Princess Of The Skulls - Chapter 64: Chapter 64
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I found Aldric in his temporary chambers, surrounded by scattered documents and looking like he hadn't slept in days. The sight of him—hair disheveled, clothes wrinkled, eyes shadowed with exhaustion and something deeper—struck me with unexpected concern. Whatever he'd discovered about my heritage, it had shaken him as much as it had me.
"Seraphina," he said, looking up as I entered without ceremony. "I was just about to come find you."
"Were you?" I closed the door behind me and activated the privacy wards with a gesture that made him tense. "Or were you planning how to report back to your father about the monster he's about to marry into his family?"
His face went pale, confirming my suspicions. "You know."
"I know I'm descended from the Skull Kings," I said, watching his reaction carefully. "I know your family helped overthrow mine three centuries ago. What I don't know is whether you're here as my ally or my executioner."
Aldric stood slowly, his hands visible and empty in a gesture of non-aggression. "May I show you something?"
I nodded, though I kept my hand near the obsidian blade at my side.
He moved to his desk and retrieved a leather portfolio, opening it to reveal documents I recognized from the Thornfield family archives. But these weren't the historical records Dorian had shown me—these were recent correspondence, maps, and what looked like military deployment orders.
"My father has been planning this for two years," Aldric said quietly. Ever since his spies reported unusual magical phenomena around your kingdom. He suspected what you were, but he needed confirmation before acting."
"And you provided it," I said, though the accusation felt hollow even as I spoke it.
"I provided it to protect you," he corrected, his voice carrying quiet conviction. "Look at these orders,
Seraphina. Look at them."
I studied the documents he indicated, feeling my stomach clench as I read. Troop movements disguised as wedding security. Mages are positioned at key points around the ceremony site. Contingency plans for dealing with "magical containment failures" during the celebration.
"He's planning to kill me at our wedding," I said, the words tasting like poison.
"He's planning to kill everyone at our wedding," Aldric corrected grimly. "The moment you manifest any significant necromantic power—which he's counting on you doing when you feel threatened—he'll order a magical strike that will level half the castle. Better to sacrifice hundreds of wedding guests than risk the return of the Skull Kings."
The casual brutality of the plan took my breath away. Not just my death, but the deaths of everyone I cared about, everyone who had come to celebrate what they thought was a joyous occasion.
"Why are you telling me this?" I asked. "If you're loyal to your father—"
"I'm loyal to the idea of preventing another magical catastrophe," Aldric interrupted. "But not at the cost of murdering innocents. And not by destroying someone who might be the key to saving us all."
"Saving us from what?"
He moved to another set of documents, these bearing the seals of multiple kingdoms. "The dimensional incursions aren't random, and they're not limited to your borders. Every major kingdom has been experiencing them, but the ruling families have been keeping it quiet to prevent panic."
"How bad is it?"
"Bad enough that some of the northern kingdoms have already fallen," he said quietly. "Their capitals are empty ruins now, their populations either dead or changed into something that serves the entities from beyond the barriers."
I felt the blood drain from my face. "How many?"
"Three confirmed, two more probably lost. The survivor accounts all describe the same pattern— dimensional barriers failing suddenly, massive incursions of entities that reshape reality around them, complete collapse of organized resistance within days."
"And your father thinks killing me will prevent this?"
"My father thinks the dimensional incursions are drawn to necromantic energy," Aldric explained. "He believes your growing power is what's weakening the barriers, attracting the attention of things that should never enter our reality."
"What do you believe?"
Aldric was quiet for a long moment, studying my face as if trying to read something in my expression. "I believe you're the only person I've met who might be powerful enough to fight these things.
Which means we need to find a way to develop your abilities without triggering the kind of catastrophic manifestation that would justify my father's fears."
"A way that doesn't involve me becoming a tyrant like my ancestors," I said, understanding his implication.
"Exactly." He moved closer, his voice dropping to barely above a whisper. "The historical records about the Skull Kings are incomplete, but what exists suggests they weren't evil by nature. They became monsters. After all, they were isolated, because they faced threats so terrible that they convinced themselves any sacrifice was justified."
"Including the sacrifice of their people."
"Yes. But you're not isolated, Seraphina. You have allies, advisors, people who care about you as a person rather than just as a source of power. That might make all the difference."
Through our soul-bond, I could feel the sincerity of his words, but also the fear underneath them. He was genuinely trying to help me, but he was terrified of what I might become if the ancient powers fully awakened without proper guidance.
"What are you proposing?" I asked.
"A different kind of wedding," he said, producing another document from his portfolio. "Not the public ceremony, my father is planning to turn it into a massacre, but a private binding that would give us legal authority to act independently of our families."
