Princess Of The Skulls - Chapter 40: Chapter 40

The Bone Dragon that erupted from the cathedral floor was magnificent and terrifying beyond description. Its skeletal frame stretched thirty feet from snout to tail, composed of bones that gleamed like polished ivory. Ancient runes carved into its skull pulsed with malevolent red light, and when it opened its maw, the sound that emerged was like the screaming of a thousand tortured souls.
Every living person in the cathedral—friend and foe alike—froze in primal terror. Even my ghostly knights wavered, their spectral forms flickering as the dragon's presence disrupted the delicate magic that sustained them.
"What have you done?" General Thorne shouted, his voice cracking with fear as he stumbled backward from the massive creature.
I wish I had an answer. Through my soul-bond with Aldric, I could feel his panic mixing with my own.
The dragon's awakening hadn't been intentional—it was a consequence of the unprecedented magic we'd wielded, the combination of life and death forces that had apparently broken seals older than written history.
The dragon's hollow eye sockets fixed on me, and when it spoke, its voice resonated through bone and stone alike.
Princess of Skulls. The words carried the weight of centuries. You have awakened me from my eternal rest.
You will answer for this transgression.
"I didn't know—" I began, but the dragon's roar cut me off.
Ignorance is not absolution. I was sealed away for good reason, child. Your ancestors knew the danger I represented. But you have broken ancient pacts in your thirst for power.
The creature's massive head swung toward Aldric, and I felt terror spike through our bond. And you, light bringer. Your magic mingles with hers in ways that should not be possible. You have upset the balance that kept me contained.
Lord Cassius's soldiers were fleeing now, their courage broken by the sight of the ancient beast. Even
General Thorne was backing toward the ruined doors, his face pale with supernatural dread. But the dragon's attention remained fixed on Aldric and me.
For a thousand years, I have dreamed of vengeance against the bloodline that imprisoned me. You,
Seraphina Blackthorne is the last of that line. Your death will complete my freedom.
The dragon reared back, and I could see eldritch fire building in its throat—not the natural flame of living dragons, but something colder and more terrible. Death-fire that would consume not just flesh but souls.
"Seraphina, run!" Aldric shouted, pushing me aside just as the dragon unleashed its breath.
The blast of necrotic energy passed inches from where I'd been standing, striking the cathedral wall and turning ancient stone to ash in seconds. Where the fire touched, reality itself seemed to wither and die.
Sir Marcus and his ghostly knights surged forward, their spectral weapons raised against the dragon. But their attacks passed through the creature's bones harmlessly—they were too insubstantial to affect something so ancient and powerful.
"My queen!" Sir Marcus called out as the dragon's tail swept through his ranks, dispersing several knights back to the ether. "Our weapons cannot touch it! You must flee!"
But there was nowhere to run. The dragon blocked the main entrance, and the side passages led only deeper into the crypts—toward whatever other horrors might be stirring in the depths.
Through our bond, I felt Aldric gathering his life magic, preparing for something desperate. "Don't," I warned him. "You'll burn yourself out."
"Better that than watching you die," he replied grimly.
The dragon was preparing another blast of death-fire, its skull-runes blazing brighter. In seconds, we'd both be nothing but ash and memory.
That's when Kael appeared from the shadows behind the creature's neck.