowed through our bond, accompanied by a spike of protective fury.
I have to know what he knows, I replied, even as I questioned my judgment.
I opened the door just wide enough to see him. Kael stood in the corridor shadows, dressed in dark leather that made him nearly invisible against the stone walls. His silver eyes caught the moonlight streaming through the narrow windows, and for a moment, I was transported back to all those stolen moments when I'd thought I might love him.
"You have thirty seconds to explain why I shouldn't call the guards," I said, proud that my voice remained steady.
"Because I didn't kill Thomas Millwright, but I know who did," Kael replied. "And because the killer is coming for you next."
Despite every instinct screaming at me to slam the door, I stepped back and let him enter. He moved with that fluid grace I remembered, scanning my chambers for threats before his gaze settled on me.
"You look different," he said, and there was something almost hungry in his expression. "The power suits you."
"The power is a burden, not an ornament," I replied coldly. "Now talk. Who killed the villager?"
Kael moved to the window, peering out at the moonlit courtyard below. "Her name is Morwyn
Blackthorn. She claims to be your cousin, though from a bastard line your family never acknowledged."
The name meant nothing to me, but the surname sent a chill down my spine. "Blackthorn? That's impossible. My father would have—"
"Your father had many secrets," Kael interrupted. "Including a younger brother who was exiled twenty years ago for practicing forbidden magic. Morwyn is his daughter, and she's been gathering power ever since."
I sank into a chair by the fireplace, my mind racing. "What kind of power?"
"The same kind you and your prince now wield, but without the noble intentions. She's been killing people across both kingdoms, draining their life force to strengthen her abilities."
"That's not how necromancy works," I said automatically.
Kael's smile was sharp. "It is if you're willing to make the right bargains. She's found a way to siphon power from the same demonic sources that feed your binding, but without the inconvenience of actually containing them."
The implications hit me like a physical blow. If someone had found a way to tap into demonic power without the binding's constraints, they could potentially disrupt our control over the seals.
Seraphina, what's happening? Aldric's concern pressed against my consciousness.
We have a problem. A big one.
"Why are you telling me this?" I asked Kael. "What do you gain?"
"The same thing I've always gained from our association," he replied, moving closer. In the firelight, his features looked almost ethereal, dangerous, and beautiful in equal measure. "Entertainment."
"I'm not entertainment anymore," I said firmly. "I'm bound to another man, heart and soul."
"Are you?" Kael knelt beside my chair, close enough that I could smell the familiar scent of leather and steel that clung to him. "Or are you bound to a political necessity that happens to wear a pleasant face?"
His words stirred something dark in my chest, a whisper that sounded disturbingly like the demonic voices I'd been fighting. He's right, the darkness murmured. The prince is duty, not desire. This one offers freedom.
"Get back," I said, but my voice lacked conviction.
Instead, Kael reached out to trace the line of my jaw with one finger. "I can feel the power in you,
Seraphina. It calls to something in my blood. We could be magnificent together."
The touch sent electricity through my veins, and for a moment, I was lost in memories of stolen kisses and whispered promises. Then Aldric's presence blazed through our soul-bond, reminding me of everything
I'd chosen and why.
I caught Kael's wrist, my grip strong enough to make him wince. "I made my choice. And unlike you, I don't break my vows for convenience."
"Even when your vows are killing you?" He pulled free of my grip, rubbing his wrist. "I can see it, you know. The way the demonic energy is changing you. How long before you become the very monster you've bound yourself to contain?"
"That's my burden to bear."
"It doesn't have to be." Kael's voice dropped to a whisper. "Morwyn has found a way to break bindings like yours. You could be free, Seraphina. Free to choose your path instead of sacrificing yourself for kingdoms that will never appreciate the cost."
The temptation was real, a siren song that resonated with every rebellious impulse I'd ever suppressed.
But beneath it, I sensed something else—a magical compulsion woven into his words, designed to weaken my resolve.
"You're working with her," I realized. "This whole conversation is a trap."
Kael's expression shifted, the mask of concern falling away to reveal something colder underneath. "Not working with her. Using her, just as she thinks she's using me. But you're right about the trap."
He moved faster than humanly possible, but my new abilities were faster still. I rolled sideways out of the chair as his blade whistled through the space where my neck had been. The steel gleamed with an oily sheen that made my necromantic senses recoil.
"Demon-touched metal," I observed, calling shadows to my hands. "How original."
"It's the only thing that can cut through your protective aura," Kael replied, his stance shifting into the familiar combat form I'd seen him use so many times before. "Morwyn was very specific about that."
We circled each other in the small space of my chambers, predator and prey roles shifting with each step.
Part of me wanted to call for help, to summon guards or reach out through the soul-bond for Aldric's assistance. But a larger part, the part that had always thrived on dangerous games, wanted to face this challenge alone.
"Tell me about Morwyn's plan," I said, shadows writhing around my fingers like living things. "Before I kill you for betraying whatever we once had."
"She wants to drain your power during the new moon," Kael replied, feinting left before striking right. I parried with a wall of hardened shadow, but his blade cut through it like paper. "When the demonic influences are strongest and your bond with the prince is weakest."
I filed that information away while launching my attack, sending tendrils of darkness to wrap around his ankles. He leaped over them with inhuman grace, his counterstrike forcing me to duck and roll.
"And you?" I panted, calling more power to myself. "What did she promise you?"
"A share of the power. And you, once she's drained enough of your abilities to make you manageable."
The casual cruelty of it stole my breath for a moment. This man I'd once thought I loved had just admitted to planning my enslavement.
"You always were ambitious," I said, and let my rage fuel the magic building in my chest.
When I released it, the blast of necromantic energy shattered every piece of glass in the room and sent
Kael is flying backward into the stone wall. He hit with a sickening crack and slumped to the floor, his demon-touched blade clattering across the stones.
For a moment, I thought I'd killed him. Then his eyes opened, silver burning with unnatural light.
"Did I mention," he wheezed, struggling to sit up, "that Morwyn gave me a few enhancements?"
His wounds were already healing, flesh knitting itself back together with disturbing speed. Whatever bargain he'd made, it had changed him into something that was no longer entirely human.
Now would be a good time for help, I told Aldric through our bond.
On my way, came his immediate reply, along with the sound of running footsteps in the corridor outside.
Kael heard them too and grimaced. "This conversation isn't over, Seraphina. Morwyn will come for you, with or without my help. And when she does, you'll learn what real power looks like."
He threw something at the floor—a small glass vial that shattered and released a cloud of acrid smoke.
When it cleared, he was gone, leaving only the scent of sulfur and betrayal.
Aldric burst through the door with a dozen guards at his back, his face wild with concern and fury. When he saw me standing unharmed amid the wreckage of my chambers, relief flooded through our bond so strongly it brought tears to my eyes.
"What happened?" he demanded, crossing to take me in his arms.
I leaned into his embrace, drawing strength from his solid presence. "We have a new enemy. And she's family."
End of Princess Of The Skulls Chapter 27. Continue reading Chapter 28 or return to Princess Of The Skulls book page.