I studied the marriage contract he'd prepared, noting the unusual clauses that would grant me equal authority over both kingdoms' military resources while protecting my autonomy in magical matters.
"This would make us true partners," I realized. "Not just a political marriage, but a genuine alliance."
"With the legal authority to override our fathers' commands if necessary," Aldric confirmed. "Including the authority to call off the public wedding if we determine it's too dangerous."
"Your father will never agree to this."
"My father doesn't have to know until it's too late to stop it," Aldric said with a grim smile. "The ceremony can be conducted tonight by Brother Marcus under the emergency marriage provisions. By the time anyone realizes what we've done, we'll have the legal standing to protect ourselves and our people."
The plan was audacious, risky, and probably our only real chance of survival. But it also required me to trust Aldric completely, to bind myself to him not just politically but personally.
"Why?" I asked. "Why risk everything to protect me?"
"Because I've seen what happens when good people let fear make their decisions," he replied. "My father was a good man once, before the dimensional incursions began. But terror has turned him into someone willing to commit genocide to feel safe. I won't let that happen to our kingdoms."
"And if I become what he fears? If the power corrupts me, the way it corrupted my ancestors?"
"Then I'll stop you," Aldric said simply. "But I'd rather take that risk than guarantee our destruction by murdering you preemptively."
I looked at this man who was offering to bind his fate to mine, to stand between me and his father if necessary. Through our soul-bond, I could feel his resolve, his genuine commitment to protecting the innocent even at the cost of his safety.
"When?" I asked.
"Midnight," he replied. "Brother Marcus will meet us in the old chapel. We'll need witnesses—people we trust completely."
"Master Dorian and Kael," I said, the names coming automatically.
"Your assassin lover?" Aldric raised an eyebrow. "That's either very trusting or very dangerous."
"Both," I admitted. "But if we're doing this, if we're allying ourselves against both our fathers, then we need people who understand the stakes."
"And who can kill us if we become the monsters everyone fears?" Aldric added quietly.
"Exactly."
We spent the next hour refining the plan, coordinating our movements to avoid detection by either our fathers' spies. As midnight approached, I felt the weight of destiny settling around me like a cloak.
In a few hours, I would be married to a man I barely knew, bound to him by law and magic in ways that would reshape both our kingdoms. It wasn't the life I'd planned, the romance I'd dreamed of, or the future I'd imagined.
But it might be the only way to prevent a war that would destroy everything I'd sworn to protect.
"Seraphina," he said, looking up as I entered without ceremony. "I was just about to come find you."
"Were you?" I closed the door behind me and activated the privacy wards with a gesture that made him tense. "Or were you planning how to report back to your father about the monster he's about to marry into his family?"
His face went pale, confirming my suspicions. "You know."
"I know I'm descended from the Skull Kings," I said, watching his reaction carefully. "I know your family helped overthrow mine three centuries ago. What I don't know is whether you're here as my ally or my executioner."
Aldric stood slowly, his hands visible and empty in a gesture of non-aggression. "May I show you something?"
I nodded, though I kept my hand near the obsidian blade at my side.
He moved to his desk and retrieved a leather portfolio, opening it to reveal documents I recognized from the Thornfield family archives. But these weren't the historical records Dorian had shown me—these were recent correspondence, maps, and what looked like military deployment orders.
"My father has been planning this for two years," Aldric said quietly. Ever since his spies reported unusual magical phenomena around your kingdom. He suspected what you were, but he needed confirmation before acting."
"And you provided it," I said, though the accusation felt hollow even as I spoke it.
"I provided it to protect you," he corrected, his voice carrying quiet conviction. "Look at these orders,
Seraphina. Look at them."
I studied the documents he indicated, feeling my stomach clench as I read. Troop movements disguised as wedding security. Mages are positioned at key points around the ceremony site. Contingency plans for dealing with "magical containment failures" during the celebration.
"He's planning to kill me at our wedding," I said, the words tasting like poison.
"He's planning to kill everyone at our wedding," Aldric corrected grimly. "The moment you manifest any significant necromantic power—which he's counting on you doing when you feel threatened—he'll order a magical strike that will level half the castle. Better to sacrifice hundreds of wedding guests than risk the return of the Skull Kings."
The casual brutality of the plan took my breath away. Not just my death, but the deaths of everyone I cared about, everyone who had come to celebrate what they thought was a joyous occasion.
"Why are you telling me this?" I asked. "If you're loyal to your father—"
"I'm loyal to the idea of preventing another magical catastrophe," Aldric interrupted. "But not at the cost of murdering innocents. And not by destroying someone who might be the key to saving us all."
"Saving us from what?"
