Princess Of The Skulls - Chapter 68: Chapter 68

The entities struck the castle's outer defenses like a tide of liquid nightmare. Through the tall windows of the throne room, we watched reality bend and twist as creatures that should not exist poured through rifts in the dimensional barriers. The sky had become a canvas of impossible colors, and the very air seemed to scream with the sound of physical laws being violated.
"How long do we have?" I asked Master Dorian, who was studying the assault through a scrying crystal.
"The outer walls will hold for perhaps an hour," he replied grimly. "The inner defenses might give us another hour after that. But if those things reach the keep."
"They'll tear through us like parchment," Lord Cassius finished, his earlier arrogance replaced by raw terror. "I never intended for this to happen. The entities promised controlled integration, gradual transformation—"
"You trusted demons," Aldric said flatly. "What did you expect?"
Through our marriage bond, I could feel his struggle to reconcile his lifelong respect for his father with the monstrous reality of what the man had done. The betrayal ran deeper than politics or power—it struck at the very core of who Aldric thought he was.
"Recriminations can wait," I said, forcing my voice to remain steady despite the chaos outside. "Right now, we need to focus on survival. Father, what military resources do we have available?"
King Magnus looked up from his throne, seeming to age years in minutes. "The castle guard, perhaps two hundred men. The city militia could add another five hundred if we can rally them. Against what's out there ."
"It won't be enough," I finished. "Not with conventional forces. We need the skull relics."
"Absolutely not," Lord Cassius said immediately. "Those artifacts are what drew the entities here in the first place. Using them now would be like ringing a dinner bell."
"The entities are already here," I pointed out. "And the relics aren't just weapons—they're the key to reinforcing the dimensional barriers. That's what the Skull Kings were doing all those centuries ago."
Through the marriage bond, I felt Aldric's sudden understanding as the ancient knowledge continued to flow between us. "The historical records were wrong," he said. "The Skull Kings weren't tyrants who used necromancy to oppress their people. They were guardians who sacrificed everything to keep these things out of our reality."
"Including their humanity," Master Dorian added quietly. "The power required to maintain the barriers changes you. Makes you something other than human."
"Better a changed human than no humans at all," I replied, though the prospect terrified me. "Kael, are you hearing this?"
His voice drifted down from the shadows above. "Every word. What do you need me to do?"
"Get to my chambers and retrieve the skull relics. Bring them to the great hall—we'll need space for the ritual."
"What ritual?" King Magnus asked.
"The one that will either save our reality or destroy what's left of my soul," I said, feeling the weight of destiny settling around me like a shroud. "The Guardian's Binding. It's in the ancient texts Dorian has been studying."
"Seraphina," Aldric said through our bond, his mental voice heavy with concern. "The cost of that ritual—"
"I know," I replied, both aloud and through our connection. "But I'm the only one with the bloodline to survive it. And even then ."
"Even then, you might not remain yourself," Lord Cassius said, his voice hollow with newfound understanding. "The entities will target you specifically once you begin the ritual. They'll throw everything they have at stopping you."
"Which is why I'll need protection," I said, looking around the throne room at the assembled faces. "All of you. Former enemies working together, because the alternative is extinction."
"You're asking me to help save the daughter I've been trying to kill," Lord Cassius pointed out.
"I'm asking you to help save the world you've been trying to rule," I corrected. "Unless you prefer the alternative."
Through the windows, we could see the outer walls beginning to buckle under the assault. The entities weren't just physically powerful—they were rewriting the fundamental laws of reality around them, turning stone to liquid and solid ground to shifting mist.
"The city," Aldric said suddenly. "There are thousands of innocent people out there."
"Who will die if we don't act?" I agreed. "Father, can you organize an evacuation?"
"To where?" King Magnus asked. "The entities are emerging from dimensional rifts across the entire kingdom. There's nowhere to run."
"Then we make our stand here," I decided. "Transform the castle into a fortress that can hold them long enough for me to complete the Guardian's Binding."
"And if the ritual fails?" Master Dorian asked.
"Then we die fighting instead of cowering," I replied. "Kael, how long to retrieve the relics?"
"Ten minutes if the passages are clear," came his voice from above. "Longer if I encounter resistance."
"Go. Everyone else, we need to coordinate our defenses. Father, I need every able-bodied person in the castle armed and positioned. Lord Cassius, your knowledge of the entities' capabilities—share everything you know."
"My men won't take orders from you," Lord Cassius said.
"They will if they want to live," I replied coldly. "Because in about fifty minutes, the distinction between
Blackthorne and Thornfield soldiers won't matter to the things trying to devour us all."
As if summoned by my words, a tremendous crash shook the entire castle. Through the marriage bond,
Aldric and I shared a moment of pure terror as we felt the outer walls finally give way.
"They're inside the grounds," Master Dorian announced unnecessarily—we could all hear the inhuman sounds echoing through the corridors.
"Change of plan," I said. "We make our stand in the great hall. Now. Everyone who can fight, grab weapons, and follow me. Everyone who can't find the deepest cellar you can and pray to whatever gods still listen."
As we prepared to leave the throne room, Lord Cassius caught my arm. "Princess—Queen—whatever you are now. I need you to understand something about the Guardian's Binding."
"What?"
"It requires a blood sacrifice," he said quietly. "Not just your blood—the blood of someone you love. The ritual demands that you choose between saving the world and saving the person most precious to you."
Through the marriage bond, I felt Aldric's immediate understanding of the implications. The ritual would force me to sacrifice either him or Kael—the two people I cared most about in the world.
"Then I'll find a third option," I said with more confidence than I felt. "I always do."
But as we raced through corridors that were beginning to warp and twist under dimensional pressure, I wondered if some choices were truly unavoidable. The entities had spent centuries preparing for this moment, and they had designed their invasion to exploit every weakness in the human heart.
The question was whether my love for others would be my salvation or my doom.