He moved to another set of documents, these bearing the seals of multiple kingdoms. "The dimensional incursions aren't random, and they're not limited to your borders. Every major kingdom has been experiencing them, but the ruling families have been keeping it quiet to prevent panic."
"How bad is it?"
"Bad enough that some of the northern kingdoms have already fallen," he said quietly. "Their capitals are empty ruins now, their populations either dead or changed into something that serves the entities from beyond the barriers."
I felt the blood drain from my face. "How many?"
"Three confirmed, two more probably lost. The survivor accounts all describe the same pattern— dimensional barriers failing suddenly, massive incursions of entities that reshape reality around them, complete collapse of organized resistance within days."
"And your father thinks killing me will prevent this?"
"My father thinks the dimensional incursions are drawn to necromantic energy," Aldric explained. "He believes your growing power is what's weakening the barriers, attracting the attention of things that should never enter our reality."
"What do you believe?"
Aldric was quiet for a long moment, studying my face as if trying to read something in my expression. "I believe you're the only person I've met who might be powerful enough to fight these things.
Which means we need to find a way to develop your abilities without triggering the kind of catastrophic manifestation that would justify my father's fears."
"A way that doesn't involve me becoming a tyrant like my ancestors," I said, understanding his implication.
"Exactly." He moved closer, his voice dropping to barely above a whisper. "The historical records about the Skull Kings are incomplete, but what exists suggests they weren't evil by nature. They became monsters. After all, they were isolated, because they faced threats so terrible that they convinced themselves any sacrifice was justified."
"Including the sacrifice of their people."
"Yes. But you're not isolated, Seraphina. You have allies, advisors, people who care about you as a person rather than just as a source of power. That might make all the difference."
Through our soul-bond, I could feel the sincerity of his words, but also the fear underneath them. He was genuinely trying to help me, but he was terrified of what I might become if the ancient powers fully awakened without proper guidance.
"What are you proposing?" I asked.
"A different kind of wedding," he said, producing another document from his portfolio. "Not the public ceremony, my father is planning to turn it into a massacre, but a private binding that would give us legal authority to act independently of our families."
I studied the marriage contract he'd prepared, noting the unusual clauses that would grant me equal authority over both kingdoms' military resources while protecting my autonomy in magical matters.
"This would make us true partners," I realized. "Not just a political marriage, but a genuine alliance."
"With the legal authority to override our fathers' commands if necessary," Aldric confirmed. "Including the authority to call off the public wedding if we determine it's too dangerous."
"Your father will never agree to this."
"My father doesn't have to know until it's too late to stop it," Aldric said with a grim smile. "The ceremony can be conducted tonight by Brother Marcus under the emergency marriage provisions. By the time anyone realizes what we've done, we'll have the legal standing to protect ourselves and our people."
The plan was audacious, risky, and probably our only real chance of survival. But it also required me to trust Aldric completely, to bind myself to him not just politically but personally.
"Why?" I asked. "Why risk everything to protect me?"
"Because I've seen what happens when good people let fear make their decisions," he replied. "My father was a good man once, before the dimensional incursions began. But terror has turned him into someone willing to commit genocide to feel safe. I won't let that happen to our kingdoms."
"And if I become what he fears? If the power corrupts me, the way it corrupted my ancestors?"
"Then I'll stop you," Aldric said simply. "But I'd rather take that risk than guarantee our destruction by murdering you preemptively."
I looked at this man who was offering to bind his fate to mine, to stand between me and his father if necessary. Through our soul-bond, I could feel his resolve, his genuine commitment to protecting the innocent even at the cost of his safety.
"When?" I asked.
"Midnight," he replied. "Brother Marcus will meet us in the old chapel. We'll need witnesses—people we trust completely."
"Master Dorian and Kael," I said, the names coming automatically.
"Your assassin lover?" Aldric raised an eyebrow. "That's either very trusting or very dangerous."
"Both," I admitted. "But if we're doing this, if we're allying ourselves against both our fathers, then we need people who understand the stakes."
"And who can kill us if we become the monsters everyone fears?" Aldric added quietly.
"Exactly."
We spent the next hour refining the plan, coordinating our movements to avoid detection by either our fathers' spies. As midnight approached, I felt the weight of destiny settling around me like a cloak.
In a few hours, I would be married to a man I barely knew, bound to him by law and magic in ways that would reshape both our kingdoms. It wasn't the life I'd planned, the romance I'd dreamed of, or the future I'd imagined.
But it might be the only way to prevent a war that would destroy everything I'd sworn to protect.
End of Princess Of The Skulls Chapter 64. Continue reading Chapter 65 or return to Princess Of The Skulls book page.